Here's Why BAD Things Happen to GOOD People with Pastor Allen Nolan

last week as you saw in the video we started a new series entitled since you asked and of course what I'm doing in this series is answering the questions that you asked you see about six weeks ago we asked you to submit questions that you would like to be answered and some of you did that and some of you didn't but we did receive numerous questions now obviously I can't answer all of the questions because if I did this series wouldn't be three or four weeks it would be three or four years because that's how many questions we receive so what we did was we allowed you to vote on which questions I should answer and last week I answered the very first question that people wanted answered so this morning I'm going to answer the second most popular question which is if God takes care of our physical needs in life how do we explain Christians who are in poverty martyred hungry oppressed etc in other words why do bad things happen to good people or if we want to be more specific why do bad things happen to Christians and why would God allow it well that's a good question and it's a very common question you see when bad things happen is human nature to ask why it's human nature to look for someone to blame we want to know who's responsible for this is God responsible is the devil responsible are we responsible and it was the same way back in Jesus day whenever something bad happened to a person two people wanted to know why and they looked for someone to blame now the Pharisees taught that the reason that bad things happen to people is because they had sinned or they had done something wrong now most people don't realize this but the Pharisee sect goes all the way back to the Babylonian captivity what people don't realize is that when the Babylonians came and they destroyed Jerusalem they also destroyed the temple and so the Jews had to answer the question how do we practice Judaism without the temple because Judaism is supposed to keep the Mosaic law and within the Mosaic law you have the sacrificial system if we can't offer sacrifices well how do we worship God and so what the Pharisees did is they actually created this system of the synagogue and they said this is how you practice Judaism without a temple until God restores the temple so basically you can trace the Pharisee sect all the way back to the Exile and that's also why they had synagogues one of the ways they practice Judaism as they said if there's any community that has more than ten Jewish males over the age of 13 than they were supposed to have a synagogue and in that synagogue the keeper of the synagogue the person who was in charge what we would call a pastor wasn't necessarily a rabbi if he didn't have the specific training but he was over the synagogue he's the one that would bring the message or if you have it a traveling rabbi he would come in and he would present the message and because the Pharisees were in charge of the synagogue's not only in Israel but throughout the world the known world at that time wherever there were Jews the Pharisees taught that the reason bad things happened is because people have sinned or they've done something wrong you might not see it but God knows what's in the heart of people he knows what they've done they might be having a secret affair they might have embezzled money and you don't know about it they might be involved in all kinds of sin but they kept it secret from everyone else so if bad something bad happens it's because they've done something wrong so Jesus has to correct this turn with me if you would to the Book of Luke chapter 13 verses one through five and I'll show you what I'm talking about about this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the temple and of course when they told Jesus this they want Jesus to explain why this happened because they couldn't understand it these people were from Galilee they're our neighbors they had gone to Jerusalem in obedience to the Mosaic law they were in the temple they were they were offering sacrifices and they were murdered why did this happen so Jesus goes further he says this verse - do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the people from Galilee Jesus asked is that why they suffered not at all what you've been taught is wrong and then he goes further and you will perish too unless you repent of your sins and turn to God now of course if you take all the things that Jesus said in the Gospels and put it together one of the things that he does is he prepares the people who will become believers in him he prepares them for the time when the Romans are going to come and destroy Jerusalem and the temple in fact he even tells his disciples you see all these beautiful buildings not one stone will be left unturned and I look at this thing oh my and of course in 70 AD that's exactly what happened it was only about 38 years later the Romans come they surround the city but those who had repented those who had received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior they heard what Jesus had said and therefore they acted on it and they left the city and they went to a place called Pella in Jordan or at least modern-day Jordan and as a result of that they weren't murdered their families weren't butchered in front of their eyes they weren't carried into captivity they weren't soda slaves why because they did what Jesus had told them to do they saw what was taking place they remembered his words and they left the city that also created a lot of animosity between the Jews who did not accept Jesus and the Christians but that's another story let's keep reading notice what he says and what about the 18 people who died when the tower and Salome fell on them were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem no no in fact in the Greek gets in Phatak no way and then he goes further and I tell you again that unless you repent you will perish also or - now the point that Jesus was trying to make was that these men were not killed because they had sinned the reason they were killed is because they lived in a sinful world in the case of the Galileans they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time they happened to be at the temple when Pilate decided to flex his muscles you see at that time that they were murdered you had zealots the zealots hated the Roman rule and as a result of that they actually participated in these little one-man terrorism jobs they would kill Roman soldiers if they had the chance they they could do it and not get caught they would kill anyone in authority who submitted to Roman rule and as a result of that Pilate got upset with it and he decided that he was going to crackdown and so he is philosophy was if you kill a Roman soldier you kill one of our people who's in authority then we're going to kill 10 Jews and of course at this time you've got these Galileans they've come to Jerusalem they're in the temple there offering their sacrifices and a zealot kill someone and as a result of this Pilate says all right go out there send your soldiers out there and they begin killing people randomly and that's what happened they got caught up in the violence and they were murdered and what about the 18 people who were killed because the Tower of Siloam fell on them what about them well history tells us that the structure failed and when it failed the scaffolding fell down and it killed 18 people not just the scaffolding but also although the stones that they were putting up those people died because the person who had engineered the project violate ins violated certain laws of physics in the construction process now the point I'm trying to make is this sometimes bad things happen because we're in the wrong place at the wrong time and we become a victim of someone else's wrongdoing as an example you could be killed in a car wreck because the other driver is drunk and he crosses the median or the center line and he hits you head-on and not only do you die but maybe your family dies or you could be making deposits in a bank and someone decides to rob the bank and you get shot or you could have a flat tire you pull over to the side of the road and you start fixing the flat it alone comes someone who's texting not paying attention and they hit you and you die now there's always those people who are Calvinists modern day Pharisees and they'll say well we don't know why but God did this there is everything that happens is God's will now the Bible doesn't teach that in fact Jesus is here telling us that's not the case at all it's not because they did anything wrong wasn't because it's part of God's will it's because you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time sometimes bad things have because we violate the laws of physics we see automobile we see the automobile industry having recalls all the time because maybe in this process of designing and building this car there's an engineering flaw and it can cause death it can cause a wreck and people died in that so they recall that sometimes there's faulty engineering bridges have collapsed because it wasn't engineered right because they violated certain laws of physics and a car was driving over about the time that it collapsed and boom those people happen to die it happens from time to time sometimes bad things happen because natural disasters occur so you find yourself in the path of a tornado and it's coming right at you and you don't have a safe home what do you do you start praying right or maybe you live on the coast when a hurricane hits people those things happen you see God created this universe to function under a system of laws natural laws physical laws and spiritual laws and the reason he designed it this way is so that there would be order in this world now these laws govern our universe in fact even God operates within these laws which means that he doesn't supersede these laws unless he can do so legally in other words God doesn't change the length of days or seasons isn't that great isn't it great to know that our planet is gonna circulate or it's gonna revolve around the Sun and 365 days we don't have to wonder I wonder if it's going to take 470 days this year to get around the Sun what if it takes only 260 what if summer is shorter and winter is longer we don't have to worry about that and God doesn't make decisions concerning the weather those things are determined by laws as an example when war moisture-laden air meets a cool front clouds are going to form and precipitation is going to occur people there is nothing Supernatural about that Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes talks about that he says it's happened from the beginning and it will continue happening it's a law people that's why meteorologists can predict the weather it's because the laws of nature govern the weather meteor law meter just are not profits when you want to know what the 7 day planner is gonna be like and you turn to maybe two six or eight ABC CBS or NBC you know you got your favorite meteorologist you just like them you think they're more accurate they don't pull out a crystal ball they don't look and see well let's see what its gonna be like no they simply studied the laws of nature that dictate the weather so when they see certain weather patterns develop they know what's going to happen it's science but science is based on natural and physical laws that God created and God implemented turn to Genesis chapter 8 verses 21 through 22 and I'll show you what I'm talking about this is at the end of the flood God has stepped in he's destroyed the earth every living creature that's on the earth and of course he saved Noah with two of every creature and then Noah gets off and he offers up this sacrifice under the Lord notice what it says and the Lord now notice the word Lord is in all caps what does that mean that means it's translated from the Hebrew word Yahweh which is the the redeeming covenant keeping name of God now notice what this says and the Lord was pleased with the aroma the sacrifice and said to himself I will never again curse the ground because of the human race even though everything they think or imagine has bent toward evil from childhood I will never again destroy all living things and in a sense what God is doing is God is withdrawing from the world and the only time he intervenes is when we pray because you see if God stepped in and intervened because he's just he has to do two things he has to punish sin and reward righteousness and because God wants to make sure that everyone has enough time to be able to repent he's patient in that way he doesn't step in he's allowing this world to continue on underneath these laws that he set up to be governed and the only time that God steps in is when we pray when we pray and he's able to legally step in and intervene now let's keep reading verse 22 as long as the earth remains people listen to this as long as the earth there will be planting and harvest cold and heat summer and winter day and night now what verse 22 is telling us is that God plays certain laws in effect and these laws are going to remain in effect as long as the earth exists and people that's a good thing because these laws produce consistency every year we plant in the spring and we harvest in the summer we harvest in the fall and that doesn't change every year it's KOTOR in the winter than it is in the summer and that doesn't change and a 24-hour period we have so much daylight and so much darkness depending upon our position to the Sun that's why the meteorologists can tell you the sun's going to rise at 6:42 tomorrow morning and it's going to sit at 618 how do they know that because they know our position the Earth's position to the Sun and therefore they know based upon that how much sunlight we're going to have how much darkness we're going to have so these laws are good in that they provide consistency however because we live in a world that's cursed as a result of Adam's sin these same laws provide that provide consistency also create problems and when I say problems I mean big problems too much precipitation costs floods and destroys homes and sometimes lives a high-pressure area stayed in one place too long a low-pressure area say some one place to loan it's like Louisiana 21 inches of rain in a 24-hour period oh my gosh storm low-pressure areas cost tornadoes and people are killed the second law of thermodynamics also referred to as entropy causes us to get old and we die sometimes it causes cancer and genetic problems so the bottom line is this because we live in a cursed world these laws have the potential to create tragedy so let me make an important point in fact if you're taking notes I want you to write this down sometimes bad things happen as a consequence of natural laws or sometimes we violate one of the laws of physics and we cause bad things to happen some of you have made those turns where it's almost 90 degrees if you're going down Willis Road I can't tell you how many times I've seen cars go off of that road my mother-in-law used to live in the corner and then Lisa inherited that so there's a house of sitting on the corners you come down Willis Road and you make a right to go to the park to the park your post office if you're going too fast let me just tell you one of the laws of physics talks about momentum if you're going too fast you cannot make that curve you're gonna go off the road and you're gonna go right through that fence and I'm gonna be upset because I have to fix the fence and you were going too dang fast you've a violated the laws of physics now if you're going way too fast your car is not only going to go off the road it might row and you could possibly die let me give you another example my dad has experienced firsthand I've given this example before but it's true he's experienced firsthand the law of gravity and fact he's experienced it twice once while he was painting his house when he lived at 281 Hickory Drive in another time when he was cutting branches after a nice storm when he was at 281 hickory driving he was painting the house because he's not gonna pay anyone to paint that house he's got four sons he doesn't need the four sons he can do it himself now that house had a walkout basement which meant that at the side of the house the ground sloped at about a 45 degree angle so my dad comes in there and he doesn't want to dig holes in the ground he doesn't want to dig a hole so that the ladder sits flat oh now that it looked bad he'd had that all the way down so he decides he's going to take two befores and he'll put one foot of the ladder on the ground and the other will be up on these two befores and he climbs up there he starts painting and boom that ladder slides off the two befores he falls he shatters his shoulder he puts the ladder up he goes and washes out his paintbrush he gets my mother a cup of coffee and he says I think I hurt my shoulder he goes to the hospital I said yes George you shattered your shoulder and his four sons smirk and say didn't need her help another time the ice storm came in and so he's I don't know how he is he's probably 70 years old he's up on this scaffolding and he's cutting these limbs and of course there's four so when he cuts one loose it hits him knocks him off he shatters one of his vertebrae now here's the interesting thing the reason he fell is because of this thing called the law of gravity so if you want to ascertain why something bad has happened just listen to the details of the incident and what you find is that 99% of the time there's a natural explanation for it you know I Drive super spiritual people crazy and the reason I do is because when my dad fell off the ladder I didn't run up to the hospital I didn't say the devil is trying to kill my dad we need to intercede when my dad shot his tricep off oh yeah that's another story I hear right up to the hospital you know I'm really praying but Devils trying to kill my dad no the devil wasn't trying to kill my dad dad was trying to kill himself my dad wasn't careful on his placement of the ladder and it was the law of gravity not the devil that caused it to fall when he was up on that scaffolding he shouldn't have been doing that when it blew his tricep off he didn't put the safety on yes we still want guns now I've said all of this to make the point you have to respect the system of laws that God has created because if you violate one of the laws of nature or one of the laws of physics or one of the spiritual laws you are going to pay the consequence it doesn't matter whether you're a Christian or you're not a Christian the people who prosper the people who are successful in life they are the ones who understand these laws that got implemented and they work with these laws they don't violate these laws now as a Christian you should be more prosperous you should have a better life why because you understand something that most natural people don't you understand that besides natural laws and laws of physics you also have spiritual laws and if you learn these spiritual laws and you apply these spiritual laws they will work in your favor but let's go a little bit further let's talk about how you can be the victim of another person sin do you think contrary to what we would like to believe no man is an island unto himself has anyone ever heard that expression and what ever heard that no man is an island unto himself does anyone know what that means well originally it meant that no one is self-sufficient everyone and in some way relies on others in fact that saying was actually coined by John Donne John Donne was a preacher in the seventeenth century actually he was a poet he was quite the pagan and he was a great poet he made lots of money but guy got ahold of his heart he was saved and he felt called to the ministry and because he was such a good poet he became a great preacher and in the 17th century he wrote a sermon and preached this sermon and the sermon became famous and entity had this one-liner no man is an island unto himself and what it means is no man is totally self-sufficient every one of us in some way relies on others but that saying has evolved over time and today it means something totally different today it means that an individual's individual's actions don't just affect him know everything that an individual does has a ripple effect and the ripples hit those first that are closest to him and they're strongest there so there's ripple effect affects those that are closest to him and people that's true because it's biblical turn with me if you would to the book of Joshua chapter 7 we're gonna read verse 1 notice what it says but Israel the nation of Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord a man named akin one man had stolen some of these dedicated things so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites the nation now this is kind of interesting theologians refer to this as corporate guilt the Lord is angry at Israel as a whole but the reason he's angry at Israel as a whole is because one in Aitkin didn't obey the Lord and he stole something that he shouldn't have stolen and he goes on and tells us who a canoe is the son of and we won't read that how many of you remember the stories actually the story of Jericho and AI how many you remember the story of Jericho well in this story God told Israel not to take any of the things that were set apart for destruction why because of the law firstfruits in the law firstfruits by virtue of who God is he deserves the best of everything in the first of everything and so God is bringing judgment upon the Canaanites he's waited 400 years and finally all of their sins have brought got the cup of God's wrath that's filled it all the way up to the brim and now they're doing things that's causing the cup of God's wrath to overflow and he's going to use the Israelites as the instrument of his judgment but here's the thing because he's giving them the promised land he says the first of everything and the best of everything belongs to me so the very first city that you conquer you can't keep anything not even the city I want it all destroyed everything destroyed because of their sin well we know the story because he says this he says don't take any of the things set apart for destruction because if you do two things are going to happen first you're going to bring trouble on yourself and what he meant by that is you're going to be put to death and your family will be also so we're talking about a whole lot of trouble and secondly he said if you do this you're going to bring trouble on the whole camp let's look back at the chapter before chapter 7 look at chapter 6 verse 18 this is where the Lord tells them this notice what it says do not take any of the things set apart for destruction or you yourselves will be completely destroyed and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel so Joshua after hearing this brings everyone in he says guys the law first-fruit works this way everything in Jericho belongs to God everything's going to be destroyed except for Rahab and family this is God's judgment upon them because of their sin so you cannot take anything if you do and this is what he tells them you will be set apart so you will be completely destroyed but then he goes further Issa and said you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel so that you wouldn't just bring trouble on themselves they would also bring trouble on the whole nation of Israel and people that's exactly what happened you say because of the victory over Jericho was so easy I mean God just caused and they marched around the city for seven days seventh day their watch around it for seven times and then they blow the horns and everyone shouts and the walls come tumbling down the people inside who are standing on the walls ready for the attack they fall down with it everyone is stunned and of course they just run up over it and they're able to do and destroy the city and do everything that God told them to do now because that was so easy they look at AI there's much smaller than Jericho doesn't have these huge walls and the leaders say you know we don't need to take the whole army let's just take a few men so they decide to take 3,000 men to this place called AI to attack them and here's what's sad they're sadly defeated look at verses three through five in Chapter seven this is the story of AI right after Jericho knows what it says when they return from scouting AI they told Joshua there's no need for all of us to go up there it will take more than two or three thousand men to attack AI since there are so few of them don't make all of our people struggle to go up there so approximately three thousand warriors were sent but they were soundly defeated the men of AI chased the Israelites from the town gate has forced the quarries and they killed about 36 who were retreating down the slope the Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events and their courage melted away so in essence God wasn't with him like he was at Jericho so 36 men died and the Israelite army was soundly defeated all because of one man's sin one man's sin caused the death of 36 innocent people and caused the army of Israel to be defeated now just in case you think that I'm over exaggerating or over emphasizing the effect that one man singh can have turn with me if you would to Joshua chapter 22 verse 20 notice what it says at the end of the book schewe didn't divine anger fall on the entire community of Israel when akin just one member of the clan of Zahra sinned by stealing the things set apart for the Lord he was not the only one who died because of his sin no he wasn't the only man who died thirty-six innocent men died because of what he did you see no man is an island unto himself in other words our sin doesn't just affect us there's always a ripple effect when we sin and that ripple is strongest as close as it is to when that ripple begins so those who are closest to us are the ones that are most affected now why in the world would I bring this up well I bring this up so that you can see that your sin doesn't just affect you it affects others especially those that are closest to you I've seen men destroy their family I've seen men destroy their family because of lust they have an affair they leave their wife three small children at home they marry the secretary and here's the wife innocent victim here's three small children they can't understand why daddy's not there now is God gonna be with that woman in three children you betcha but is it gonna be tougher because of that man sin you betcha that's gonna happen I've seen mothers run their children's lives because of selfishness I don't know what it is about some people I don't know if they weren't popular enough in high school or maybe that was the zenith that was the pinnacle of their success in life you know they were popular in high school so when they grow up to be adults it's like they want to relive their teenage years what is wrong with you you don't need a stamp you're no person good lord act like an older person granny doesn't need to have that but I've seen women they've got children at home and all of a sudden they decide that they don't want to raise their children so they divorced their husband and they allow the man to take custody and let me tell you what that does to a child when they're deserted by the mother they think what's wrong with me I won't tell those children there's not a dang thing wrong with you your mom is messed up that's what I want to tell them I've seen the effects of molestation let me tell you you find a child molester there won't just be one child they molested they'll be ten when I believe what the Bible says child molester should be put to death period sit down that's over can they be saved you betcha but they still have to pay for their sin that's one of the things the Bible says let me explain something you do something you're not supposed to do and you ask God to forgive you God forgives you but you still have to pay the price for what you've done I don't know what it is about people to think they don't have to pay the price for what they've done and if I left Lisa and I screwed up this church and I left let me tell you I could repent and God would forgive me but I would leave a wave of destruction behind me some people might not ever serve the Lord again my kids might become angry at God though God wouldn't have anything to do with it people I've seen the effects of drugs I've seen the effects of addiction on gambling I've seen people lose their entire life savings and now their family's looking at this saying you know we could have had a great retirement but now we can't I've watched one problem child destroy an entire family and I've seen that happen many times and you want to know if God is to blame honey God is not to blame for the horrible things that happen in this world sin is to blame sin has corrupted the world let me show you something this isn't going to be on the on the slide but I got the microphone I'd do what I want notice what it says in the book of Romans chapter 8 let me start in verse 19 it says for all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are against its will all creation was subject subjected to God's curse but with eager hope the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children and glorious freedom from death and decay for we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time and then continues on but what this is saying is when Adam and Eve sinned it didn't just affect mankind it also affected the world that's why we have tornados and earthquakes and we have tsunamis and we have hurricanes and we have all of these horrible things that take place volcanoes that erupt and all of these things are taking places because the world has been corrupted by sin it's why we have famine and disease and natural disasters sin has corrupted man and that's why innocent people end up being victims they're simply in the wrong place at the wrong time or they're in a family that suffers from one person sin sin affects nations and the consequences are felt by its citizens and the righteous are affected by it just as much as the wicked all are when Israel was carried into captivity the reason they were carried into captivity is because they weren't keeping the law they were worshipping idols they were worshipping false gods they were doing all types of sin and iniquity they were taking advantage of everyone but I want you understand not everyone was wicked in that nation but because the sins of the nation had filled the cup of God's wrath to the brim then they did more sins that caused it to overflow the Babylonians came in and they destroyed Jerusalem in the temple they came in and they took all of the or the majority of the Israelites and they carried him into captivity but here's what's sad Daniel was righteous Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were righteous but they were carried into captivity right along with the wicked people Ezekiel was carried out in the second exile the others that I mentioned were carried in the first exile that happened in 605 when totally destroyed until 586 but Ezekiel was carried right along with him Jeremiah was persecuted and put into prison because he was telling them this is the judgment of God if you just submit the Babylonians won't destroy us won't carry everyone into exile but they put him in prison and told him to shut up and Jeremiah was put in prison for doing the right thing I can remember when I was young my aunt Mina's German I think she's 84 right now maybe 85 when my uncle Don went to the service is right after World War two he was stationed in Germany and that's where he met her and she came over here and she didn't even know English I mean she had to learn English here she still speaks with the very strong German accent goes over every few years to see her family there but I can remember one time we were studying World War two in history and I said it Mina were you alive when Hitler came to power and she said yes I was I was a child and I said why did the people follow him he said Oh Oh Alan it was bad we didn't have any food there were no jobs inflation was horrible and we felt so bad we felt despicable and this man came alone and he provided food and he provided jobs and he gave his pride in being German again and he said we overlooked certain things because of what he provided and she said what we didn't realize is he would make it so much worse than it was you see not everyone is wicked but sometimes sin affects the nation were just the leaders and carry the whole nation into destruction and sometimes even the world so as long as there's sin in the world you're going to go through tough times people that's just a fact of life in fact I want you to turn to 1st Thessalonians chapter 3 verses 2 through 5 because I think some pastors have given you a false impression and maybe I have but I want you to see what the Word of God says so then we sent Timothy to visit you this is chapter three verses two through five and first Thessalonians and we sent Timothy to visit you he is our brother and God's co-worker and proclaiming the good news of Christ we sent him to strengthen you to encourage you in the faith and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through but you know that we are destined for such troubles let me just tell you something as Christians we're very blessed living in America but it's getting ready to change it's getting ready to change we'll find out who the real Christians are pretty soon it's going to be 10 to 15 years but we're gonna find out but let me tell you what he says as Christians we are destined for trouble then he goes further even while we were with you we warned you that troubles would soon come and they did as you well know that is why when I could bear it no longer I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong I was afraid that the temperature had gotten the best of you because of this trouble and that her work had been useless now people do you see that we warned you Paul says that troubles would soon come and they did in fact the persecution of Christians began under Nero in 64 AD the apostles are still alive in fact Paul and Peter are martyred under Nero but he begins the persecution of the early church people you ought to read some of the stories of people not denying their Christian faith the things that they endured of course we know about Paul we know about Peter Peter was of course crucified upside down John they tried to boil in oil couldn't kill him because God had more plans for him exiled to the Isle of Patmos reason why is exiled is because persecution had begun if you were a Christian let me tell you persecutions began sometimes it got a little bit better under certain rulers sometimes it got a little bit worse but the persecution didn't stop until Constantine in the fourth century Polycarp makes this statement in fact he was a martyr he said our blood is like seed planted in the ground the more you kill of us too faster we grow now let me give you some good news even in the face of trials and tribulations you can have peace and joy because the Savior we serve has overcome the world turn to John chapter 16 verse 33 says I have told you all of this so that you may have peace in me here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows but take heart because I have overcome the world we might not see the full results of it until Jesus comes back but let me tell you we will see the full results when he returned Jesus has overcome the world through his physical resurrection and you need to remember one thing John wrote greater is He that's in us and he that's in the world look at 1st John chapter 4 verse 4 great scripture you are of God little children have overcome them because greater is He that's in you than he that's in the world people I can't promise you that you won't have any problems because you will have problems but I can promise you that greater is He that's in you than the problems you're going to experience and if you're martyred yes there's martyrs yes there's martyrs if you're martyred you will receive the crown of life there's five crowns that are promised as a reward and one of them is called the martyrs crown and the Bible is referred to as the crown of life look with me in Revelation chapter 2 verse 10 do not fear what you're about to suffer because you're going to suffer we're lucky we live in America but our time is coming behold the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation for ten days so you need to understand something ten days ten the number ten represents man's responsibility so what he's saying is you're going to be cast into prison and it's your responsibility to remain faithful and then it goes further be faithful until what death be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life now the crown of life doesn't mean eternal life everyone that's accepted Jesus Christ is going to receive eternal life the crown of life that he's talking about is he saying if you gave your life for the Gospels sake you will receive the crown of life which means the martyrs crown when people get to heaven and they see your reverse ago you were martyred you stood faithful all the way to the end why yes I was now how can you have a successful life you know we talked about all of these bad things but we need to understand something we have to learn the system of laws that God has created and we have to work within we have to know the laws of nature we have to know the laws of physics and we have to know the spiritual laws and we use them to our advantage if we violate these laws it's not the devil that's coming in and doing this it's not that God is out to get us it's that we violated these laws and let me tell you you should have advantage because you're a Christian you should know the spiritual laws I'm teaching you laws all the time I'm teaching you about the law of sowing and reaping don't grow weary in well-doing for what a man sews that willie reap I'm teaching you the law of firstfruits some of you still haven't learned it you wonder why you're 90 per 100 percent is cursed it's because you haven't had you don't have you're 90% blessed by giving 10% to God the law of reciprocity some of you can't understand why you don't have friends or loved ones because what goes around comes around it's called the law of reciprocity the law of Christ to bear one another's burdens the Praxis principle which is really known as the practice law the way we treat others affects the way we feel about them you want to know why you're such a pessimistic horrible person because you've never mastered the spiritual law of practice the law of Marjan some of you have no margin you never learn the law of margin I stand up here every Sunday and every Wednesday night well not every Sunday and everyone's not I take breaks from time to time bless my heart but most of the time and let me tell you what I'm doing I'm teaching you principles fundamental truths that explain how things work so if you learn how things work and apply these principles you apply it in finances you get blessed you fight in your marriage you get blessed you apply it with your kids you have blessed children you violate those laws you pay the consequences but even when you're doing these laws certain things happen like tornadoes and hurricanes because we live in a sinful world and even though we obey these laws sometimes the nation pays because we weren't praying the way we should have we weren't voting the way we should have we weren't doing what we should have and let me tell you the righteous are carried away into exile or the righteous are carried away into judgment right along with the wicked and it's not because of God it's because of sin in this world but one day this Savior that we serve the one who's overcome the world he comes back to this world and our hope is that we who have died before he does our bodies will be resurrected reunited with her so we come back with Jesus we rule and reign with him and those of us who are alive when Jesus returns our bodies are transformed and we rule and we reign with him on an earth that's no longer corrupted by sin in fact Ephesians tells us that when Christ returns this creation will revert back to the way it was before the fall that is our hope

Channel: Cornerstone Fellowship

Views: 699

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: why do bad things happen to good, bad things happen to good people, why does god allow bad things to, why does god allow evil pain and, if god loves us why do bad thing, let bad things happen bible, cornerstone fellowship, tahlequah ok, bad things, jesus, trust god, trust god more, good things, blessings, bible, religion, christian, christianity, allen nolan, pastor allen nolan, with pastor allen nolan

Id: _yngN2SIGNU

Length: 43min 2sec (2582 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 24 2020