You Asked For It; Faith and Suffering: Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People? - Pastor Denny Rodney Duron

Welcome to SC Church Podcast! We’re so glad you could join us. Today Pastor Denny Rodney Duron shared with us his message:

“You Asked For It; Faith and Suffering: Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Hey, go Knicks, huh? Go New York Knicks, huh? Who cares? Who cares about them? All right. We're in a series today. You asked for it. So you asked for it. And a few weeks ago, we gave y'all some options and asked you what you wanted us to preach on. And this is one of the topics that you chose. You selected. Here it is faith and suffering. Why do bad things happen to good people? So if you don't like the message today, it's your fault. You chose this, okay? Thank you for giving me an easy question. Thank you for not giving me how do I lose 20 pounds and keep eating queso? I don't know. All right? Thank you for not asking me how to get your teenager to clean their room and to be happy about it, okay? Ask the Holy Spirit. Somebody put on there, how can LSU win another national championship?

unknown 1:24

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Thank you for giving me an easy question. Why do bad things happen to good people? Because here's the thing. All of us have been there before. All of us have been in seasons where we're asking God, God, why is this happening? Lord, I just don't understand. Did you cause this? Are you here in the midst of this? And usually we're not asking those questions when we're sipping our drink on the beach, bank accounts full. Usually we're asking that question in hospital rooms. We're asking that question at funerals when we don't understand what is going on in our life. There's people in this room who have walked through things that honestly cannot be explained in a 30-minute sermon. We've gone through loss and cancer, the death of someone that you loved dearly. And this message, it's not meant to minimize your pain or to offer cheap answers. This message is to bring the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ right in the center of it. Can I get an amen? And we have questions. And I'll tell you this: some questions are difficult. And you're not wrong for asking questions. Some of the greatest people in the Bible had deep questions for God. Job, he questioned God, and Job 3 said, God, why did I not perish? Why did you take my family? Why did you not take me? And then David had questions. God, how long, Lord, will you ever forget and forgive me in Psalm 13? And then the disciples, well, they had so many questions following Jesus. I mean, I can't go over all of them. And even Jesus Christ, he had questions. Jesus said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Can you let this cup of suffering pass by me? And I'm here to tell you this: that questions are not opposite of faith. Often they're the very language of faith in the middle of your suffering. The definition of suffering is the experience of enduring pain, loss, hardship, and disappointment, and distress in the midst of your context, emotionally, physically, spiritually, or mentally. And God's not saying there's no such thing as suffering, there's no such thing as pain. And today I'm not going to try to stand here and explain every tragedy that's ever happened. I can't do that. But what Jesus did is far better. Because when Jesus hung on the cross, he gave us something better. Jesus lived the perfect life, yet he endured the most suffering, and he had faith through every step. I want you to turn with me to John 19 and 30. So right here we see the example of Jesus, the greatest example. I'm going to start in verse 28 actually. Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I am thirsty. A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk and the hippo plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished. Say that with me. It is finished. With that, he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. Those three words are so powerful. And they answer one of life's biggest questions. Why do bad things happen to good people? But that question is honestly flawed because Jesus said this: no one is good except God alone. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I heard it said this way: the only good person that had something bad happen to them was Jesus. So the mystery is not why do bad things happen to good people? Friends, the mystery is why does a good God show grace and mercy to a people like us? And it's because he loves us with a love that we could never comprehend. And he wants to show you something about suffering today. So here we go. Why does suffering exist? Here's the first thing. Because what happens to you is not the end of the story. When Jesus went to the cross, everybody thought the story was over. The disciples thought they had lost. The religious crowd thought they had won. Satan thought he was victorious. But Almighty God knew what looked like the end was just the beginning. And that's often how God works in our lives too. One of the greatest mistakes is that we endure suffering and we assume that this suffering chapter, it's the whole story. But I'm so thankful that God says this, John 16. In this world, you're gonna have trouble. Bank on it. But take heart. I have overcome the world. In the Bible, probably the best example of this is Joseph that I found. And Joseph, in the Old Testament, he served God, he was righteous, he did what God called him to do. He loved God. Yet, in doing the right things, Joseph endured some of the worst suffering that I've ever seen in the Bible. While serving God, his own brothers took him and threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. And then while he's serving the right way, he's falsely accused and thrown into prison. So if anyone can ask this question, God, why is this happening? What is going on? Joseph could ask that. He could ask, why is suffering happening? But this is what shows us. It shows us that faithfulness does not exempt us from suffering. Sometimes the most faithful men and women of Almighty God walk through the deepest valleys. Righteous people suffer. Godly people suffer. But the main thing is this, and the question is, what is God showing us in the midst of the suffering? Because even in the midst of the suffering, we're called to love God well. Let me get an amen. So we can go back to the very beginning to understand this. Adam was the first human created, and God created Adam in his image and then placed him in a perfect world. When he placed him in the world, there was no sin, there was no hurt, there was no pain, there was no suffering. But then Adam, he disobeyed God and he brought sin in the world. So death entered the world. Now we live in a fallen realm and there is suffering. Turn with me in the Bible to Romans 5.12. This says it best what I'm talking about. So Romans 5.12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all have sinned. Everyone say, All. All have sinned. Skip down to 15. But the gift is not like the trespass, for if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. So the story does not end with Adam. Where Adam brought sin, Jesus brought salvation. Where Adam brought death, Jesus brought forgiveness and grace and eternal life. Put your hands together for what Jesus has done for all of us. Come on, we can do better than that. He brought eternal life. But there's one thing you can count on, and that's storms. If you want to know one thing that's gonna happen, storms are a brewing. Storms are coming. And sometimes we pigeonhole God and say, like every storm comes from one place. Everything bad that's happening is because I'm not praying good enough. I didn't get through to God, or everything bad that's happening is just the devil. It's all the devil. No, I want to tell you storms come from different places. So, right here, the first place is the world. Everyone say the world. Storms come from the world. We live in a fallen realm. There's pain, there's disease, there's destruction, there's airplanes, there's cars. Some things just happen because of the world that we live in. And then there's the flesh. Everyone say the flesh. Sometimes our own choices and weaknesses and sins create consequences that we have to face, the flesh. And then there's the devil. Say the devil. There's a real devil out there. And he's trying to steal, he's trying to kill and destroy. But my Bible says this take heart. I have overcome the world. So what attacks you does not own you. What Jesus finished on the cross, he took the keys of death, hell, and the grave. He conquered the world, the flesh, and the devil. He took the authority away from them. That's why it says, in this world you're going to have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. I have finished it. Come on, put your hands together for Jesus. He's finished it. We can face anything. And we got to remember that. You say, Well, what do I do? Like, what do I do? You got to be faithful. So be like Joseph and remain faithful even in the midst of your suffering. I know it's tough, even in the midst of it. What's the definition of faithfulness? Hebrews 11 says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We got to remain obedient. What is obedient? Well, doing what God's called us to do. And whenever we're obedient in the midst of our suffering, it's the greatest evidence of God's faithfulness in our life. And you might be asking this, you might say, Well, that's great. I'm going to keep faithful and keep trusting. I'm going to keep moving forward. But what if I die in the midst of my suffering? Can I tell you, as Christians, death can't even threaten us? Death can't even come against us. Because our last breath here is our first breath in eternity. Hallelujah. To live is Christ. To die is gain. Death does not even threaten us. We win no matter what. We're sons and daughters of Almighty God. And I've got eternity to look forward to with you, with Almighty God, with Jesus Christ. Put your hands together for heaven this morning. We got heaven to look forward to. Your suffering is not the end of your story. It's not the end. Another thing, why does suffering happen? Here's my second point. Because God is still riding redemption into your pain. We serve a redeeming God. So when Jesus cried out, it is finished. A lot of people thought, oh, he's given up. He's given in. I mean, he's defeated. When he cried, it is finished, he cried out, past, present, future, I am redeeming the sons and the daughters of Almighty God. The cross looked like defeat, but it's the greatest display of redemption and the story of God that you could ever see. And what makes redemption so special is that God takes something that is not worth anything. Our sin and our shame and our guilt. He takes it and he gives us something priceless. He gives us eternal life. So let's just go back to Joseph. So I already got into it. Joseph, he was doing the right things and he was struggling. I mean, he was suffering. He was serving Almighty God. His brothers abandoned him, threw him in a pit, sold him into slavery, and then he goes to prison. Now, as Joseph is walking through every one of these sufferings, all Joseph can see is what he's suffering in, like the moment. He can't see the whole picture. He just sees the moment. Okay, this is where I am. And he was faithful in every season, and God is a redeeming God. So God used every place that he was to elevate him to second in command of all of Egypt, gave him a God idea to save the lives of all of Egypt. And as he's standing there one day, second in command, well, his brothers show up. The brothers that sold him into slavery, and he's got all the power in this moment. With the snap of a finger, they could be executed. But yet, when they stand in front of him, something dawns on him. And he says, brothers, what you intended for evil, what you tried to come against me with, God has used all of it for our good. God used it to save me. He's used it to save this nation. And he's using it to save you and our future generations. We serve a redeeming God. And it dawned on him in that moment. But what does that look like in our own lives? So that's great for Joseph. What does it look like for us? Well, in my life, this is what it looks like. I have a grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Brock, that went to be with Jesus a few years ago. But when she was younger, she was married to Bubba Pletcher, and they were pastoring a church together. And my grandfather, well, he was the preacher and the pastor. And my grandmother, she was over all the music and played the piano. They had two precious kids, my mom being one of them. And they're just serving God. Get this, they had a 500-person church in a town of 12,000. It's a big old church. And he's in the prime. They're serving God. One day he stands at the pulpit. He's 42 years old. And as he's preaching, he has a brain aneurysm, falls to the ground, and God takes him. He dies. In one moment, my grandmother, well, she lost her husband, and my mom was only three years old. She lost her precious daddy. When this happened, well, the church wasn't really there for my grandmother, wouldn't even pay for my grandfather's funeral, the one that grew the church to 500 people. So my mom was three years old, and she wouldn't let anyone hold her or carry her. And this is one of the most precious stories in our family. So at her daddy's funeral, she stood and greeted people at the door and sold hugs for a dollar to help pay for her dad's funeral. And then what happened next would probably take a lot of people out because my grandmother had no money, but her family was very well off, but they did not step in to rescue her. They left her alone to raise two precious children. But did she quit? Absolutely not. Mary Elizabeth, she was faithful. She didn't have a college degree. So she went to a music course and she finished it and put the certificate on the wall. She started teaching music lessons day and night just to provide for her precious family. And did she spute bitterness and hatred to my mom? No, absolutely not. She gave the faithfulness of Almighty God. She served in the church. She led the choir. She kept showing up. And I'll tell you this: the way that she raised my mom, my mom is her greatest masterpiece. Because all of us in this room know Deonza Duran. And she is the greatest faith-filled lady that I've ever seen in my life. My mom has traveled the world singing and preaching the gospel. My grandmother's grandkids, well, a lot of us are in the ministry today. And I'm telling you this, I want you to see it. Even in the suffering seasons, God redeems them. Even after she's gone to be with Jesus, God is still redeeming because we serve a redemptive God. Put your hands together. If you believe He's a redeeming God, put your hands together. If you've ever discovered that for yourself, looking back on your story, come on, somebody, you can do better than that. God's redeeming us. God is building us. I know you're thankful. I'm thankful. It's not the end of our story. God redeems us. But this last point, and the band, you guys can come now, is the hardest for us to handle in this message because many of us survive the trials, but we keep reliving the trial. Here's my third and final point. Stop returning to what Jesus has already finished. Stop returning to what Jesus already finished. Solomon, he don't pull no punches. Solomon says it like this Proverbs 26, he says, as a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. That's disgusting, right? Have you ever had a dog? You've said this, don't eat that. Oh dear God, don't eat that. What are you? Oh my gosh, why did you? I mean, those those uh yeah. And God's saying the same thing to us today. I've forgiven you, I've healed you. Stop going back to it. And today, God wants to do some healing in this place, and there's different types of healings. There's physical healing, there's emotional healing. There's emotional healing. There's spiritual healing. And some of you in this room are going through physical illness and it's chronic pain and it's unbearable suffering. And can I tell you, I want to, I want to pray right now that God will heal your body. If you need healing in your body, just bow your head, everybody, and just raise your hand. If you need healing in your body, in the name of Jesus Christ, God, take away the suffering in these people's bodies. In the name of Jesus, heal them so they can do kingdom work. God, heal them by your stripes. They are healed in the name. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. And there's other healings as well. And the healing I want to talk about for a moment is the healing in your soul and the healing in your mind. Because here's the thing these healings aren't always instant. Sometimes they are. Sometimes it's instant, but sometimes, most of the time, it's a process. And if you're going through a process, you can't walk through this healing alone. That's why we're called community. And I want to tell you get a man or woman of God to walk through this with you. We have pastors, please come talk to one of us after service. We want to walk with you. We have professional counselors. We'll sign you up. We've got community. That's literally why we have community groups. We have these small groups, men and women, where we're going through process, the healing process. We say healing happens in groups. We got a community group fair. Sign up for a group. This is gonna be the best season yet. We've got to have the healing process. And I'll say it this way: if an old wound resurfaces, it does not mean that you just failed. Okay, it's process. Right? Philippians 1, 6 says, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to the to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Carry it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Notice this is how it is. God begins a good work, God continues the work, and then God completes the work. So, healing in this process, sometimes years later, like a thought's gonna resurface of something you thought you settled a long time ago. Sometimes we can live in condemnation. Why is that coming up again? Like, God, I'm struggling. No, maybe God's bringing it up so you can process it and go a go to a deeper level of completion in Jesus Christ. Because it says until the day of Jesus Christ, that means suffering does not end until we are in heaven. We're all in process. Everyone say process. So I just I'm not gonna move on. Okay, I want to make this very clear. So there's a difference between returning to a wound and bringing that wound to God. There's a difference. So returning to the wound, it looks like rumination. So in your mind, you go back to the trauma, the event, and you relive it over and over again. You say statements like this, I should have done that, I should have done this, and you're beating yourself up, living in shame and condemnation, saying, I should have done, and God doesn't want you to return that way. The other option is bringing it to God. And the way that we bring it to God, we change should have to next time I could. We frame it to a future reference. I could do this, and we do it like David did. David said it this way in Psalm 139. David said, Search me, O God, and know my heart. In other words, Lord, if there's still something in me that needs your touch, God, show me. Show me how I can be in process and have this finished in my life. Because here's the thing. We need to get to a place where that thing that you're facing or that you did face, it no longer controls everything in your life. It doesn't control what room you walk in, where you can't go, where it's like a burden. In the name of Jesus, I speak this over you that you will allow him to finish it and you will have freedom. Everyone say freedom. We need some people to be free in this room. Allow him to finish it because we want freedom. Freedom in Jesus. Recently, I went through something in my own life. I had a situation that was supposed to take like a couple weeks, a few months to be finished. And so I got up one morning and I was going to deal with this issue, and God spoke the words to me. Finished, spoke the word finished. Well, what was supposed to take weeks and months, by one o'clock that day, everything was finished. God did a miracle. I was so thankful. I was I was excited. God answered every one of my prayers, and and we were just rejoicing. But at the end of the day, I found myself alone. And I found myself revisiting that negotiating room in my mind, and I found the one thing that didn't go my way. I found the one disrespect that I encountered. Started focusing on that. And I came to Sarah and I said, Sarah, what do you think about this and that? And she said, Denny, I haven't thought about that once. I think you need to let it go. And in that moment, the Holy Spirit spoke to me again and said, Denny, that word finished wasn't just for that situation. It's for your life. You need to allow me to finish some things in your life. And then I started looking back over my life, and I saw so many miracles and victories, things God did one after another. And in every single situation, all I could remember is the one thing that went bad, the one thing I didn't get, the one thing I was upset about. It's like having a table full of 10 miracles, and all you do is look at the one empty seat. And I felt God saying in my life, allow me to finish what I'm taking you through. Trust me and put me in the rightful place. Let me lead you. And then it hit me, well, what God was saying, what Jesus was saying on that cross, it wasn't just it is finished, saying, Well, I'm defeating death, hell, and the grave, I'm finishing this situation. No, it is finished, and this is the deepest revelation of the message. It is finished, is an invitation. An invitation for the things that God has already finished in our life to stop ruling our lives. It is finished. And today I just I know God wants to finish some things in this room. At the foot of the cross, Jesus wants to finish some bitterness in this room. In the name of Jesus. In this room, Jesus wants to finish some hurt, some pain. Jesus wants to finish hopelessness. Like so many people I talk to, they're just hopeless. The thing that happened feels like there's no future. There's nothing in that. In the name of Jesus, I speak this over you right now. The God will take the hopelessness and He'll give you energy, He'll give you life, He'll give you encouragement, and let you see that you've got a mighty future in front of you. I'm telling you today, Jesus was declaring that suffering would no longer have ultimate authority. So today you have to know this. We've got Jesus. Everyone say Jesus. We got the Holy Spirit, say Holy Spirit, and we've got community, say community. And through that, we have the victory of Jesus Christ. So today remember what you're going through is not the end of your story. It's not. God is gonna redeem every aspect of your life, even if it's after you go to be with him. And what he finishes in your life, we've got to stop returning to it. Allow him to take control. And I know this is a heavy message. I want you to stand to your feet right now because I want to pray for the sufferings. There's some real suffering in this room. Not trying to belittle you. I just want to bring Jesus right in the middle of whatever you face and bow your head right now. And today, if you say, I want to finish some bitterness in my life, raise your hand so I can pray for you. Say, I want to finish some bitterness. Some things have happened in my life, and it's almost taken. Today, if you say, I want to finish some offense, I feel like I'm offended. If you just want to finish that in the name of Jesus, and I want you to be honest with this one. If you say, I want Jesus to finish the hopelessness, I just feel hopeless. I don't see, just raise your hand. I want to pray for you. God, you see all these hands in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray that we'll be able to see you on that cross. Jesus, thank you that that you went through the greatest suffering, past, present, future. You took on everything that every one of us has gone through all at the same time, and you conquered it. God, you finished it. So, Lord, I pray that today we will have confidence in what you have done. In the name of Jesus, give us strength to be faithful where you have planted us. We will be obedient, and the faithfulness will get us through and show us the redemption, even in our past stories. And Lord, what you finished, God, I pray that we'll stop returning to it. God, you are King of Kings. You're the Lord of Lords. Even for those in this room, Jesus, that feels like everything's going great, that have put it all on themselves and they're giving themselves the glory. God, help us to surrender our lives to you and allow you to be king of our souls. Right now, bow your head. Just bow your head. If you say, I want to give Jesus my life, you can't do this without giving Jesus your life. Say, I want to give Jesus my life. If I died today, I don't know where I would spend eternity, heaven or hell. That's you. If you say, I want to give Jesus my life, I want to make sure, raise your hand so I can see it and put it back down in the name of Jesus. Raise your hand and put it back down. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Everyone repeat after me. Jesus, come into my life. I believe in you, Jesus. I believe you died on the cross and you rose on the third day. Thank you for suffering for me. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your redemption. Strengthen me to follow after you, to sow into community. I love you, Jesus. I'm so thankful for you. Now just bow your head right now. Just sit in the presence of God. Thank you, Jesus. Everyone, lift your hands, open your hands to heaven. This means not my way, but your way, Jesus. Allow the Holy Spirit to minister to your spirit right now. Everyone, say it is finished. Say it is finished. Come on, shut yourself away with God. Lift your hands. Get that picture of Jesus crying out to you today. Just keep saying that in your spirit. It is finished. Let's worship together. As we worship, give God your best worship. Come on. Some healing's happening in this room. Allow God to heal you today. Allow him to heal you spiritually, mentally, physically right now. Accept the healing. It is finished. It is finished in the name of Jesus. Come on, worship him. Thank you, God. The altar the Father Sons.

SPEAKER_00 35:35

Thank you for connecting with us today. The first step to a new life in Christ is receiving the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, repeat this prayer after me. Jesus, I believe you died on a cross and rose again for me. I ask that you come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Whether you committed your life to Jesus for the first time today or are already on your journey of faith, we would love to stay connected with you. Please visit scchurch.com and follow SC Church on all social media platforms. And remember, the best is yet to come.