- Imagine that you’re a king or someone in authority and part of your responsibility is serving as judge over cases where a possible injustice has occurred…

- a person comes to you and tells you a story of two men who live in his city, one who is rich and the other poor…

- the rich man had many flocks and herds…but the poor man only had one little ewe lamb…

- and this lamb grew up with the poor man’s children…

- it would eat of his bread and drink from his cup…it would even lie in his bosom…

- it was like a daughter to him, the person says…

- and then the rich man had a visitor and as was the custom, needed a lamb to provide food for his guest…

- and instead of taking from his extensive flocks, the rich man took the poor man’s little lamb (the only one he had), and killed it and prepared it for his guest to eat…

- and this person wants to know what you, as the judge, believe ought to be done…

- and you’re outraged at such injustice…and you say that the man ought to die for his selfishness…but he will certainly have to repay the lamb he stole fourfold…”because he did this thing and had no compassion…”

- and then, in the silence just after your judgment has been pronounced and your outrage was beginning to wane…the person looks right at you and says…”thou art the man…”, in other words, I wasn’t talking about someone else, I was talking about…you.

- with that in mind, please open your Bible to 2 Samuel chapter 11…page 234 of the front section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…

- this morning, we are completing our series on Finding Hope by Growing from Your Past…

- I realize that people have been in and out all summer long--that just comes with this time of year…

- I also understand that some of what we’ve been talking about is challenging to digest the first time around…so let’s try to quickly summarize where we’ve been thus far…

- we’re trying to craft a biblical theology of the past…

in this series we are trying to construct a biblical theology of the past…drawing together all that the Word of God would say about this subject…

- one of the primary points we’ve tried to make is – your past is not one big lump…

- biblical theology allows us to sort or categorize things that truly differ…

- so we’ve posed 2 clarifying questions:

1) Was this particular event initiated by your own sin, or by the sin of a particular person/or simply the pain of living in a sin cursed world?...

-so are we talking about something from your innocent past…a time where you were sinned against, or your guilty past---a time when you sinned and that’s what initiated the event?

2) How did you respond to what occurred?

- that’s how you get from 2 to 4 buckets…

- the innocent past where you responded well

- the innocent past where you responded poorly

- the guilty past where you responded well

- the guilty past where you responded poorly

- perhaps this chart will help us organize this…

Understanding the Buckets

- the point is – unfinished business with events that fall into any of categories will make it difficult if not impossible for a person to live victoriously today…

- so it’s wise to look into each one of the buckets to determine whether there are events from the past that remain unaddressed…

- and the good news is – God’s Word has principles to help us deal with events from each bucket (if we haven’t already---this doesn’t have to be repeated over and over)…so God’s Word has given us principles to address each category---but if you don’t sort the events, you couldn’t possibly apply the right principles…

- it’s like this – let’s say you have several batteries that need to be recharged…

- you have your cell phone battery...and your car battery…and a battery from a child’s toy…and just for fun let’s throw in the battery set from your 747 airplane sitting outside in the driveway…

- and you also have your cell phone charger, and a set of jumper cables, and the little device that recharges household batteries, and then that big cart they drive around at airports for the batteries in the planes…

- so you have solutions to all four of your problems…but what’s the key now?...

- you better be sure to attach the right cables to the right device…

- if you take your cell phone charger and plug it into your airplane, it’s probably not going to do much…

- on the other hand, if your take the cables on your airplane charger and attach them to your cell phone…you might want to locate your fire extinguisher…

- you have to attach the right cables to the right device…

- think about biblical principles as being like battery chargers…and dead batteries like being events from the past that have never been handled…

- you can get it all behind you…every last bit of it…as long as you apply to right principles to the right problems…

- that’s why the last three weeks we have been reaching into the buckets…we said that, bucket #1 requires…Authentic Suffering  [click through the steps on the power-point slide]…

- 2 weeks ago we dealt with bucket #2…and we said events that fit in that category require Humble Analysis…[click through the steps on the power-point slide]…

- last week we studied bucket #3…and we said that while we don’t purposely bring things back up after we’ve confessed them to God and the appropriate people…there are times when they come up again…we drove by a particular landmark, we heard a familiar song, we saw the individual again, or maybe just someone who reminded us of them…but when that occurs, the next step should be Joyful Remembrance…celebrating a God who chooses to forgive…

- this morning we want to reach into the final bucket…those times in the past where you blew it…and you responded with additional sin…striking out twice…or more than twice…

- there’s no question about the fact that if there are unaddressed issue in that in-box, your past will be your enemy until you deal with it head on…and the longer you wait, the worse things are going to become…be sure your sin will find you out…

- We’re talking this morning about Honest Self-Confrontation – Reaching into Bucket #4…with the time we have remaining, let’s study one of the saddest points in King David’s life, and find 4 principles to help us deal with sin quickly and completely.

 - let’s start in 2 Samuel 11:1…[read 11:1-5]…

- for our purposes this morning, let’s summarize this with…

I. Everyone Has Sin in Their Past

- that’s not to suggest that everyone has sinned as wickedly as david did…but if the man whose life is summarized in the NT as a “man after God’s own heart” would have this in his past…no one could take the position that they have reached sinless perfection.

- what observations can we make from what we’ve just read, not to be critical of David, but to learn all the lessons we can to not follow in his steps…

- that’s part of the beauty of the Bible….Paul explained that when speaking of the sins of the children of Israel in the wilderness, 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11-12 - Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved….Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

- one observation we can make is…

A. Sometimes “down time” is dangerous.

- Scripture tells us that this was the spring of the year, when kings normally went to war…and that had certainly been true of David in the past…

- but for some reason that is not explained in this text, this year David stays home…

- now, is that automatically wrong?...no, but had David been in the thick of the battle, where he believed God wanted his troops to be, this temptation would have never occurred…

- you may remember the parable Jesus told about the rich fool…he became so wealthy that he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones and then what?... Luke 12:19 - And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”

- and that doesn’t mean that retirement is wrong…or vacation, or taking a break…that’s not the point…

- but sometimes people dream about how wonderful it will be when you don’t have to work, or you don’t have as many family responsibilities, or when you can hand off some serving opportunity at church to someone else…

- and it’s at that very time that the enemy attacks…

- and the upshot of that isn’t – let’s practice sanctification by busyness…but it is – let’s not confuse a life with fewer responsibilities with a life with fewer temptations…

- now the text goes on to say that one night David arose from his bed – that’s another benefit of being busy for God – you generally sleep pretty well…Ecclesiastes 5:12 - The sleep of the working man is sweet…

- so David wakes up and looks down on the rooftops of the other houses and sees a woman bathing…

- now if you’ve been to third world countries where homes are arranged in this way, you can see how this could have easily occurred…the palace probably would have been higher on the hill, and from that vantage you can see the rooftops of people below…

- we don’t know exactly what the circumstances were in which Bathsheba was bathing, but the text does not give any indication that what she was doing was wrong or immodest…we can’t judge all of that by the conveniences and the privacy we enjoy today…

- so it very well may have started with an innocent look at something that was accidental in nature…we just don’t know…but if that’s what it was, David should have taken the advice of Psalm 119:37 - Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways.

- or he should have make the same agreement as Job -- Job 31:1 - I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a maid?

- but David didn’t do that…and we can say with confidence [because we have the details in Scripture] that David’s subsequent steps were wicked and vile…and the lesson is…

B. Sin begins by not controlling your desires.

- James 1:14-15 - But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

- part of the horror of all of this was that Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, was one of David’s mighty men…one of his faithful warriors, one of his close friends…

- the desire David should have chosen at that moment [and keep in mind – desires are a choice of your will]…what David should have chosen at that moment would have been “wanting to be faithful to his friend”…wanting to value the sacredness of their marriage vow and do everything in his power to strengthen and perpetuate their relationship…

- see, sometimes we believe that sin only begins with the actual act…and with certain temptations…letting your mind run wild and then trying to control yourself at the point of behavioral temptation is practically impossible…that’s the point of James 1:14-15, understand where sin starts and then stop it right there…in your mind/heart, before it can go any further…

- that’s why it’s so important to “order your private world”…to discipline your mind…to 2 Corinthians 10:5 - We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

- this entire story could have been over at the end of verse 2…I just saw something I shouldn’t have seen…and I sensed a desire in my heart that did not honor God…and I’m going to crucify it right now before this goes any further…

- in theology, there’s been a long-running debate about where sin actually begins…

- if a wrong thought pops into your head, are you even responsible for that…

- and no one can answer that question with exact precision, but Martin Luther liked to say it this way – you can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop him from making a nest in your hair…

C. Don’t complicate matters by acting on wrong thoughts and desires in your heart.

- 2 Samuel 11:3 - So David sent and inquired about the woman…

- 2 Samuel 11:4 - David sent messengers and took her…

- you can think about your mind/heart as a buffer between you and the people around you…it’s the final battle zone before the sin in your heart gives birth to sin with your hands or with your body…

- it-s a buffer – and a great blessing – if you do battle with it there, no one has to see all the ugliness you may have wrestled with…

- that’s why I believe it is unwise for people to automatically tell their spouses or other people everything that they’ve ever thought, or for others to demand that people tell them everything they thought that day…

- respect the value and blessing of the buffer…and , be committed to do battle in your heart and mind before this thought or desire takes on a life of its own…

- Proverbs 4:23 - Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

- the fourth observation we can make about these early verses is…

D. The pleasure is sin is brief compared to its effects.

- 2 Samuel 11:5 - The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “I am pregnant.”

- whatever pleasure or gratification David felt from his actions was miniscule compared to the effects…this verse from the book of Hebrews explains that Moses understood this principle…which is why he…

- Hebrews 11:25 - choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

- making a deal with the devil is like taking your retirement fund to Las Vegas…the deck will always be stacked against you and what you eventually pay will always be greater than the benefits you received…

- now you might say – this is terrible…we haven’t gotten to terrible yet…

II. The Key Question is – How Did You Respond After You Sinned?

- we have to summarize these next verses for sake of time…

- of course we should have read that David woke up from this spiritual funk he was in and asked Bathsheba’s forgiveness, and then sent to the front lines for her husband so he could ask his forgiveness…

- but David goes into full blown “cover yourself mode”…

- that’s what differentiates bucket #3 from bucket #4…it’s how you respond after you sin…

- if you’re not familiar with the story, here’s what happens…

- David sends to the front lines all right, and has Uriah sent home…with the hope that Uriah will have physical relations with his wife so he’ll think the baby was his not the kings…

- but Uriah was such an honorable man, he sleeps on his porch, and when David asks him about it, he says…2 Samuel 11:11 - Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.”

- in other words, he didn’t think this was the time for the satisfaction of even his legitimate desires…what a model of faithfulness to God and loyalty to his friends…

- then in verse 13, David calls him back the next day and tries to get him drunk and then send him home…

- and you have to wonder what’s going on in David’s head…take another drink, and another drink….here, fill his cup again…the duplicity is sickening..and verse 13 summarizes that charade with…

- 2 Samuel 11:13 - …in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.

- that already gives us some questions to ask about any event that might still be in bucket #4…

A. Did you try to cover it up?

- see, the only reason that sin in your past ended up in bucket #4 is because you did not turn it around quickly…you didn’t confess it to God and the appropriate people…well, what did you do?...

- were you like David?...did you go into the “cover yourself mode”

- and what’s especially sad is, David had been blessed by God with tremendous creativity…that was a gift from God to him – we see that characteristic all over the Psalms…but how’s he using that creativity right now?...to do everything he can to solve this problem on his own…

B. Did you ignore what God was doing to get your attention?

- do you see God at work in all of this?...

- He allows Bathsheba to become pregnant…that certainly should have gotten the kings attention…now there’s another life involved in all of this…

- and then the example of Uriah…someone who is the polar opposite of david at this point in terms of loyalty and faithfulness and ordering his desires in a way that honors God…even the most callous and cold hearted person spiritually should have seen the markers back to repentance and renewal…but it’s hard to see God’s hand when you’re busy covering your tracks…

- now David shows the lengths he’s willing to go to in order to handle this situation his way…

- 2 Samuel 11:14-15 - Now in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.He had written in the letter, saying, “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”

- and that’s exactly what happens…and when news is brought to the king, he sends another message back…

- 2 Samuel 11:25 - Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; make your battle against the city stronger and overthrow it’; and so encourage him.”

- that’s what happens when you leave an event in bucket #4…and the question is…

C. Did you plan steps you would have never considered before?

- David tried to cover his sin of adultery by committing the sin of murder…

- [as an aside, do you realize that people in our culture do that all the time?...and it doesn’t matter what the social engineers say, abortion takes an innocent life, and there is no way around that fact]…

- and what was especially bad at this point with David, he didn’t even care…he had one of his mighty men killed, and the most grief he can conjure up is….”the sword devours one as well as the other…”

D. Did you let your sin make you callous to its effects on others?

- the chapter ends with these words…2 Samuel 11:26-Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

- it’s interesting that the text says nothing about David mourning…or caring how all of this impacted Bathsheba…then we read…

- 2 Samuel 11:27a - When the time of mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son.

- and you read that and think, he’s going to get away with this…maybe I should just leave my sin in bucket number 4---why deal with it quickly?....here’s why…

- 2 Samuel 11:27b - But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.

 - so now we see what David should have known all along…God is omnipresent…

- he wrote it – Psalm 139:1-3 - O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

- what’s the downside of leaving an event in bucket #4?...

III. There are Significant Consequences for Not Dealing with Sin Quickly.

Proverbs 13:15 - Good understanding gives favor: but the way of transgressorsis hard.

Proverbs 28:13 - He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

Galatians 6:7 - Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

Numbers 32:23 - …be sure your sin will find you out.

- the next chapter tells us that God sent one of his prophets, a man named Nathan, to tell the king about a rich man with many lambs who took a poor man’s only lamb by force…

- and David was outraged, and declared that this rich man deserved to be put to death, but that he would at least have to restore the lamb fourfold…

- and Nathan looked right in David’s eyes and said…

- 2 Samuel 12:7-9 - Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.‘I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!‘Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

- it’s time to take out the scales…and carefully weigh whatever joy and fulfillment David received from his sin…and compare it to the consequences on himself and others…

A. Unaddressed guilt.

- it’s likely that months transpired between when David learned that Bathsheba was pregnant and God sent Nathan to confront him about his sin…

- many students of Scripture believe that Psalm 38 and Psalm 51 were written during this time…

- I would encourage you to carefully read those Psalms sometime this week…

- here’s just a flavor…Psalm 38:2-8 - For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, and Your hand has pressed down on me.There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.For my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.My wounds grow foul and fester because of my folly.I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long.For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.

- that’s the price of sin in the past that’s never been confessed…

- Psalm 51:3-4 - For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

- what happened to David doesn’t always to everyone, but this principle is often the case…

B. Implications to your family.

- 2 Samuel 12:10 - Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

- the Bible goes on to detail the deaths of four of David’s sons, three of whom are killed in battle, just like Uriah…

- the text goes on to say…2 Samuel 12:11-12 - “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.‘Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’

- and while time doesn’t allow us to see how this prophecy was fulfilled, please jot down 2 Samuel 16:1-2, where David’s rebellious son Absalom tries to steal the kingdom from his father, and on the very rooftop where all of this started, erected a tent in plain sight of all the people and had physical relations with his father’s concubines…

- and I realize this is tender ground for many in our church family…but there was one more consequence…their baby died…

- and I realize you might say – but I don’t like a God who judges people who won’t deal with their sin quickly…please listen carefully next Sunday as Pastor Aucoin unpacks Isaiah chapter 6 – God’s central attribute is His holiness…

- and God had blessed David abundantly…and david in return despised God, and despised God’s Word…

- the price of leaving events like that in the bucket for very long are severe…

- the wheel of God’s justice moves slowly, but it grinds oh so fine…

 - thankfully, that’s not the end of the story…

IV. There is Hope for Getting Out of Bucket Number Four.

- 2 Samuel 12:13-15 - Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.“However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”So Nathan went to his house.

- after David finally repented, his relationship with God began to be restored…

- even though his baby died, he was able to utter words that have been a tremendous source of encouragement to bereaved parents for centuries… 2 Samuel 12:23 - …Iwill go to him, but he will not return to me.

- that also set him on a path of renewal…climbing out of bucket #4 is a marvelous thing…

- Psalm 32:1-7 - How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

 - what we’re talking about this morning is one of the biggest reasons men and women are stuck in their past…where they’ve sinned in some way, and then responded by sinning some more…

- first let me speak to those who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ…

- the first step out of bucket #4 is letting someone else pay for your sin, and give you His righteousness…you have to have that kind of relationship and that kind of power to handle sin in the past well…

- 2 Cor 5:21 – God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us…

 - Christian friend, the steps for you are clear if there is something left in bucket number four…

- confess your sin right away

- make restitution if necessary

- bask in the joy of God’s forgiveness

- at our church, we believe the Scripture teaches us to practice “2 ordinances” as a church family…

- ordinance – “an outward practice commanded by Christ and perpetuated by the church as a visible symbol of a spiritual reality.”

- now, each piece of that definition is important…

- we are very interested in learning as individuals and as a church what Jesus commanded us to do – He’s the Lord of the church, He purchased us with His own blood, and the Christian life is all about knowing Him, and loving Him, and serving Him, and glorifying Him, and joyfully participating in the accomplishment of His mission…

- two of the most powerful words in the Scripture are the words “in Christ…”, or “in Him…”

- we also want to study what the Scripture tells us about the way the early church functioned…

- in many ways, they are our blueprint…our model or our standard…

- now we have to be careful about that because the book of Acts is clearly a book of transition as the New Testament Scriptures are being completed…

- but the issue of – was that outward practice also perpetuated by the early church

- the last issue is equally important…is it a visible symbol of an outward reality?...

- in other words, is there a particular truth pictured by that outward practice?...

- of course in Bible times that was especially important because such a large percentage of the culture was illiterate…

- so communicating by stories or pictures was especially important for the retention of core ideas of the Christian faith…

- of course in our day and time…symbols or pictures are important because there’s such a lack of emphasis on reading…we are a visually oriented culture if there ever was one…

- so an ordinance is an outward practice commanded by Christ and perpetuated by the church as a visible symbol of a spiritual reality.

- now, our understanding of Scripture is that there are two ordinances outlined in God’s Word…believer’s baptism by immersion, and communion, or the Lord’s supper…

- please think with me about that second one for a moment…the Lord’s table…

- was that commanded by Christ?...

- sure, recorded in places like… Matthew 26:26-29 - While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

- Luke 22:19-20 - And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood…”

- the disciples took that to mean that they were to continue this practice in the early church…which is why we would read a passage like 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

- so clearly it was commanded by Christ and it was also perpetuated by the early church…what about the issue of it being a visible symbol of a spiritual reality?

- no doubt about that – but here’s the key question… what does the ordinance symbolize?...what are we supposed to remember?...

- is the answer – our great value?...would you agree with these authors, during the height of the self-love, self-image, self-esteem craze?...

-“The fact that God gave His Son to die for you proves how eternally valuable you are” (J.W. Jepson – Don’t Blame It All On Adam, p. 85)

- “Of course, the greatest demonstration of a person’s worth to God was shown in giving us His Son.” (Donna Foster, Building a Child’s Self-Esteem, p. 6)

- “It is as if Christ had said, ‘You are of such great worth to me that I am going to die; even experience hell so that you might be adopted as my brothers and sisters.” (William Kirwin, Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling)

- you see the commonality…the death of Christ proves our value?...

- is that what the Lord’s Table is supposed to symbolize?...is that what those elements point to?...is that what we’re supposed to think of/to remember?...is that our definition of grace—God was obligated to act in a certain way toward us because of our inherent value?...

- no, just the opposite…The Lord’s table points to:

1. The enormity of our Sin -- Matthew 26:27-28 - Drink from it, all of you;for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

- the fact that someone had to die in our place because of the enormity of our sin is not a compliment…it says nothing positive about our worth [in fact the Scripture speaks about is in our unregenerate state as enemies of God, separated from in because of our sin, rebels, aliens, people who are dead in trespasses and sins]…the cross says nothing positive about our inherent worth, but instead speaks volumes the worthiness of our Savior…otherwise His grace would not be particularly amazing…

2. The perfection of our Savior’s body -- Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

3. The power of our Redeemer’s blood-- 1 Peter 1:18-19 - knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

- that is why the words engraved on the front of our communion table are similar to churches around the world…do this in remembrance of me…not our inherent value, but His…

- The Lord said it this way to the children of Israel…

- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 - The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

- “God…has chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature as conditions or causes moving Him thereunto: and all to the praise of His glorious grace.” (Westminister Confession of Faith – 3:5)

- here’s the point, at the Lord’s table, the symbol of the body and blood of Christ would be meaningless apart from also remembering the reason his body and blood were necessary…that means that an important aspect of living for Christ and growing in Him is Joyful Remembrance…

- with that in mind, let me invite you to open your Bible to I John chapter 1…[page 185 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…]

- we’re coming down to the end of our study on Growing from Your Past…we hope to land this plane next Sunday…

- here’s a quick overview of where we are…- in this series we are trying to construct a biblical theology of the past…drawing together all that the Word of God would say about this subject…

- one of the primary points we’ve tried to make is – your past is not one big lump…

- biblical theology allows us to sort or categorize things that truly differ…

- so we’ve posed 2 clarifying questions:

1) Was this particular event initiated by your own sin, or by the sin of a particular person/or simply the pain of living in a sin cursed world?...

-so are we talking about something from your innocent past…a time where you were sinned against, or your guilty past---a time when you sinned and that’s what initiated the event?

2) How did you respond to what occurred?

- that’s how you get from 2 to 4 buckets…

- the innocent past where you responded well

- the innocent past where you responded poorly

- the guilty past where you responded well

- the guilty past where you responded poorly

- perhaps this chart will help us organize this…

Understanding the Buckets

- the last couple of weeks we’ve been reaching into the buckets…we said that, bucket #1 requires…Authentic Suffering  [click through the steps on the power-point slide]…

- last week we dealt with bucket #2…and we said events that fit in that category require Humble Analysis…[click through the steps on the power-point slide]…

- this morning we want to study how to handle bucket #3 – those times in the past where you blew it…but you turned it around…you didn’t compound the problem by responding sinfully…

- now you might say – well, then, why would this bucket even exist?...why is it necessary?...

- some people struggle with this – but I don’t really feel forgiven…

- I did something wrong, I asked God’s forgiveness, but I’m not sure He forgave me…we need to talk about that…

- others think – I don’t need to ask forgiveness for the ways I sinned each day, my sin was completely covered by the blood of Christ when I became a Christian and whatever I did wrong after that does not have to be acknowledged or dealt with in any way – that’s a different issue – but that one has to be addressed as well..

- then there’s the person who sinned, and asked forgiveness, but then who keeps wallowing around afterward…bringing their failures up repeatedly and then beating themselves over the head with it…

- last there’s the question of how our union with Christ should impact the way we relate to events in this bucket…so this morning we’re working on Joyful Remembrance – Reaching into Bucket #3

- so with the time we have left, let’s think about 3 steps that need to be taken after you have confessed a particular sin in the past.

- for the first one, let’s review this great passage in 1 John chapter 1…

I. Choose to Believe God’s Promise to Forgive.

- this is yet another one of the primary reasons some people are stuck in the past…

- I did something wrong – I asked forgiveness, but I don’t feel forgiven…

- this text would help us see that the issue isn’t how we might feel at a given time, but rather whether we believe God is capable of keeping His promises to us…

- every second we spend doubting His willingness or ability to do so is a second that could have been focused on rejoicing in the great forgiveness we have in Christ…

- now, let’s back up for a moment and think about…

A. God’s desire to forgive.

- you may know that Jesus made several statements while He was dying on the cross..

- Luke 23:34 - But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

- isn’t it amazing that even while He was dying for our sins, His focus was still on forgiveness and redemption…

- now, does that mean that every person within the sound of His voice was automatically forgiven and would be on his/her way to heaven?...

- no, this passage is sometimes misused in ways that can be very detrimental to how a person handles their past…

- but the point here is, even on the cross Jesus’ focus was on revealing His Father’s forgiving character…

- Matthew 23:37 - Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

- 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

- after you’ve asked forgiveness for a particular sin, let the party begin…rejoice that God is a God of grace, mercy, patience…because He loves to forgive those who come to Him in repentance and faith…

- now, some people say---but I believe God forgave me completely the moment I was saved of all sins past, present, and future…so I don’t have to ask God’s forgiveness on a regular, ongoing basis…

- any person who has that view will also be stuck in the past…

- and here’s the crux of the issue…if you know Christ as savior and Lord…you have both a judicial and parental relationship with Him…in other words, you have a relationship with Him as both your judge and your heavenly Father…

B. God’s willingness to forgive judicially.

- on the day the church was born, the Day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2…Peter gave a great sermon about the reality of the resurrection and when he was finished, the people were “pierced to the heart” and they said, what shall we do?...

- Acts 2:38 - Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

- that verse trips some people up because they think, do you have to be baptized to be saved, or be baptized to have your sin forgiven…

- no, the little word “for” can also be translated “in demonstration of”…that would certainly be consistent with everything else Scripture says about salvation and baptism…

- in other words, when you repent and place your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as your only hope of heaven…your sins are forgiven judicially…you trusted Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…

- Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

- well, then why would you ever have to ask forgiveness of any subsequent sin you committed as a Christian…why can’t you let them pile up in your “Christian past”?

- for one thing, we’re clearly commanded to…the Lord’s prayer was given to believers…people who had been judicially forgiven…but who were still commanded to pray…

- Matthew 6:12 - ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

C. God’s willing to forgive parentally.

- “God doth continue to forgive the sins of those who are justified…because they fall under His fatherly displeasure.” (Westminister Confession of Faith)

- so let’s bring that back around to the main point…what do we do with these events from bucket #3?...

- you sinned, but you confessed it to God and asked His forgiveness…but for whatever reason, you just remembered that event again…what should you do next?...the answer is to practice joyful remembrance…just like we do at the Lord’s table…the focus isn’t on us…it’s on Him and His precious and amazing grace…

- it’s like God said of his relationship to the captives in Babylon…

- Jeremiah 33:8-11 - I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place…the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting”; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

- now that leads us to a question, doesn’t it?...how frequently do you practice joyful remembrance?...how amazed are you, and how thankful are you…for both the judicial and the parental forgiveness that is available to you in Christ?...

- now, here’s the second step that needs to be taken after you’ve confessed a particular sin…

II. Avoid the Tendency to “Wallow” in Past Sins.

- we’re familiar with that term here in the heartland, aren’t we…just like a pig wallows around in the mud…you can wallow around in your past sins in the sense that you bring them up repeatedly and beat yourself over the head for your failures, even after you sought forgiveness…

- now, why might a person do that?...

A. A lack of genuine repentance.

- Paul explained that to the believers at Corinth…

- 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 - I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

- the word repent means “turn around”, go the other way in your mind, in your heart, in your thinking, in your words, in your actions…

- it’s a completely different orientation to that particular sin that you once committed…

- the opposite of that is what Paul describes here as “worldly sorrow”…an shallow substitute…

- that’s like the person who’s sorry because he got caught, not sorry because he offended God…

- he’s sorry he’s not going to be able to get away with it anymore…

- or sorry he’s not going to be able to enjoy the pleasure of that sin any longer..

- people like that wallow in their sin in the sense that they replay the event over and over and wish they could find a way to do it again…

- in fact, that’s the crux of the issue…if you had the opportunity to sin in that way again, would you?...

- and if the answer is “yes”, then true repentance has not yet occurred…

- and that was one of the problems with the Corinthian church, they had a lot of teaching and a lot of showy gifts…but there was a shallowness to their faith that resulted in carnal living and broken relationships and powerless ministry…

- and thankfully now, after a series of letters Paul has written to them, in some cases very direct and even stern…a change is beginning to take place…

- there is sorrow to the point of repentance…

- if you don’t get to that place…you can’t get out of bucket #3…

- now here’s an entirely different reason people wallow…

B. Pride

- Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.

- here’s how pride fits into this discussion…please tell me if this sounds familiar…

- responding to a sin in the past with the words…I can’t believe I did that…do you ever use that one?...

- do you realize it’s just a short hop from that to…I can’t believe a wonderful person like me did that…

- the truth of the matter is, the more we understand the depth of sin that resident in the human heart, what ought to be more amazing to us isn’t that we occasionally sin, but that we occasionally get it right…

- there is no value in going over and over and over that event once you’ve handled things with God and man…

- morbid introspection and perfectionism are two very quick ways to mire you in the past…

C. Fear of man.

- Proverbs 29:25 - The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.

- some people who have sinned, even after they’ve asked forgiveness, are looking all around wondering who might know about what they did…

- who’s saying what?…who knows what?…etc.

- all of that is a focus of self…that hinders you from rejoicing in the forgiveness of Christ…

- and I realize that you might say – well, but what if other people know…assuming they are individuals you did not directly sin against and therefore you don’t need to ask their forgiveness…then don’t worry about what other people think of you…or are saying about you…

- there’s all kinds of people in this world who love to get their noses in everybody’s else’s business…[inquiring minds like to know]…and a few of those kind of people occasionally fall into the doors of the church-house…they’re busybodies and gossips…

- that’s why we have these big light poles around here, so we can hang people like that up by their thumbs…[not exactly]…

- and you may be here today and perhaps you come to church, and are marginally involved…but you aren’t going to take that any further because you’re afraid that if you get close to people, or let others get to know you…they might find out something out your past…

- friend, that is a terrible way to live…and we are trying to do everything we can to be a forgiving community… Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

- and I realize we don’t do that perfectly…but the level of community outreach we’re involved in ought to communicate some kind of a message…anybody is welcome here, regardless of their past, as long as they want to learn how to know Christ and grow in Him today….

D. Unwillingness to forsake.

- Proverbs 28:13 - He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

- it’s not just a matter of confessing what you did that was wrong…it’s also a matter of taking concrete steps to distance yourself from that sin in the future…

- for example, if you say – you know, I’ve had a critical tongue and I have destroyed a lot of relationships over the years because of that---but now I’ve asked God’s forgiveness and forgiveness from the appropriate people…great, but have you taken steps to forsake that habit?...

1. Maybe for you that means receiving some counseling to think through the issues of the heart that led to that kind of use of the tongue…

2. Maybe it means jumping in a men’s or ladies small group Bible study to get some accountability going…

- so you have some people regularly asking you about it…

- not to rub your nose in it forever, but just to be sure you’re putting distance between you and the sin…

- the overall point here is – the reason some people are stuck in their past even after they confessed a particular sin is that they are still wallowing around…for any number of reasons…

- the point is – after you’ve sinned and asked forgiveness from God and the appropriate people, it’s not time to look back to see who might know…or to look around to see who might be talking…or to look in and practice some sort of morbid introspection…

- no – now it’s time to look up…and be amazed at a God who forgives…

III. Rejoice in Your Union with Christ’s Resurrection.

- we said earlier that two of the most powerful words in the Bible are the words “in Christ” or “in Him”…

- and the beauty of this is that if you have come to Christ in repentance and faith…you have been united with Him…in his death, burial, and resurrection…

- two phrases that are connected to that are the phrases “gospel indicatives” and “the sustaining gospel.”

- here’s what that means…gospel indicatives are what the Bible says about who you are in Christ…what happened to you and in you the moment you believed…

- then there’s gospel imperatives…what you are supposed to do because of who you are in Christ…those are the commands we’re to follow…

- if you think about a book like the book of Ephesians, it’s neatly divided up where the first three chapters speak about gospel _________ [indicatives—who you are in Christ], while chapters 4-6 speak about gospel ________ [imperatives—what you are to do because of who you are in Christ]…

- the problem with some of us is, we try to keep the imperatives without understanding, focusing on, or benefitting from the indicatives…

- we try to obey Ephesians 4-6 without understanding Ephesians 1-3…

- that’s where the phrase “sustaining gospel” comes in…

- the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ isn’t simply something we believed in the past, or we hope to get us to heaven in the future…it’s something we live every day…

- and bucket #3 is a great place to grow in our understanding of what that means…

- because after you’ve sinned and handled it properly…you can take great hope because you’ve been united with Christ’s resurrection – therefore you don’t have to keep sinning in that way over and over…

- consider these verses…

- Romans 6:4-5 - Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

- Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
 

Introduction – Doing hard things.

- how frequently do you look at a task or responsibility that lies before you and think, “that’s going to be hard”?...

- does that happen on a fairly regular basis for you, or is your life filled with different variations of the “easy button”…

- no, we’re all called upon to do things that are hard, all the time…probably daily…

- now let me ask you this – what happens next?...”that’s going to be hard”…then what?...

- therefore I’m not going to do it?…how long would you get away with that approach to life?...

- your boss asks you about the status of a work assignment…you e-mail back – “I’m sorry, I just decided it was too hard”…would he/she e-mail you back – “my mistake, here’s an assignment that’s easier…please enjoy your day…”?

- how about, “that’s going to be hard, so I’ll do it…later”…

- ­ Anyone here like that?...

- and there again, does that approach serve you for long?...

- no, just because something’s hard does not mean that we shouldn’t do it…or can’t do it, or won’t do it…

- in fact, from the perspective of Christian theology, we would even say that…

1. Attempting to do hard things for God is often especially good for us…why?...several reasons…

a. Because it puts the sufficiency of our own resources in their proper place.

Psalm 20:7 - Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

Psalm 33:17 - A horse is a false hope for victory; nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

- some of us can get a bit big for our britches, especially if things are moving along fairly well…

- and some of God’s people would even prefer to not do hard things because they fear what the end of their own resources looks like…they cannot see beyond that…in essence, they are trusting in their own horses and chariots as if that’s all that’s involved in the battle.

b. Because it puts us in a position where we have to rely on His strength and wisdom, not our own.

- Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

- Jeremiah 9:23-24 - Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

c. Because it gives us a marvelous opportunity to learn His Word.

- Psalm 119:71 - It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.

- affliction often brings us to the end of our knowledge base, and that is what frequently motivates to turn to the Scripture…the point is – just because something’s hard, that doesn’t mean it’s bad…

d. Because we can demonstrate our trust for God as we follow Him through uncharted waters.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

- so you would agree with me this morning that doing hard things is often very good for a follower of Christ?...

- great…then I’d say it’s time to reach into bucket #1, wouldn’t you?  (of course you would)

- with that in mind, please open your Bible to II Corinthians chapter 1…page 140 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…

- we’re doing a study this summer entitled -- Finding Hope in Growing from Your Past

- to understand what I just said about “bucket #1”, let’s quickly review the:

2. Five main emphases thus far in this series:

a. People tend to fall into one of two extremes when thinking about/discussing this topic:

• The past is everything…
•  The past is nothing…

 - we’ve tried to point out that both extremes are inconsistent with Scripture…

- “the past is everything crowd”, who tend to only talk about this topic in the negative, need to see that…

b. Your past can be one of your best friends…we studied several significant ways that’s true…you would not be better off without your past.

- but on the other hand, “the past is nothing folks” need to learn that…

c. Your past can be one of your worst enemies.

- if you have unfinished business with people or events in days gone by…that can really trip you up as you try to navigate life’s challenges today…

- now, one of the questions that has been posed to me is – but aren’t Christians supposed to be focused on today, and on the future, not on the past?...

- only if we’ve handled the past properly…

- for example, do you remember when Zaccheus became a follower of Christ?...he said to Jesus…

- Luke 19:8 - …Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.

- and apparently Jesus was very pleased with his answer, because how did He respond in the next verse?...

- Luke 19:9-10 - And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

- not that Zaccheus was saved by making restitution to the people he had robbed in the past, but because that was evidence that he had truly come to Christ…he had some business in the past that had to be addressed – that’s what restitution is…

- try writing on your electric bill the next time you get it – “I’m sorry but I’m a Christian and I don’t live in the past, I used that electricity last month and I’m just focusing on what’s happening today”…and won’t the future be grand – not for you, unless you like the thought of starting a jail ministry from the inside…

- and by the way – the fact that someone would ask me a question like that is extremely helpful…I have a group of people who are reading rough drafts of the chapters of a book I’m responsible to write on this subject, and their questions and their challenges are proving to be invaluable to this process…

- I’ve also been asked, didn’t Paul say that he forgot the things which were behind him?...

- Philippians 3:13-14 - Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

- that’s an important verse, but it has little to do with the series we’re doing this summer, and here’s why…the context of those verses is Paul’s pedigree, or his reasons for boasting in himself…his heritage, his training…a whole list of resume items in his past in which he might be tempted to boast or place his confidence in…

- and he says in this great chapter – I don’t want to be found in my own righteousness…the good things from my past…I want to be found in Him (in Christ)…and so in order to get there, I forget what lies behind and press on to greater growth in Christlikeness…

- so it is a very important concept, especially for those of us who lean toward self-righteousness…but it certainly does not cancel out the important of dealing with unfinished business in the past…

- in fact, the book of Philippians itself is an attempt to do just that…

- one of the reasons the book was written was because the member of their church, and also one of their leaders, a man named Epaphroditus who had delivered their love gift to Paul while he was in prison, became ill and had to return to Philippi…

- some Bible teachers believe that some people in the church were saying that Epaphroditus was a quitter because he didn’t stay and minister to Paul on their behalf…

- and this book addresses that problem and gets it solved before it becomes a harmful part of their past…he explains that this man almost died trying to care for me…and now Paul says that he should be received back into the congregation joyfully and that they should hold men like that in high honor…

- he’s not going to let the possibility of gossip or unsolved problems undermine the effectiveness of this great church…

- now we’ve also tried to show how biblical theology (considering all God’s Word says on a particular subject) allows us to organize or sort the past …

d. Your past can be divided into four categories.

- and the way you get there mathematically is by posing two questions…

1) Was this particular event initiated by your own sin, or by the sin of someone else (or simply the pain of living in a sin cursed world)?...

- so are we talking about something from your innocent past…a time where you were sinned against, or your guilty past---a time when you sinned and that’s what initiated the event?

2) How did you respond to what occurred?

- that’s how you get from 2 to 4 buckets…

- the innocent past where you responded well [David and Shimei]

- the innocent past where you responded poorly [David and his wife Michal]

- the guilty past where you responded well [David and Saul’s robe in the cave]

- the guilty past where you responded poorly [David and Bathsheba]…

- then last Sunday we studied Psalm 73 along with a book entitled When Bad Things Happen to Good People, and we learned that…

e. In order to handle suffering well, you must have the right view of God and His Word.

- that brings us around to doing things that are hard…from II Corinthians 1 and related passages, we want to see…

- 3 challenging steps that must be taken to handle events in the innocent past when you, as far as you know, responded well….read II Corinthians 1:1-11…

- Today we’re talking aboutAuthentic Suffering – Reaching into Bucket #1.

- the reason that some persons have trouble moving forward in their Christian life is because they were hurt, disappointed, abused or mistreated in some way and chose not to address such matters biblically…

- and as a result, they’re bitter…they’re numb…they’re disconnected from God and other people…or there’s a seething anger just underneath the surface…

- and I don’t say that in some Freudian sense – I’m simply saying that their approach to suffering was/is something different than the approach advocated in God’s Word…

- what can we learn from this passage and others about what a proper approach to suffering looks like?

I. Trust God Enough to Honestly Acknowledge Suffering.

A. A helpful definition.

Suffering . . . may conveniently be defined as getting what you do not want while wanting what you do not get. This definition covers all forms of loss, hurt, pain, grief, and weakness—all experiences of rejection, injustice, disappointment, discouragement, frustration, and being the butt of others’ hatred, ridicule, cruelty, callousness, anger, and ill-treatment—plus all exposure to foul, sickening, and nightmarish things that make you want to scream, run, or even die. . . . Ease is for heaven, not earth. Life on earth is fundamentally out of shape and out of order by reason of sin. . . . So strains, pains, disappointments, traumas, and frustrations of all sorts await us in the future, just as they have overtaken us already in the past (J.I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness, p. 249, 254).

- now, everyone of us has events that fits into this category from the past…

- we saw last week that one of Job’s counselors rightly pointed out that - Job 5:7 - For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.

- John 16:33 - These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.

- so the question isn’t, have you suffered, or are you suffering?...the question is, did you suffer well?...has that event been put to rest…

- now, before answering quickly, please keep in mind that…

B. Our first response is not necessarily bad, but it is certainly incomplete.

- you’ve probably heard the name Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a swiss psychiatrist who wrote the book On Death and Dying.

- based on her research, she developed a five-stage model of how men and women tend to process grief and loss and suffering…

- I’m not suggesting for a minute that we should base our approach to life on the latest research of any kind…

- however, sometimes the observations of the world can drive us to the Word of God…it fuels our theological work, some have said…

- the first stage Kubler-Ross and her team observed was denial…

- that’s the shock reaction…it can’t be happening to me, this can’t be true…a refusal to believe what is happening…

- we’ve all been there…in fact sometimes we react to bad news about someone else with the words…”you’re kidding”…which is an incredibly bad response because usually we’re talking about something that no one would think of kidding about…but we don’t want to believe what we’re hearing…

- some have suggested, simply as an observation outside of Scripture, that that might be a gift of God’s grace to give our brains a moment to catch up with what the rest of us is experiencing…

- the problem is that some people stay there…(unlike Paul in this text)…

- but we need to understand that denial changes nothing, it just prolongs the inevitable…that’s why…

C. The goal is not to avoid suffering, but to learn to suffer well.

- I came across a great quote this week that helps us put suffering in the right perspective…There is no human experience which cannot be put on the anvil of a lively relationship with God and man, and battered into a meaningful shape (Frank Lake, Clinical Theology, p. 97).

- see, if you cannot trust God enough to honestly acknowledge suffering, you will never get to the anvil…that event will never be battered into a meaningful shape…

- the apostle Paul gets that – he had no intention of living in denial…

- v. 4 – in all our affliction

- v. 5 – the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance

- v. 6 – if we are afflicted

- v. 6 – the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer

- v. 7 you are sharers of our sufferings

- v. 8 – we do not want you to be unaware brethren, of our affliction

- v. 8 – we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life

- v. 9 – we had the sentence of death within ourselves

- that is anything but denial…nor is it pasting some sort of glib smile on ones face as if everything is OK…

- and this is an important aspect of what reaching into bucket #1 looks like – when you’ve been abused, mistreated, or suffered in some way because of the sin-cursed world in which we live…acknowledging the pain and hurt of that is the kind of authenticity that characterizes the people of God…

- now, where does that lead?...is this some sort of an endless pity-party?...or some emotional crash to draw attention to self…

- for those who know Christ, it’s that very kind of authenticity that often motivates a person to do what Paul did next…

II. Love God Enough to Cry Out to Him as You Suffer.

- what Kubler-Ross observed was that the next logical step was anger…

- she said that at that stage, resentment grows, “why me”, “why my child”, “this isn’t fair”, We direct blame toward God, others, and ourselves.  We feel agitated, irritated, moody, on edge (Kellemen, God’s Healing for Life’s Losses, p. 24)

- well, is that the way it has to be for a follower of Christ?...

- no, but a loving relationship puts you in a position to cry out to God…

A. When you feel abandoned by God.

- what should you do when you feel forsaken by God Himself?...

- is it appropriate to pray to Him and tell Him that very thing?...would we have biblical warrant to do that? - Lamentations 5:20 - Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long?

- I’m rushing for sake of time, but there are all sorts of examples like that in Scripture, of godly people--not in hateful anger, but in loving authenticity—pouring out their hearts to the Lord…

- now, I can just hear someone say, but PV, I thought we weren’t supposed to live by our feelings?...

- I think we have way overplayed that card…it is true that the way we feel should not be the final arbiter in any decision we’re making…

- it’s also true that we can live by our feelings instead of living by the principles of Scripture…

- but part of being made in the image of God is possessing the capacity to feel, and to feel deeply…a new book has just been released on that topic entitled Feelings and Faith by Brian Borgman…[not sure it’s on the market yet…]

B. When you feel betrayed by others.

- Psalm 55:12-14 - For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him.But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend;We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng.

- many times what makes the suffering so painful is that it comes at the hand of someone you thought was your friend, or whom you thought loved you…

- that was certainly true of what is occurring in the Corinthian church…

- this isn’t just generalized suffering that Paul is alluding to, and everyone in the church would have known that because of their history and also what’s about to come in the rest of the letter…

- false teachers had tried to undermine Paul and his teachings and some of the people in the Corinthian church who had formerly followed Paul had now rejected him…and were joining in on the gossip…

- we ought to love God and love others enough to cry out about that…not to ignore it or try to act as if it’s not occurring…

C. When you loathe yourself and your existence.

- Job 10:1 - I loathe my own life; I will give full vent to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

- Job 17:11 - My days are past, my plans are torn apart, Even the wishes of my heart.

- you might say – why in the world would I ever want to even take such things out of this bucket?...

- please think about this – some people grew up in homes where they were fed a steady diet of “you’re stupid”, “you’re ugly”, “you’re fat”, “you’re wicked”, “you’re never going to amount to anything”, “no one’s ever going to love you”, “no one’s ever going to want you…”

- over time, will that affect the way a person thinks about him/herself?...

- and if those kinds of habitual thoughts are never acknowledged and evaluated and then brought to the throne for divine cleansing…that is unfinished business is there ever was unfinished business…

- and we’re certainly not suggesting that we replace all of that with worldly self-love which just becomes another kind of problem…I’m saying that we have to learn to think biblical about ourselves…the way God chooses to think about us and encourages us in a vast number of places in Scripture to think about ourselves…but if you aren’t willing to cry out to Him, there’s no possibility of having those wrong patterns of thinking corrected and cleansed…

- now, we probably need to insert this disclaimer…we’re talking about crying out to God…

D. Without disrespectful complaint.

- Job 2:9 - Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”

- the children of Israel often displeased God because of their complaining…

- there is a world of difference between respectfully crying out to God and disrespectfully complaining about Him…

- but what would motivate a person to love God enough to cry out to Him?...

E. Because you believe God has purpose(s) and answers for you.

- what did Paul find God to be as he processes his afflictions with honesty and authenticity?

1. Paul

- v. 3 – the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

- you cannot learn that fully apart from suffering…

- I’ve mentioned my friend Bob Kellemen a couple of times recently because he’s writing a book on suffering and he’s asked me to write the foreword, so I have an advance draft…I think this book is going to be a great help to many of us when it’s published…

- To deny or diminish suffering is to refuse arrogantly to be humbled. It is to reject dependence upon God. Moses chastises God’s people in Deuteronomy 8:1-10 for forgetting their past suffering. God wants us to make use of our suffering, to remember our suffering, to admit our need for Him in our suffering, and to rehearse our suffering…before Him.  (God’s Healing for Life’s Losses, p. 41)

- Kubler-Ross’ 3^rd and 4^th stages are bargaining (trying to make agreements with God) and then depression…what we’re seeing here is so much better than that…crying out to God is demonstrating honesty about our situation, and honesty about our own resources…that puts us in the perfect position to turn to Him…

2. Terry Waite.

- do you remember Terry Waite, the British man who was a hostage in Beirut for 1460 days…

- I have been determined in captivity, and still am determined, to convert this experience into something that will be useful and good for other people. I think that’s the way to approach suffering. It seems to me that Christianity doesn’t in any way lessen suffering. What it does is enable you to take it, to face it, to work through it and eventually convert it (Terry Waite, Taken on Trust, p. 37)

- thankfully, the crying out is not the end of the process…

III. Follow God Enough to Find Comfort in Him.

A. Much more than worldly acceptance and resignation.

- that’s Kubler-Ross’ final stage…face the loss and try to go on…

- what we find at the end of the rope of suffering is a God who chooses to comfort…

B. Definition of comfort.

Originally, comfort meant co-fortitude—being fortified by the strength of another… Comfort experiences the presence of God in the presence of suffering—a presence that empowers me to survive scars and plants the seed of hope that I will yet thrive (Kellemen, p. 53)

C. Embracing Christ’s sufferings so that we can receive Christ’s comfort.

- 2 Corinthians 1:5 - For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

- St. Augustine – God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full—there is nowhere for Him to put it.

D. Learning to not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.

- 2 Corinthians 1:9 - indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

- that’s what we mean by following Him…suffering, rightly handled, puts us in a marvelous position to do just that…

- this is not written from a Christian perspective per se, but it is a great example of what following God in the midst of intense suffering looks like…

“It never occurred to me to question God’s doings or lack of doings while I was an inmate of Auschwitz, although of course I understand others did…I was no less or no more religious because of what the Nazis did to us; and I believe my faith in God was not undermined in the least.  It never occurred to me to associate the calamity we were experiencing with God, to blame Him, or to believe in Him less or cease believing in Him at all because He didn’t come to our aid.  God doesn’t owe us that, or anything.  We owe our lives to Him.  If someone believes God is responsible for the death of six million because He didn’t somehow do something to save them, he’s got his thinking reversed.  We owe God our lives for the few or many years we live, and we have the duty to worship Him and do as He commands us.  That’s what we’re here on earth for, to be in God’s service, to do God’s bidding.”

(Brenner, The Faith and Doubt of Holocaust Survivors)

E. Rejoicing that we can share God’s comfort with fellow sufferers.

- 2 Corinthians 1:4 - who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

F. Developing endurance for today and hope for tomorrow.

- 2 Corinthians 1:10 - who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,

Apply – any unfinished business from your innocent past?

- have you suffered well?  (like the apostle Paul?)

- or is there bitterness, anger, despair?....