Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
April 20, 2003 - W0316

There are always going to be questions.  We live in a place with a lot of commotion and confusion.  But God is here to give us a hope beyond this lifetime.  If our goal is just this lifetime, weíll always be frustrated.  Yes, sometimes there will be pain and God never promised immunity from it.  However, He said if we will give Him our hearts, He would give us the edge.  He will turn what would have been something used against us and instead will turn it to be used for us.  So when times are rough in your life, donít be afraid to go to God and ask those tough questions becauseÖ

?        GOD INVITES US TO ASK. 

"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be open to youî (Matt. 7:7). 

Everyone has unanswered questions.  However, when we tolerate these questions and they come between our relationship with God, we hinder what God has for our lives.  Those questions must be answered first so we can know God's best for us.  Remember, God is not afraid of our questions.   So be persistent.  WhyÖbecause it causes a heart of inquiry to awaken even when it appears fruitless.  Sometimes we need to come to a point of desperation and humility before God and say, "God, I just really need your helpî.  Then our selfish heart transforms into a heart of faith and dependence on God.

Q1:  Have you had a situation that caused you to just humbly cry out to God for help?  How has that changed your life?

This change can be compared to a chick trying to peck its way out of its shell.  Scientists say that if you help the chick by breaking the shell and removing the chick from the struggle, you will actually destroy it.  That is because part of its design as it pecks away at its shell is to begin blood circulating throughout the body.  And this helps to strengthen the muscles within the chick. 

So like a chick breaking out of its shell, we need to allow God to help us break through our struggles. God knows our hearts and exactly what it needs to be strong. 

We often knock once and say, "God isn't thereî.  But He is.  Itís our heart thatís not there.     Yet God understands our hearts.  That is why if you simply tolerate unanswered questions and feel Heís not answering, you will have a distorted view about God.  Then it turns into a crusty doubt.  And doubt becomes your greatest enemy.  Then it starts to clog the flow of Godís life. 

Q2:  Are you persistent in asking God for answers to your tough questions?  Are you willing to hear the answer?  Why or why not? 

This is what happened with Thomas.  He doubted if God was really real.  Right after the first Easter Thomas said,  ìUnless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails . . .I will not believeí.  After eight days . . .Jesus came and stood in their midst and . . .said to Thomas, ëReach here with your finger, and see My hands . . .do not be unbelieving, but believing.í  Thomas answered and said to Him, ëMy Lord and my God!íî (John 20:25-28) 

God's goal is for us to BELIEVE!  How many people really donít understand God, but wonít check it out.  They wonít go to church, they wonít ask.  God is saying we need to awaken our heart of faith.  Seek Him and Heíll tell us.   And this change occurs when we go through tough struggles.   We need transformed hearts. This is why we can confidently assert that . . . 

?        GOD WANTS OUR HEARTS AND NOT JUST OUR MINDS.

As we seek Him, something awakens in us and that is the beginning of faith. However, God doesnít want us to just be more knowledgeable.  The Pharisees were knowledgeable, but their hearts were so far away.  God wants to change our hearts because then HE will be able to change our lives. Sometimes we want God to do something for us, but we are unwilling to do our part.  So we must remember itís a partnership and God wants our hearts. 

 ìThen you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and fine Me when you search for Me with all your heartî (Jer. 29:12-13). 

Jesus didn't come to bring another religion; He came to repair a broken relationship between God and man.  Religion is simply imposed restrictions or lifestyle behaviors on people.  It is external restrictions on what you can and cannot do.  And although we need guidelines, Jesus didnít want to bring another religion to impose external restrictions.  He came to bring an internal transformation of our hearts. 

We can see that recently in Iraq after years of a restrictive religious system.  All of a sudden when these restrictions were removed, those who were supposedly good Muslims began looting, pilfering, and destroying their own shops.  They even broke into their own museum and stole antiquities of their own history and identity. 

Some time ago I bought this big sausage for my dog.  I was going to give my dog (Lucy) a big chunk of it, but decided to take her for a walk first.  And so as we were walking down the road, me with this chain in my hand and around her neck, all of a sudden she lunges into the bushes and I'm pulling her back.   I then noticed she had gotten a hold of this dead toad.  So I removed it form her mouth and restricted her from eating it.  But her heart was still after that toad.  On our way back, she lunged toward the bushes again and grabbed that same toad and ate it.  If only she knew what I had waiting for her. 

Q3:  Do you need restrictions or can you trust yourself to walk past the desires of this world and choose Godís ways?  What are some things you can do to be sure internal transformation takes place?

A lot of times, religion is like that.  It tries to hold us from eating something we shouldnít yet we want it anyway.  So when God fills us with His best and we have a relationship with Him, we are able to walk by those things we desire and not want it.  So the appetite for the world is gone even if thereís opportunity.  And we donít need a restriction to hold us from it.  Instead we choose Godís ways because a transformation took place in our hearts.  It is not because of restrictions, but rather because God has changed us and filled us with His presence.  And thatís what Jesus came to bring  and thatís what Easter is all about. 

You say, ìOkay Wayne, if I give God my heart, will I be exempt from the suffering of the world?î  No, not really.  ìThen why is there suffering?î

 ìTherefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christís sake; for when I am weak, then I am strongî.  (2 Cor. 12:10)

God is saying that there will be times that we will feel weak and helpless.  It is then that our hearts are ready to receive what God has for us.  Often itís our own selfish ways that restrict God from changing our hearts.  Sure God can impose restrictions, but our hearts wouldnít be changed.  Weíd still want to do things that would destroy our future and legacy for our children.  So God has to bring us to a point where He can transform our hearts.  So yes there will be times of difficulty and struggle. 

BUT WHY DOES LIFE HAVE TO HURT SO MUCH?

1.  BECAUSE WE LOVE DEEPLY. 

This indicates our care for one another, our commitment, and the depth of our dreams.  Therefore, when things are botched, it should hurt. The reason life hurts so much is because we care.  And when things go wrong, it pains us.  It means that we're normal.  If it didn't hurt then there would be cause for concern.  If God's goal for us is to have a painless life, He would have exampled it.  Listen to what was said of Jesus:  ìJesus wept. So the Jews were saying,í See how He loved him.íî (John 11:35-36).  

Often we think life should be smooth, trouble free, and without pain.  Yet we love deeply. Therefore a lot of times when there is pain and suffering in, God may be revealing something that is unresolved in your life. 

One of Godís greatest gifts is pain.  Of course we may not think so. However, many times it is so that we have an opportunity to resolve something.  God is looking for a life change and not a band-aid approach for us to fix things. Thus, God gives us a lot of help -- His Spirit, His Presence and His Word. Yet, one of the problems we have is thatÖ

2.  WE OFTEN HAVE THE WRONG GOAL. 

Scientists tell us that if your basic premise from which you are working is inaccurate, then every subsequent conclusion you come to thereafter will also be inaccurate. 

For some of us, our goal is to live a painless life. And if thatís your philosophy then the very foundation of your reasoning is off.  You wonít right wrongs or resolve conflicts.  You become selfish and wonít care what happens to others because you isolate yourself from it all.  Your goal is your own comfort.  ìIf the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?î  (Ps. 11:3)

Q4:  What if any is God revealing to you today about any unresolved issues?  What do you feel Heís asking you to do?

If we believe that our goal is to live a painless life, then the enemy has set us up.  We wonít care for people.  We wonít want God to change your life because it will cause a little pain.  A lot of times we want everything of God except the experience.  However, if we are going to be a part of life, we need to be willing to experience it.  Even then, there will be suffering that we shouldnít have to go through.  So why do we suffer sometimes?  Itís becauseÖ

3.  WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF SIN. 

There are people in this world who donít have morals and donít care about others.  God says, ìYou are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse peopleî (Phil. 2:15).

God didnít promise us a painless life. If our whole hope is this world alone, weíll be frustrated.  God places people like you and me in this broken world to give people hope beyond this world.  Our own pain and suffering becomes secondary because we know that there is eternal life and a hope far beyond the grave. 

Yes, there is going to be hurting people who have no idea Jesus paid for their sins and they have been given the invitation to eternal life.  So unless you understand their pain and are willing to go through the same veil of tears, youíll never be able to show them Jesus.  So will you be willing?

God will be with you through it all.  Indeed, you will have questions, but as you ask, seek, and knock it will cause your heart to awaken.  Then faith will enter into your hearts.  Sure youíll be in a world full of sorrow, but people need to know direction.  Thatís why we are here. There are people out there who have no hope for tomorrow.  And weíll never be able to relate to that unless we experience some pain along the way.  So how do we deal with it all? 

 ìThese things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the worldî (John 16:33). 

Peace will be found in the person of Jesus Christ.  He is the reason; He is the one who gives us hope beyond the grave.  Then weíll be able to handle whatever comes our way.  When we have a cause thatís greater, these things wonít matter as much.  

Q5:  The cause of our redemption was greater to Jesus than His own suffering.  Have you ever been willing to endure pain and suffering for something?  Explain.

Pain will be secondary if itís based on a greater cause.  For example, let's say my wife Anna and I were climbing on this mountain and we get to the top and the wind comes along and blows off her hat down to the edge of a cliff.  Then she asks me to retrieve it for her.  All the way down, Iíd be grumbling because of the inconvenience not to mention the danger.  But let's say that one of our children falls and rolls next to a cliff.  I'm not going to make a fuss.  I will be scratched, will probably fall a few times, and bruise myself along the way.  Yet the risk of danger will not hold me back.   Why the difference?  Itís simply because the cause was much greater than a few bruises and bumps Iíd get along the way.  

You see when the cause is greater than your own, the question is not why is there suffering?  Rather, the question is how can we be all that God created us to be?  Thatís what Jesus did on the cross and thatís what Easter is all about.  He loved us so much that He was willing to bear the cross.  The cause of our redemption was so much greater than His suffering.  So He invites us to a relationship with Him.  There is no greater gift.  There is no greater invitation. 

Some of you might have questions you want answered, but first you have to come to Jesus.  Then He will give you peace.  And in the midst of that peace a lot of the questions will melt away because you have a much greater cause.  Secondly, your heart will awaken to faith and when He speaks to you about the things of life you will understand.  He doesnít want your intellect. He wants your heart. 

Final Q:  What most impacted you about todayís lesson and how will you apply it to your life this week?

Many thanks to our volunteer writer, Rich Wilbur - asking, seeking, and knocking!