Can God Be Good When Life is Not? Hope In The Dark: Week 1 with Pastor Craig Groeschel

[Music] [Music] [Music] well it's on weekends like that that this I get incredibly emotional seeing so many people come forward in their faith to say that their lives have been changed by Jesus and to every single one of you that you've been baptized I thank God for you thank God for his work the one store just one in Life Church KATUSA Karen being baptized at the same time you're being baptized you're celebrating five years of sobriety I thank God for you I thank God for his work that's one story of over 1,400 people going public with their faith to declare that the old is gone and the new has come and I ever want to lose sight of what God is doing in the lives of so many people today we're starting a new message series and this one is personal to me we're gonna be studying through the book of Habakkuk and I've written a new book on the book of Habakkuk it's called hope in the dark believing God is good when life is not this book is not yet available to the public it's available at some live churches we've sold out at many locations you can pre-order anywhere online where books are sold on Amy and I are very honored to donate all of the proceeds of these books to the church and so by a bunch by a bunch if you've read any of my books this is the 15th book that I've written this one is different it's the most raw it's if you read it you'll say it's very different and I want to tell you the story behind this book because it's really important to me the people that I work with in my office we're like family it's like we're in a daily spiritual war together in the bond is incredible one of the dearest people to my family is Adrian Manning who served with me in my office for years and years and years she is I love her more than I can describe Adrian and her husband Danny I've got a picture of them to show you their amazing family several years back they were praying and asking God to help them to conceive so they could get pregnant it took a while they were waiting they were waiting they were waiting nothing was happening one day Adrienne bound into the office and she wet and I knew it he your fragment you know and she said yeah and we hugged each other and she started crying and I fought away the tears and we hugged again it was amazing couple weeks went by and when she came back in the office you could tell that it was one of the darkest days of her life and she had lost the child and we hugged again and we cried a different kind of cry and we hugged again and I sent her home and said don't come back for a while just just be and I was so in this with her that I wanted to write something for her to give her as a gift I'd been studying the book of habakkuk and so I just took the words of Habakkuk and I started putting words to it I thought it'd be a few pages I wrote all night I got up early before work the next day and wrote all morning and I wrote into the next night and the next morning and I wrote a lot didn't mean to and when she came back and I said I'm sorry so long but these words are for you I gave them to her she went home that night she read him she came back the next day and she said those words were for me and that's it I gave it to her it spoke to her in a very real way and I put the document aside and I forgot about it years went by here's one by a few years ago my second daughter Mandy was getting married to James the week before her wedding she got really really sick and we just knew oh this is unfortunate inconvenient it's too bad but out by the time our honeymoons over she'll be better she wasn't a couple weeks more she'll be better she wasn't a few months more should be better she wasn't we started to wonder I started to hurt I started to ask questions all right God why are you letting this happen I remembered the words that God gave me for someone else for Adrienne and I thought I'll read them and it was as if God had given them to someone else for me it spoke to me in such a real way and so that's when I decided maybe this could be helpful to someone else I called my publisher said would you let me make that into a book and that is the story behind the book on the book of habakkuk hope in the dark let's talk about Habakkuk everybody say Habakkuk sounds like you just coughed up a fur ball Habakkuk is an Old Testament minor prophet if I say minor prophet he wasn't a major prophet he was always in the minor leagues he never got to play major league ball hashtag dad joke dad junk dad joke work with me it doesn't get better I promise you stuck with me alright he lived and wrote about 600 years before the birth of Christ he was a very different prophet what do prophets do prophets speak to people on behalf of God Habakkuk was not an ordinary prophet he didn't speak to people on behalf of God but Habakkuk spoke to God on behalf of the people because he didn't like what God was doing Judah had been blessed now there was the corruption and there was deception and instead of prospering they were hurting and they were in poverty and he's just unleashes on God and 2600 years ago Habakkuk is asking the very same question that so many people are asking today and he wanted to know why doesn't God seem fair I know you could do something about this God but you're not and I don't understand Habakkuk chapter 1 three chapters in the book of Habakkuk today we're in chapter 1 verse 1 I'm not going to read to you but essentially it says he received a prophecy the he reward is my awesome it means an utterance it means a doom it means a burden it's not just a prophecy it's a it's a dooming prophetic word it's a burden it's an it's a it's a it's a it's a wait he receives this and he goes to God on behalf of the people and he asked the question of verse two how long O Lord must I call for help but you do not listen or cry out to you violence but you do not save why do you make me look at injustice why do you tolerate wrongdoing you know I'm saying why don't you heal my daughter what I love about her back ik because he's just raw he's real and his name tells the story his name tells my story the name Habakkuk means to embrace and to wrestle Habakkuk is doing everything he can to embrace who he knows God is but because what he sees doesn't line up with what he believes he's wrestling with God embrace and wrestle let me state a warning everybody say oh lean over your neighbor and say oh lean over your second-favorite neighbor and say I'm sorry my second-favorite oh you too as if this wasn't heavy enough already uh this is not a sitcom sermon how many of you grew up watching sitcoms yeah if you're around my age what was it Brady Bunch happy days maybe your air is friends or the office whatever iswhat is a sitcom sermon most sermons are sitcom sermons most of my sermons are sitcom sermons sitcom sermons are not bad theology it's actually a very effective means of communication what happens in a sitcom at the beginning is sitcom everybody's happy then there's tension there's drama there's a problem there's a challenge and by the end of a 30-minute sitcom including commercial breaks every problem is resolved the show's over most of my messages are sitcom service there's us there's a tension there's God's word there's a solution you can now go and have a great meal we just had shirts it comes from this is not a sitcom sermon in a sitcom sermon what tends to happen is something like this let's say you like your job you lose your job you're devastated you pray God gives you a better job and it's one of the benefits and you sit by a really cute single guy in you're a single girl and the guy is the son of the owner of the business and you get married for a great time and then the father gets a visit to the Sun and the Sun sells the business and you get married to that guy and you sell the business in you retired at the age of 33 if everything is amazing that's a sitcom sermon God gives you a blessing this is not a sitcom sermon in life is not a sitcom in life everything is not resolved in 30 minutes or less including commercial breaks and life sometimes things aren't resolved in 30 days or 30 years in life sometimes you lose your job and you don't get a better job but you don't get the job for a long time and you're highly educated and you get a job way below your education and you feel like a really big failure sometimes in life you think you have a good marriage and you really love your spouse and your spouse betrays you and your spouse doesn't own what your spouse did but instead blames you for what you didn't do and leaves you and then you're all alone in real life you love your life and then you get sick and the doctor says you have cancer and you go to war against cancer and you pray and you have faith and you fight it with chemo and you beat cancer and you thank God and then several years later cancer comes back and you don't understand you're wrestling and you're trying to embrace and then some well-meaning Christian comes to the middle of your trial it's his brother sister God is in control and while their theology may not be bad and while their heart is good the more they tell you to let go and let God the more you want to do what the Bible says and that is to lay hands on them in the name of the Father in the Son and the Holy Spirit emai be good at this moment your face feels wrecked and you feel wronged God doesn't feel good in the moment because you know he could do something and he doesn't you don't understand why Habakkuk feels like this he asked a question in verse 3 why do you make me look at injustice why do you tolerate wrongdoing destruction and violence are before me their strife and there's conflict of the bounds therefore the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails in other words God I don't really think you're doing what is right what are his problems with God he's not speaking to the people on behalf of God he's going to God on behalf of the people he's got the very same problems with God that some of you have what is it what his problems over 1 you don't seem to really care God you allow all this suffering all these things he says to God you aren't doing much when you could you have the power and you're not I don't understand he does say to God what you are doing doesn't seem fair how many of you will be honest with me have you ever felt like if you were God you would do things differently raise your hands up raise your hands up something I'm gonna raising my hand at the church like the gull strike me down yeah I mean come on if you're that you know polished your halo and you just go be that I'm gonna deal the real people today we're sometimes you just want to know God are you still even paying attention do you even care here's a question is it okay to ever question God is it okay to push back on God is that wrong is that unholy is that unfair about a third of the Psalms or cries to God about pain or songs in the middle of trials that people don't understand several books of the Bible entire books of the Bible lamentation that Ecclesiastes and Jeremiah and Joe Express confusion of what appears to be unjust suffering for the righteous even Jesus even Jesus on the cross when he was perfect in every way and he becomes sin for us he never sinned he becomes sin and whatever God does God looks away God pulls back and Jesus cries out why why I'm your son I did everything right why would you pull away from me let me explain it to you like this if you're a follower of Christ at some point you had some version of this story you are hurting or life is good or whatever but you recognize there must be more to life and maybe go to church and the Spirit of God touches you it's in a song someone prays for you some of the witnesses to you your business you see something you have a trial of tragedy you recognize your doing life without God whatever it is and you call on Jesus and you experience his grace his forgiveness his mercy oh wow life is amazing you're on the mountaintop and you go to church and every sermon is like it's just for you and like just God speaking to you and you go to your car and the song of the road is your favorite one and you go to the mall and you get the perfect parking spot and you pray a prayer and God does it immediately and he gives you more in life is incredible God is so good thank you God life starts happening and some things go on that aren't so good you go to church and your sermon was yeah you know what bad but probably for somebody else hit the car don't like the song go to the mall you can't park anywhere prayer prayer not only does it not happen but the opposite happens then something bad happens your daughter gets sick and she get better you pray for grandma and she dies your boyfriend the Christian cheats on you the person you looked up to and admired does something wrong the doctor gives you news that you never desert whatever it is happens to all of us the life does this and at some point many as many of us have what Henry Blackaby in experiencing God called a crisis of belief God if you're so good why am I not here why am i right here I don't know if you're involved you even care and about this point most people think we've got one of two options one is unfortunate what a lot of people do with good intentions they just deny the bad okay this isn't happening this isn't happening god it's true girl yeah this isn't happening I'm just gonna kind of pretend like we're open here I'm gonna divide the other people say well you know what if I'm here and I'm not here and God God's not doing me good then my god must not be real just screw it all forget it I tried shirts I tried God try the bottle forget it and they're out they think there's two options there's not two options there's a third option and that third option in the middle of the pain is to wrestle I don't get it I'm confused and it's best you can to continue to embrace and when you do this does life get better often times no it doesn't sometimes it continues to get worse and when it gets to worse you often do what James said in the first book of his first chapter of his book where he said you consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work so that you can be mature and complete not lacking anything the way to true intimacy with God is not to live on the mountaintop but is to get to know his faithfulness in the valley even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod they staff they comfort me this is my story this is my story I've got many versions of this I was a non-christian party my little brains out started hurting call on Jesus in college boom forgiven changed new amazing went into business because a business major fell so in love oh jeez I gotta go servitor took a salary cut from a lot down to next to nothing now the pastor okay now I need to go to cemetery excuse me seminary that it's actually an intentional joke the reason I joke about this there are many great seminaries I went to one for a year that was a very good seminary I was forced to transfer to another one I had no choice the denomination made me this seminary had some professors that didn't really believe in the Bible and other things that would be shocking to a lot of you but sometimes in some seminaries there would be intellectuals who have more head knowledge than heart faith and so some of my professors truly love Jesus and a few didn't those of you who maybe were in this world they're old enough to remember there's something that was known as the Jesus Seminar if my memory is correct I think it is it was actually on the cover of Time magazine there were perhaps eight or so biblical scholars who wrote a book called the critical red letters of Jesus and in this book these scholars got together and decided Matthew Mark Luke and John the red letters in your Bible that Jesus spoke they decided which words he said and which ones he didn't say those that were in red he definitely said according to these scholars those in pink he probably said those that they put in gray he probably didn't say those they decide to run black he definitely didn't say one of those professors was my New Testament professor and in the middle of seminary a guy who had tremendous faith in God close to God believed in God found myself with a crisis of belief uh-oh is this stuff true to tell you that I was scared goes beyond my ability to describe I put everything on this and now is an illusion am i imagining did I make it up as God's word not true should I pretend like what I'm hearing isn't real should I just say forget it I was wrong or should I wrestle with something I've never encountered before and try to embrace I wrestled him braced I went to my next class next semester nights the best finally I had a professor that recommended a book called theological cross fire by Clarke Pennock and Ellen Brown these two scholars debated one for the truths of Scripture one against Scripture pinic was for it I'll even know if it's a good book I spend years but in that moment at that time Penix argument for Scripture was so convincing to me two brilliant minds pin it was so convincing that my faith did this well maybe maybe this is real today if my faith in God is here it's not because I stayed here it's because I continue to wrestle and embrace through the valley to have it be stronger with God if I'm in a crisis of belief with my daughter right now and we're finding a new level of intimacy it's not because we deny it it's not because we walk away it's because we continue to embrace there's somebody here this is what you need to do you're in the crisis of belief we all get there at some point this is a package god this doesn't seem fair I don't understand guess what God does God responds to him and this is where it gets so exciting are you ready for God's response if you're ready say I'm ready are you ready are you really ready this is gonna blow you away this is what God says here's God's response god I don't understand you all seem fair this what God says look at the nations and watch here's what God says and be utterly amazed for I'm gonna do something in your days that you will not believe even if you're told finally God you're going to do what's right god you're gonna relieve the pain God we're gonna be prosperous God we're gonna be blessed we're gonna be utterly amazed God you were to do something that we wouldn't believe even if we were told in a sitcom sermon now is the time that I would tell a story like this I've told many stories like this I've told this on the floor but it's one of my favorites for years and years I only flew in economy class one time on an international trip was the first time ever I've been in business class if you've never been in business class let me tell you what it is a closest thing to heaven on this side of heaven you don't sit in a little bitty chairs you go and you sit in your own private little exclusive spa it's a world of flying pleasure your seat doesn't just recline it becomes an entire bed bed with vibrating features for your traveling pleasure the flight attendants give you pajamas pajamas while everybody else is cattle dinner look at here int but they come and they bring you scented wet washcloths to cleanse your brow they bring you five course meals and wait on you around the clock if that were not enough I said this before it if you have a 5th grade mind you're going to giggle but when they bring you your nuts say warm your nuts God is my witness if you've got a party mind then just go ahead and go there but I'm telling you very you are nuts and there is nothing better - coming to the service of my wife amy is not in because when she's not in I have complete freedom to declare God's Word and whatever way I feel is appropriate God honoring and true your nuts are warm it's if you've never had we're nuts warm it's a fantastic experience I'm a 15 year old man and now I'm a fourth grade boy he's incredible is incredible and then what I always do in a sitcom sermon is I speak to the single girls because there's so many super girls that are day you stupid guys don't date stupid guys do not sell yourself out for stupid God don't sell anything lesson and so I tell them you know he's not good and it hurts you to break something you do not worry because you are dating an economy class god but God has an upgrade for you sister God has a business-class boyfriend and I'm not gonna make any references to the nuts at this point we're gonna leave it where it is but this is not a sitcom sermon God says you ready for this I'm about to intervene and you're gonna be amazed he's gonna be unlike anything you've ever seen before you wouldn't believe it if I told you then God tells him he's gonna use the Babylonians if you don't who the Babylonians are they're the bad guys they're the enemies and God says this God says you ready you're not gonna believe this I'm raising up your enemies I'm raising up the Babylonians the ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own they are feared and dreaded people they all come intent on violence God says you think it's bad now is about to get worse and I'm gonna use your enemies to bring justice because of your sin and this makes absolutely no sense to Habakkuk what do you do when you find yourself there I wrote about this in the book what does the committed believer do a committed believer can both wrestle with honest questions and embrace a genuine faith in God you could do it at the same time well I want you to watch as Habakkuk does this he tries to embrace and yet he doesn't understand and he's wrestling watch it see it feel it he embraces he says in verse 12 Lord are you not from everlasting I mean I'm embracing you God my God my holy one you'll never die I'm embracing you but God you've appointed our enemies to ax you judgment on you I'm wrestling my rock I'm embracing but you've ordained them to punish I'm wrestling God your eyes are too pure to look like evil I love you I'm embracing you cannot totally wrongdoing I'm embracing but why do you tolerate the treacherous I'm wrestling why are you silent when the wicked swallow up these more righteous to themselves I'm trying to embrace I'm trying to wrestle listen to me if you are there right now what I want you to know is that God understands your pain he welcomes your questions that I am convinced that God would rather have you yell at him then walk away from him when you hit the wall when you hit the crisis of belief don't deny your doubts don't run from God let your doubts drive you to continue to embrace even when you wrestle with God this is where I've been for two years and four months with my daughter who hurts every day adrián the words I wrote for you these were the words that ministered to me this just if this was what knocked me off the words God gave to me for somebody else were words that God had for me what if honestly acknowledging your doubts is your first step toward building a deeper faith what if embracing your secret questions opens the door for a maturing knowledge of God's character what if drawing closer to God developing genuine intimacy with him requires you to bear something that feels unbearable to hear him through an ominous utterance to trust him in the moment of doom to embrace his strength when you're weak with a burden what if it takes real pain to experience deep and abiding hope let me tell you more than you care to know about writing a book most people don't understand is when you write a book you turn the manuscript in a year or more before the book comes out so I finished this manuscript well over a year ago with everything I wrote about Mandy I wrote about my own face troubles I just knew I knew I knew I knew that late in the editing process I would add an appendix and in the appendix I would have the miracle story she was sick and now she's not there is no appendix we're still in chapter 1 3 chapters let me warn you chapter 2 is not much better don't walk away from God in Chapter 1 you ready for the good ending the sermon there's not one sermons over it's not a sitcom sermon chapter 1 so father I pray for those today who find themselves in Chapter 1 I pray that had the courage and feel the permission to wrestle while they try to embrace all of our churches right now I have a I have a heavy heart for those of you who need prayer questions don't understand wondering you're hurting those of you who would say Craig would you pray for me I wouldn't embrace but I am wrestling did you lift up your hands right now today just all over the place all over the place god I thank you that I thank you you've given us this book and it gives us permission to just sometimes tell you we don't like it we don't understand we don't agree there God somehow help us cling to your character your nature to believe that you are good even when life is not and god I pray for someone who feels like they tried it tried you want to walk away gotta pray they wouldn't walk away god don't please help us God not to let our doubts drive us away from you but God enable us to allow our doubts to drive us to you give us the faith God give us the courage not to pretend to be real to be raw even while we're resting god help us to continue to embrace as you keep praying at all of our churches there's some of you right now um you're hurting and you're in a really low spot I'm not gonna tell you God caused that but I will tell you I think sometimes God may allow it sometimes people say well God will never let you experience more than you can handle that that's a misinterpretation of a verse that says God will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear I really believe sometimes God will allow us to have more than we can handle because it teaches us to call on him some of you right now like me back in college the weight of my sin caught up to me I felt so guilty so alone so dirty so vulnerable so bad so I tried so hard to be good but I couldn't because you just can't be good enough and that's why God is so good because he loved us enough to send His Son Jesus was perfect in every way who was without sin to die in our place on a cross so that we could be forgiven he was raised from the dead imagine as he dies his dark where is he where's God where's God next day he's dead he's dead he's dead chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 day 3 the stone is rolled away and he is not there he is risen from the dead why so that anyone and this includes you doesn't matter who you are no matter what you've done didn't matter how much you heard doesn't matter how bad your life has been anyone who calls on the name of Jesus would be saved forgiven not just say from your sins but say for a life that matters there's some of you you know it you sense that you're here not by accident you are here because God brought you here for this moment you need Jesus you need is Grace you need is love do you need a salvation all of our churches those who say that's me I turn from my sin I turned toward him I'd give them my life lift your hands high now all over the place flip them up and say that's me right back there now I'm right there god bless you there leave them up if you will let me just find you sir please God for you so right back over here right back over here over here in this section here on this little section sweetheart I'll be buggy right back here oh my gosh right back here ma'am right here wipe those tears away wipe those tears away right back over there praise gosh when you way back to me oh my job over here in this section click online you just click right below me here in the middle said call on the name of Jesus he is here he cares he is good would you join your voices in prayer with those around you nobody prays alone pray Heavenly Father take my life forgive my sins make me brand new fill me with your spirit so I could serve you and follow you every day of my life I trust you I embrace you and I'm willing to wrestle use me to show your love thank you for a new life now you have mine and Jesus name I pray somebody better worship somebody better shout would you give our God praise [Applause]

Channel: Life.Church

Views: 67,369

Rating: 4.89465 out of 5

Keywords: Craig, Groeschel, lifechurch, depression, anxiety, hope in the dark week 1

Id: YGmABuH0sa0

Length: 36min 59sec (2219 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 13 2018