Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
October 11, 2020 - W2041

Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants

Gifts Strangely Wrapped

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro

October 10 & 11, 2020

Aloha and Welcome, New Hope! 

Today, we will be talking about a gift that nobody wants: Pain!  We have all experienced pain in different forms, situations, and scenarios.  My wife tells me men will never experience the greatest pain in the world--labor!  Whenever I start hurting, she says, "Oh, pfft, you haven’t gone through labor, yet."  Pain comes in so many different packages: physical, emotional, and psychological. When we think about it, we would say it's unpleasant, unnecessary, unwanted, and unwelcome--we've all experienced it!

But, if we're honest and in a vulnerable moment, we could say pain is God's one mistake--after all, the Bible says that in heaven there will be no more suffering, sorrow, and pain. But on earth, it's an inevitable part of every person's existence--our life even begins with pain! In America, billions of dollars are spent yearly on removing, deadening, or hiding pain--teaching people to manage it.  We run from it, despise it, and medicate it, thinking this would be such a beautiful world without pain!

For the next few minutes, let me take you to such a world without pain--it exists in Carville, Louisiana, set on a 112?year?old plantation on 337 acres.  The plantation was purchased in the 1890s, a place where you will never experience pain--it's a leprosarium, for people who have what we call now Hansen's disease.  

The disease affects the nervous system so you lose all sensation--no sense of feeling or pain; you could do things to yourself and not realize what you're doing.  You could grab something with a sharp edge and not realize it is cutting or grinding your hand.  You won't know it until you see blood!  It could become infected and decay part of your body, and gangrene may set in, requiring amputating that part of the body. People with Hansen's disease (leprosy) will pick something out of a fire because nothing in their body tells them that it's hot or dangerous.

A man named Stanley Stein would wash his face with a warm washcloth every morning not realizing that leprosy had set in and he had no sensation in his eyes or face.  He washed his face the same way every morning.  What he didn't know was the water was scalding hot, and through a cruel quirk of leprosy, he went blind. Nothing in their anatomy or brain could tell them that something is wrong.  Pain is a necessary network to keep us from harm, to warn us when our attention is required because without pain, we could move further and further into injury!

The attending physician at Carville was Dr. Paul Brand, mostly a hand surgeon. His daughter, Estelle, attended our church in Hilo, Hawaii, so I got to meet him when he visited her, and he shared a story about Carville.  Dr. Brand had been given a very large grant to develop a transparent glove with thousands of sensors and receptors, with the idea that if they touched something that was too sharp or a hot stove, an audible sound would "beep," and the person wearing the glove would know that they need to retract their hand.  

After millions of dollars had been spent, Dr. Brand and his team decided to abandon the project. He said, "Our nervous system is far more complicated and sophisticated than we realized. He said, “Wayne, it’s a masterpiece of creation!” He went on to explain that the sensitivity quotient is not uniform: To detect pressure on your tongue, you will only require 2 grams before it senses the pressure; your fingertip, 3 grams;  the back of your hand, 12 grams; the forearm, 14 grams; the bottom of your foot (designed to carry the weight of your body), 300 grams. Believe it or not, the dullest part of your body is the flap of skin at the base of your elbow.  You can pinch it as hard as possible, but it requires about 1400 grams before you feel anything!

Then he noticed something even more interesting; the tongue takes only 2 grams of pressure to feel sensation but take about 200 grams before it becomes painful; the eye only takes .2 of 1 gram before it screams in pain! It takes a certain number of receptors before it excites the pain nervous system.  On the other hand, if you take a pin and hit only a few receptors, pain happens right away.  He said, "It would cost us billions of dollars to develop and duplicate that system, which we could never reproduce!" God is an amazing creator! 

Psalm 139:14 NKJV says: I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;"

The first reason they abandoned the project was because it would be far too expensive to duplicate what God so masterfully built; the second reason: Man’s free will.  The glove that he made had a threshold magnitude that had sensors when it was dangerous would give warning beeps; but because they couldn’t feel anything, they would override the warnings and keep doing whatever they were doing!

Dr. Brand explained:  "How wise God is in putting pain out of our reach.  Thank God for pain.  He couldn't have done a better job.  How brilliant!  It is beautiful.  It is indeed a creation by our Master Designer." Isn't that great?  So, you see, pain is not God's great goof; it is His great gift, a gift that nobody wants--but without it, our lives would be horrible!  

THE RIGHT PREMISE AND THE RIGHT BASICS 

Scientists say:  "If your basic premises are wrong, then every subsequent conclusion you come to thereafter will be wrong."

a. God Is Love

First Premise: God is Love. Nothing God ever does is out of cruelty or hate. It's never a mistake or insensitivity; He is never unaware regardless of what it seems like, for God knows and cares--He is love!  You must establish that beyond a shadow of a doubt!  

b.  Pain Is a Universal Part of Life  

Simply put, we live in this world and we will have problems.  Sometimes we think that if something terrible happens to a person, that his faith must be failing; or if they’re doing good, his faith is fine.  No, the Bible says rain falls on the just and the unjust.  We live among self-centric people prone to sin--selfishness, pride, love of money more than people. The little girl that died in a car accident, was she a sinner?  Why do you let the righteous die? We live in a world where people cut corners, make mistakes or compromise and something happens--and we get caught in a crossfire. 

Jesus Himself came into a world filled with problems and brokenness--He was not immune from any of that, but brought hope and life through His Word.  He's saying the same is true with you and me for the rain falls on the just and the unjust. So, when going through pain...

1. Respond with Worship

Let me take you to our first hero and see how he responds to calamity.  God must have thought pain was such an important subject that He's about to dedicate a whole book to this one subject.  Job was a righteous man.  In one week, his kids, son?in?law, daughters?in?law, and grandkids were killed; all his legacy is wiped out!  Later in the week, he is bankrupt--his money is gone! He goes from a hero to a zero in 7 days; then he breaks out in boils--his health goes south! 

Job 1:20-22 NLT says: "²⁰ Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. ²¹ He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” ²² In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God."

Job 6:10 NASB says: "But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One."

It was a point of victory for Job that he fought the urge to blame God because He knew that he had to establish the lordship of God regardless of the circumstances!  We must make sure that God stays on the throne and not throw Him off simply because of emotional pain.  Despite the struggle, He is still Lord.  If my basic premise is wrong, everything else will be wrong!  

Job knew that he had to guard himself from the toxins, bitterness, sin and the need to justify himself that injects itself so easily into us when there's pain. What kind of faith do you want? Good times faith, when God gives you blessings you praise Him; but when something inconvenient comes, you swear at Him?  

Job 13:15 NIV says: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him."

Amazing, in the midst of pain, Job is teaching us how to respond.  He knew that God is love and that his Redeemer lives! Suffering will change you, but not necessarily for the better.  You have to choose!  Job chose worship because worship protected him from the toxins of pain and hate that destroys his countenance.

2.  Process Pain God's Way  

When there's pain, you can let the devil have it, or you can let God have it.  If you let the devil have it, he'll turn it into bitterness and anger and cause you to justify retaliation.  If you put it before God, He'll give you the strength to go through it. The Bible says He gives grace to the afflicted.  Grace is only available when you say, "God, I need you to help me deal with this."

When was the last time you cried out to God with loud crying and tears?  We don't want to do that--it's embarrassing and shameful.  But Jesus did it, and He is saying when you go through pain, come before me, not before men.  Don't justify your blame.  Come with loud crying and tears, and I will hear you and will save you; My grace becomes available at that time.  You see, we don't forget that we're Christians; we forget that we're human, and we struggle! Let's be common visitors to the Garden of Gethsemane where we can cry out to God.  

1 Peter 4:19 NIV says: "So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."

3.  Let Your Faith Define the Situation 

Don't let the situation define your faith. Science, biology, and anatomy teach us that the sensory channels that take pain to your brain are the same pathways that take pleasure or happiness to your brain!  For instance, if you have a mosquito bite, you scratch it and it feels so much better; but if you keep scratching, it will bleed.  Pleasure and pain use the same pathways.  It hurts yet it feels good!  The channels that communicate pain are the same ones that bring pleasure! 

God knew that he had to run them together because we think that if we can remove all pain, we'll be happy.  No.  Pain and happiness run on the same highway, and if we get rid of all pain, you will get rid of happiness.  God was wise to have them use the same highway so that they're actually together. 

Luke 22:31-32 NASB ³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; ³² but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail."

Jesus prayed not that the event would go away but that his faith not fail.  Let your faith define the event! 

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NIV says, "⁹ Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, 'I gave birth to him in pain.” ¹⁰ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.' And God granted his request."

Jabez said, "I don't want to be identified with pain."  I know Christians that 10 years after a hurtful event, they're still identified with that event. When Jesus went to the cross, no one from heaven helped Him; when the soldier pounded the nail through His hand, there was no angel that stayed the hand of that executioner; when they mocked Him and put a crown of thorns on His head, no angelic host helped Him; when the lance gutted His side, even the Father was silent. He carried that to the cross, and said, "By my stripes you are healed."   We get to suffer in a way that will process the pain God's way. He's alive; and because He lives, we too shall live. God gives us the boldness, strength, and grace to be His ambassadors on earth.  With Job, we can say I know that my redeemer lives!  Trust Him; His love will uphold you. 

STUDY QUESTIONS 

1.     How do you react when there comes a time of pain?

2.     When have you encouraged someone to trust God to handle a situation?

3.     What are some painful events that have strengthened your faith?

4.     What are some instances that have shown you that God is love?