When God Doesn't Make Sense - Part 3: "When God Seems Uncooperative" with Craig Groeschel

I am very very thankful to have all of you with us today at all of our live churches we are in part three of a three-part message series called when God doesn't make sense last week we looked at Lazarus when God was late you may notice that I'm actually on time for this week's message just want to let you know that I'm here on time look a lot of people said was that an accident that you were laid was that planned it was totally an accident the crazy thing is and you know all my years of preaching I've never been late before last week I was late every service was weird anyway course that was land yeah today we're gonna talk about something that's a little bit more difficult than last week last week we saw Lazarus when God seemed late the good news was that God actually did what Mary and Martha hoped that he would do Lazarus got to live God just seemed late today's message is not as much fun and I just want to tell you that going into this we're gonna look at whenever God seems uncooperative when we know that God could do something we believe that he will and then he does not and again I just want to say this really is not a fun or feel-good message but I believe it will help create a foundation for us to understand maybe a little bit of the will of God and to learn to depend on him during those times when God seems uncooperative and I want to kind of introduce it with a couple of stories real short years ago when Amy not got married we came home from my honeymoon to our little house and the air conditioner evidently had been broken all week long it seemed like it was 110 degrees inside really really hot we were really really in love and really really broke and this felt like a really really big problem she's like what are we gonna do and she looked at me and she said can you fix that okay now 25 years in the marriage she never asked me if I can fix anything but she didn't know better then so I kind of faked it and went and played with the thermostat and you know acted like I knew what I was doing I went outside and looked at the unit and you know just check to see if it's plugged in I kind of kind of wiggled it you know I came back I said I I don't I think it's above my pay grade I don't think I can can fix this and she's like well why don't you pray for it and my first thought was that's ridiculous who prays for an air-conditioner now that I'm broke it's broken maybe who knows you know so I just would give it a shot so I went outside very true story and I'm about to pray for this then I felt really ridiculously stupid I looked over we had a chain-link fence to make sure nobody was watching and I don't know how you pray for an air-conditioner right I know the scripture says if there any sick among you let the elders lay hands on the sick so I thought well it's definitely sick and so I I laid my hand with his air conditioner and then it still didn't feel powerful so I lifted my other hand up toward heaven like it's a lightning rod I'll get some power or something it just seemed like the right thing to do and I prayed for this stupid broken air conditioner God is my witness in the middle of my prayer I'm not lying the thing kicks on I jumped back like Oh God whoa I've got the power I've got the I went in we hugged we kissed we did other things we were newlyweds like it works it's amazing is the crazy though so if your a/c goes out let me know tweet me call me something like I don't do heaters but I've got the power for air conditioners and and you know you may say well it's just a coincidence you know maybe I don't know Bay I'm telling you I think was dead I prayed and it worked amazing God Wow god I can't believe he did that that's freaky okay fast-forward to today if you were here last week I told you about the young girl that had multiple seizures and was in a coma and we didn't know whether or not she live a lot of people asked how she doing I give you an update the good news is they have detected brain activity and feel like her brain is functioning so we thank God for that the more challenging news is that every time they try to bring around the induced coma she goes back into having multiple seizures so we're now at two weeks into this young girl being in in a in a bad situation the doctors are not sure she's going to make it and we're praying around the clock everybody I know is praying we're praying and so here's kind of my point of these whole two things God why in the world would you do something so insignificant as answer a prayer for an air-conditioner and why would you not answer the prayers of all these people to immediately heal this girl who has her whole life I've had over God that doesn't make sense to me and I know that probably every single one of you have some version of that story in your own life God gave you the parking spot of the mall you know but God won't take away your migraine headaches or you're praying for your marriage or you're praying for some ongoing pain or ongoing challenge you're praying for a job and whatever it is almost all of us have some category of that in their own lives God I believe you can do this I'm praying that you will and yet God you haven't what do you do when God seems uncooperative what do you do when you really are a sincere follower of Jesus you believe that God could answer your prayer and God does not answer your prayer today I want to look at the life of the Apostle Paul one specific story and bring out three different thoughts about prayer that I hope will minister to you the first one if you're taking notes is this we need to recognize that true prayer isn't about getting our way but it's often about surrendering our will it's not just about getting God to do what we want it's often surrendering our will to what God actually wants and some people may push back on this but you need to remember this is exactly how Jesus prayed in the garden before going to the cross but he said father if there's any way would you remove this cup of suffering from me nevertheless God not my will but your will be done Jesus taught us to pray he said this is how you pray he said thy will be done on earth as in heaven true prayer isn't just about getting God to do what we want it's often surrendering our will to what God wants and the Apostle Paul would actually discover this I want to tell you a little bit about Paul in case maybe he didn't grow up around church if there's anyone who deserved an answered prayer in my opinion I think you would agree with the Apostle Paul his backstory he hated Christians if you're here and you hate Christian maybe you hate my guts listen Paul would have hated me more than you hate me hehe he killed Christians despised them and he had this miraculous conversion where his whole life was changed and he went from hating Christians to being one of the most effective Christians in the history of the world and this guy was crazy amazing in what he did all over the world he he wrote over half of the New Testament he essentially traveled on a ship for about 20 years taking the gospel to every part of the world that he could get to he he took the gospel to Europe the guy was amazingly bold in his faith he had all these visions he raised the dead he paid an incredible price for it if Paul was stoned for his faith he was stoned and I'm not talking about recreationally speaking I just feel like I need to say that because some of you oh yeah it's not so bad you know we don't live in Colorado okay he was he was stuck he was he was shipwrecked he was snake bitten he was he was beaten with rods and left for dead they thought he was dead like yeah he's dead okay thankfully he's mostly dead like The Princess Bride but he was you know he was it he wasn't he was whipped five different times it lashed in the back and when they would actually whip a person they would whip them 39 times not 44 if you whip them 40 times and they died it would be considered murder 39 was acceptable forty was not five different times he was whipped 39 times on the back you can only imagine after round one around two and your back is all scarred up and here we go again he was put in prison over and over and over again this guy endured more than you could imagine and so what was his reward okay I'm god I'm not going you've done all this you know I'm gonna make sure your later years are better than your former years because that's how good a god I am second Corinthians 12:7 shows us this very challenging portion of Scripture Paul's talking and he says this he says therefore in order to keep me from becoming conceited I was given a thorn in my flesh a messenger of Satan to torment me okay it's a challenging text so Satan brings something in this guy's life God allows that God not only allows it but God uses it God uses it to keep him from becoming conceited and he has this thorn now what is the thorn we don't know what the thorn is scholars have debated for years and everybody has their guests what's interesting is the Greek word translated as thorn can also mean steak as the word scallops and and whenever they would actually kill a person by running a stake through their body that's the word they would use if they would this was this Thor and it can also mean a steak whatever it is it was agonizing he said it was tormenting me so people wonder what was it we don't know like I said but people tend to guess most scholars believe it was probably some kind of physical ailment some people say well it might have been the opposition those who came against him it might have been we don't know but most people think it was maybe headaches or malaria or recurring epilepsy or a speech impediment some people argue it was actually bad eyesight because in one of the epistles Paul said notice I'm riding with really large letters you know and you can only imagine without glasses and you know you can't read write whatever it is we don't know but he said this was given to me God allowed it tormented me but God used it to keep me from becoming conceited now you today many of you right now you have some thorn in your life some issue some challenge some of you might say my thorn is a person if you're sitting next to them do not point at them look at them don't breathe in their direction that would be rude but some be it might be a boss that's a challenge some of you it might be a similar health issue that that you've prayed and prayed and prayed and believe that God would take it away but it hasn't gone away it could be depression you're trying all sorts of different things and you're still fighting depression it could be a sleep issue it could be that you're just praying that God would change some circumstance God give me reliable transportation so I can get to church so I can work whatever it is you look at and say God would you please change this and God isn't changing it we need to remember that prayer isn't just about getting our way but sometimes it's about surrendering our will and saying God even though I really wish you would do this and you're not I'm choosing to trust you in the middle of this situation the second thing that I want to point out and this is a thought that really ministers to me I hope it does to you as well about prayer prayer reminds us that we're not in control and it keeps us close to the one who is prayer reminds us hey I'm not the Lord of my own life prayer reminds me that I can't control all situations prayer reminds me that I'm not in control and it keeps me close to the one who is and this this thorn actually did this for the Apostle Paul second Corinthians 12 8 says this three times I did what somebody say it allowed three times I what I I pleaded somebody to Wichita State allowed three times I what I I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me God please I'm begging you I'm begging you I'm pleading with you to take it away now when Paul said I did this three times this didn't mean like he went you know I prayed at breakfast time and then I prayed at lunch and then I prayed at dinner what's up God J when he says I pleaded three times this was three significant seasons of intentional focused intercession in prayer this is what quite honestly Amy and I had done probably four or five times she has these chronic infections and they'll come up and they'll put her in bed for two days you know and they should go 60 days and won't have it and then they'll it'll flare up again and so we did see us multiple surgeries every doctor every kind of medicine every natural thing and we have we've sent it's been I guarantee you for three to six-month periods where we'll fast for 21 days we've got all of our church's prayer warriors everyone that we know interceding God begging God please take this away please heal this situation please dear God do this and this is what Paul is saying three seasons I just begged pleaded fasted sought after God please take this away some of you you may be in a season like that right now God please save my parents marriage hold it together God please God please take away this pain God please I'm willing to work I'll do anything I need a job God I need a job with benefits I'm supporting a family whatever it does in your bed and you're praying you're pleading and this is exactly what Paul is doing God please please I trust you I'm seeking you please take this away I'm only asking to do what I've seen you do for others I know you can do this God okay if I'm God I'm going oh sure no problem yeah of course you're Paul you've endured this for me in fact I'm gonna give you a 10% raise on your next paycheck I mean that's what I'm gonna do like I'm God I'm like you're you're amazing you know of course I'm gonna do this and and think about it God had already answered too many prayers to count me he yes he is used Paul into miracles through Paul again and again against of course God can do this Paul begs and what does God say 2nd Corinthians 12:9 please do this God but God said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness God please would you just do this one thing I could serve you so much more effectively if you would just do this one thing and God says no no not not not on this one my grace is going to be enough for you my grace what does that even mean okay you think about what does that mean my grace it isn't grace what brings the forgiveness of sins we're saved by grace grace forgives our sins we need to understand that grace is so much more than that it's so much more than that in fact the word that's translated as grace here is I put this in your nose is the the Greek word Carice it's used a hundred and fifty five times in the New Testament and this word it means undeserved favor it means grace but it means so much more than that in fact I did a word study on this and there was one scholar who who basically said this this is a picture of what God's course what His grace is he says grace is when God freely extends himself leaning and reaching to us because he is disposed to bless and be near us I'm gonna read this again I want you to feel and imagine this what is Grace it's when God freely extends himself leaning and reaching to us why because he is disposed to bless and be near to us it's the leaning in of God it's the I'm here for you I'm it's the the leaning and reaching in I want to reveal myself to you it's got leaning in to show us his presence here's what happens we tend to say this God this is what I need this is what I want if you'll do this then I'll have what I need this is what I need and God says no this is not what you need in this case I and what you need I am enough I am sufficient my grace in this situation is what you need it's the leaning in presence of God I could do that I've done it before I may do something similar later but in this particular case you're going to experience me in a way that you could not if I did for you what you wanted me to do it's the leaning and reaching presence of God it's something that you do it's so hard to explain you just have to experience it it's God's grace how you making through this I don't know I don't know I mean it's just like I I've got this special grace from God how in the world are you surviving what you're doing well I'm not really even sure it's just it's just I just I've got the special grace of God it's the presence of God at that moment that is enough explain it this way I tried and tried to think of a good way to bring it to how you might understand and this is not by any means a perfect example it breaks down in many points but it could give you a little bit of an idea my my fourth child I'm gonna count them up fourth of six that's how much my wife likes me anyway and I like her too so Sam was when he was he's 14 now when he was 2 years of age we were riding on a scooter together and he stepped off and snapped his femur and horrible I mean just screaming horrible I'm worst out of the year for having him on this thing just nightmare and I was carrying Sam and I remember the bone you could just hear it rattling and you know he's just he's just in more pain than you could imagine and I'm I'm like numb hurting don't even know which ways up took him to the emergency room and they said yeah we're going to operate on it tomorrow but we can't tonight and so it's just he's miserable he's crying there's nothing we can do to calm him down and we had to stay in this little honest little room there was a baby bed in the room and that was it when every time we tried to put him in the bed any kind of movement he would just scream bloody murder and so we had to just hold and completely still well you know I don't know eight nine hour and I and so I climbed into the bed Here I am you know Saul six foot hundred and eighty-five pounds of me in this bed holding him completely still talking to him the whole night long and I just remember if I moved in any any form he would scream in pain and so I'm talking our two hours into it my arms are just on fire I'm locked in holding I'm just talking job I'm here with you buddy I love you I'm singing until I can't even sing I'm I'm you know got the praying form I'm here with you I'm here with you I'm here with you and just fire in my arms like I you know I can't do this for five more minutes I did it for five more hours I'm not gonna let my everything I can about my presence is gonna try to bring comfort to him I love you I love you I love you I'm here with you I'm here with you I'm here with you I'm here with you here with you I'm here with you I'm here with you and and this is sometimes how God is I want my presence to be a blessing to you I could do this but in this particular case I want you to experience me in a way that you've never experienced me before my grace it's going to be sufficient for you I could do this no that's what's so difficult about this god I could do this but in this particular case for reasons you may never understand okay I want my grace to be enough for you we need to recognize that prayer isn't just about getting our way but sometimes it's surrendering our will to God and what we have to know is that God does not exist to serve us do you recognize this God is not here to serve us we are here to serve Him we glorify Him sometimes the Western version of Christianity kind of gets it mixed up okay if God doesn't do this for me get out out when did you become God we're here to serve Him we glorify Him prayer it reminds us that we are not in control and it keeps us close to the one who is pressing in season after season God I'm seeking you I'm seeking I'm believing I'm trusting you even if you don't do this God I continue to trust you the third thing if you're taking notes is this prayer isn't just asking but it's trusting it's not just asking but it's trusting it's not just asking for what you want but it's trusting that God knows what's best and I do want to say prayer is asking all day long if you come before me and you say I've got cancer listen to me we're gonna pray in the name of Jesus and believe that cancer goes away we believe that the name of Jesus is better than bigger than any other name we believe that God heals we believe that God provides we believe that God does miracles don't do everything for a minute Oh God your will be done no we ask we ask and we trust at the same time we ask and we trust we ask we have not because we do not ask James says so we're gonna ask and we're gonna believe for miracles and we're gonna see miracles but there are gonna be times when God says no in this case no it's not just asking it's trusting and this is what Paul ends up having to do so here he is years later and he's looking back on this form that he's most likely still has and suddenly he has a very different perspective on it he's saying that the thing that just poor mented me God actually you he used it to keep me from becoming conceited then he said this in verses 9 and 10 he said hey because of this and now my perspective has changed he said I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses why so that Christ's power may rest on me he said that's why for Christ's sake I do what everybody say this aloud Sayla he said I what he said what I delight in weaknesses because on to say I delight in insults I delight in a hardships I delight in persecutions I delight in difficulties why because when I am weak then I am strong I delight in these things that I would not ever choose because I experienced the presence and power of God in those things it's not the successes that make me closer to God it's those times when I can't do anything but depend on God that helps me to know him and into boy you see my ministry is more powerful now because God didn't do what I wanted him to do because when I was weak I experienced his power in a way that I could not otherwise I delight in insults I delight in persecutions what if he changed her perspective what if he said I hate these headaches well I delight in these headaches I delight in them because they teach me to trust in the presence of God in a way that I couldn't otherwise how do you make it through I don't know it's the grace of God I delight and my search for a job right now you're weird no what do you understand is I have learned to depend on God as my provision in a way that I could not otherwise he still continues to meet all of my needs I delight in this lonely sense that I have that's Christmas because someone I love is not here well how do you delight in that because Jesus is Emmanuel God with us and he is what I need at this moment of my life this is what I needed no no no God is what you need God is what you need Paul's perspective changed over time he's looking back this perspective change people say time heals all wounds that sounds good it's just not quite true you know people like you know thirty years later after the fact there's still ticked angry bitter right you know people like that don't point at him you know people like that okay time didn't heal all wounds time with God's presence heals wounds it's God's presence God brings healing over time you could look back and here's the deal there's some of you right now you're a place you hate it and I don't want to make light of it and I'm not gonna say I wouldn't hate it either there's some things in my life right now I do not like okay I wish God would change them and he's changed some things that he hadn't change other things but what I do believe is that years from now with the presence of God I will look back and say oh I see what you did you kept me from becoming conceited or you built an intimacy between me and you that I wouldn't had otherwise or you use that to draw me and ain't a me closer together we wouldn't been so close had this not had happened its perspective over time in fact as we move toward Christmas Eve I'll tell you Christmas Eve I think growing up my favorite night of the year there's something about the expectation of Christmas it's like as a kid all the way in adulthood it's like there's I don't have a better night but it's I've grown through the years we've had two significant blows on Christmas Eve one of them is one of my best friend's brothers died on Christmas Eve and so I preached the third or fourth message got in my car and went to their house and cried my eyes out with them the second thing is that 12 years ago this Christmas Eve Amy's brother went into the hospital on Christmas Eve and I just remember thinking oh this is horrible but more so like kind of inconvenient because what a horrible time because all of us thought well you know Christmas Day the day after whatever he'll be home and be totally fine problem was Christmas Day he wasn't better 20 60 wasn't better 20 70 wasn't better 28th he wasn't better 29th he wasn't better 30th he wasn't better 31st he wasn't better first he was bad and so we brought in all the prayer warriors man and and we still totally completely convinced he's gonna be better because peace 35 years of age he's going to be better there's no doubt we're all praying there's church full of people praying no no doubt no doubt no doubt no doubt he's gonna be better no doubt whatsoever he's coming home David is gonna go home January 16th he went home but not the earthly home so four months Amy cry yourself to sleep as you would her parents are just crazy amazing people and to watch parents grieve the loss of a child no one no one should have to go through that you know 12 years later and we're looking back on it time doesn't heal all wounds times with God's presence heals wounds and I did the funeral for David and there were so many lives impacted by this in fact I've been a pastor for 25 years this is crazy I've never seen more good come out of a death than I did out of that one person it's hard to describe wasn't famous but it was amazing was just just amazing so I asked Amy one time if you had to lose all the good but you could have your brother back would you have your brother back but without hesitation she said I'd never want to go through that again I'd never choose it again but under no circumstances what I want David back after all the good that I saw God do through it that's crazy she would not have said that the first week she wouldn't have said it the first year she probably wouldn't have said it five years into it 12 years into it but the presence and the goodness of God she would say the very worst nightmare in her life is something that she wouldn't change because she saw the way God used it so I don't know what it is right now and I don't want to I don't want to play it down at all because what you're going through might be equally or more painful than what our family endured but what I do know is no matter how bad this moment is the goodness of God is even better over time the goodness of God if God didn't do exactly what you want them to do it doesn't make God any less God okay it makes him more God and so we continue asking we're always gonna believe for miracles but not only we're going to ask but we're gonna trust because prayer isn't just getting God to do what we want the prayer is often surrendering our will to God your will be done on earth as it is in heaven here's what I want God but not my will your will be done we're gonna keep praying and anytime there's something difficult that we don't understand we're gonna remember prayer reminds us that we are not in control and it keeps us close to the one who is and so whatever that for knows because we all have a version of the thorn in our life at one point or the other my prayer is that years from now you'll look back and say wow didn't like it didn't understand it but God did use it because even when life doesn't feel good our God still is good he's always good it can't be anything but good we serve and worship a good God so father we pray right now that you would do a work and I recognize this isn't a fun message that makes us all feel good but God I pray that your word would minister deeply to hearts and people even now as we seek you at all of our churches right now I just want to ask very plainly how many of you would say there is a thorn in your life right now something really challenging but you looked up your hands in a moment of honesty yeah hands up at all of our churches father I pray right now and I know you know the details of every situation god I ask that you would do true miracles that God you'd bring healing that you bring restoration God that you bring provision God that you would do things where we'd sit back in so many stores and say that could only be God that could only be God that air-conditioner wasn't working and now it's working that could only be God Wow God thank you God every time you answer a prayer we're gonna give you glory and tell everybody it's because of your goodness we worship you O God we also recognize that you your ways are higher than our ways different than our ways and God in those times that you don't do what we know you can do and think you should do I pray that you would do it even deeper work in our lives that your grace right now would be enough I pray God for those who are hurting those who are confused those whose lives seemed to be on hold God I pray that your grace would be enough that the leaning in presence of your Holy Spirit would touch us God that we could sense that you are here you are with us and God at this moment in this season that your grace would be all that we need and God I pray that that maybe a decade later we'd look back on something that we'd never want ender again and something that we would never ever choose but we could have perspective that God you are so good you took the lowest point of my life and you actually did something eternal with it so god we asked for miracles and we trust your response believe in God you were always good as you continued praying today nobody looking around I want to talk a little bit more about grace because it was grace that changed Paul's life Paul thought he was right with God by following a bunch of rules but he didn't realize that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law Jesus was God in the flesh Jesus was without sin Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead for the forgiveness of sins Paul realized it wasn't about his performance it was about the perfect work of Jesus it was grace it was grace that changed his life for me it was grace that changed my life it was that one word I was in college reading in the book of Ephesians searching for God wondering is he real does he care can he forgive all the things I've done wrong and I read that it was by grace that you were saved it was not by works it's a gift of God it was grace it was a grace of God that brought me to Jesus there are those of you here the grace is gonna change your life you look at your life think oh I'm not good enough for God I'm not sure if God is there listen the grace of God changes your life the same great grace that saves you is the same grace that sustains you it's the same grace that strengthens you it's the grace of God it's the leaning in presence of God but all of our churches there are those of you that you right knives you're not walking with Jesus you don't know God intimately you may be in a really low place right now and you hate it you may look back and say you know what that low place is what brought me into a relationship with God I actually delight in that low place I thank you for that low place I thank you that you allowed me to go through that because you use it to bring me to know you God the grace of God will save you the grace of God will sustain you the grace of God will strengthen you and many of you are here today because you need to experience the grace of God and all of our churches those who say yes I need His grace yes I need his presence yes I recognize that I've sinned not falling short of the standard I know I cannot be good enough so today I trust in the grace of Jesus I surrender my life to him not just to get him to do what I want I surrender my will to him and say Jesus you be first you be Lord I give my life to you that's your prayer today at all of our churches you say yes Jesus I give my life to you that's your prayer and lift your hands high right now and say yes I surrender right back over here over here god bless you over here as well praise God for you back here in the back here in the middle section way back over here as well right over here in this section here praise God for all of you back over here in this section Church online you just click right below me somebody else who's leaning into it you're considering it and you want to say I would do it now Jesus I give my life completely to you that's my prayer today would you all pray aloud with those around you pray Heavenly Father forgive me of my sins I asked Jesus to save me and be the Lord of my life fill me with your spirit so I could walk with you so I could serve you so I could know you I am NOT first you are first thank you for changing my life my life is not my own today I give it to you in Jesus name I pray would your works have really really big thank God we get to be a part of amazing my chain stores by the grace of God celebrate big you

Channel: Life.Church

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Keywords: Craig, Groeschel, lifechurch

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Length: 36min 28sec (2188 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 21 2015