1 00:00:05,705 --> 00:00:08,908 Exodus 223 through 25. 2 00:00:10,310 --> 00:00:13,813 During those many days, the King of Egypt died, and the people 3 00:00:13,813 --> 00:00:17,684 of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. 4 00:00:18,018 --> 00:00:22,655 The cry for rescue from slavery came up to God, and God heard their groaning. 5 00:00:23,123 --> 00:00:25,892 And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 6 00:00:25,892 --> 00:00:28,862 with Isaac, and with Jacob. 7 00:00:28,895 --> 00:00:31,898 God saw the people of Israel, and God knew. 8 00:00:35,635 --> 00:00:36,302 Well, good morning 9 00:00:36,302 --> 00:00:39,305 and welcome to the weekly gathering of Christ Community Chapel. 10 00:00:39,305 --> 00:00:40,240 My name is Zach. 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,477 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm so glad that you're here with us this weekend. 12 00:00:44,477 --> 00:00:47,747 I hope you're coming off of a great Thanksgiving 13 00:00:47,747 --> 00:00:51,217 and headed into a really wonderful holiday season. 14 00:00:51,217 --> 00:00:54,921 And that begins, for us, at least at KCC this week. 15 00:00:54,954 --> 00:00:58,625 This is the first week of our Christmas series, our advent series. 16 00:00:58,625 --> 00:01:01,561 We're calling it waiting, with hope. 17 00:01:01,561 --> 00:01:04,531 That's going to be how we think about the Christmas season. 18 00:01:05,065 --> 00:01:09,302 For the next four weeks leading up to the actual, Christmas Day. 19 00:01:09,803 --> 00:01:14,574 What we're after are really two major biblical themes. 20 00:01:15,208 --> 00:01:19,012 The first is that in the Bible you'll find regularly 21 00:01:19,179 --> 00:01:22,382 God is drawing near to people. 22 00:01:23,083 --> 00:01:27,887 He's always doing that drawing near to us in creation, drawing near to us 23 00:01:27,887 --> 00:01:33,326 in his covenant, drawing near to us, of course, in Christ and through his church. 24 00:01:33,326 --> 00:01:34,661 That's just who God is. 25 00:01:34,661 --> 00:01:37,530 He is always coming close. 26 00:01:37,530 --> 00:01:41,534 That's one major theme of the Bible, but another major theme 27 00:01:41,534 --> 00:01:44,537 is that we are often waiting. 28 00:01:44,671 --> 00:01:47,941 People are waiting on God to draw close. 29 00:01:47,941 --> 00:01:52,378 Waiting is a major theme in the Bible, and that makes sense 30 00:01:52,378 --> 00:01:56,716 because waiting is a constant reality in our lives. 31 00:01:57,016 --> 00:01:59,819 In fact, this series will be aiming at two truths 32 00:01:59,819 --> 00:02:03,456 that you already know before I even name them. 33 00:02:03,456 --> 00:02:07,594 The first is that life is full of waiting rooms. 34 00:02:07,861 --> 00:02:09,462 Life is full of waiting rooms. 35 00:02:09,462 --> 00:02:11,464 That's what this is meant to signify. 36 00:02:11,464 --> 00:02:13,233 And just so you know, I sat in these chairs. 37 00:02:13,233 --> 00:02:15,869 They are in fact uncomfortable. So perfect. 38 00:02:15,869 --> 00:02:17,504 Perfect waiting room experience. 39 00:02:17,504 --> 00:02:22,208 Life is full of waiting rooms now, by this I mean a couple different things. 40 00:02:22,442 --> 00:02:24,577 Life is full of functional waiting rooms. 41 00:02:24,577 --> 00:02:26,045 You're waiting at the dentist 42 00:02:26,045 --> 00:02:29,315 or to get your oil changed, that you spend a lot of your life 43 00:02:29,315 --> 00:02:32,519 just waiting on something to happen or get done. 44 00:02:32,552 --> 00:02:35,722 Of course, there are more irregular waiting rooms, 45 00:02:35,722 --> 00:02:40,160 like waiting for the doctor to come back with your diagnosis, waiting 46 00:02:40,426 --> 00:02:44,731 to get into the marriage counselor to see if your marriage can be saved. 47 00:02:45,031 --> 00:02:49,068 And then, of course, there are figurative waiting rooms, seasons of life 48 00:02:49,068 --> 00:02:53,740 where you are waiting, waiting to see what will come of your relationship 49 00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:58,244 with your rebellious teenager, waiting to see if you're going to have a job 50 00:02:58,478 --> 00:02:59,445 after this quarter. 51 00:02:59,445 --> 00:03:05,485 If the deal you've been working on for a year is finally going to come to fruition. 52 00:03:05,485 --> 00:03:08,087 Life is full of waiting rooms. 53 00:03:08,087 --> 00:03:11,558 And here's the other thing you know before I even say it, waiting rooms 54 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:13,560 are full of questions. 55 00:03:14,494 --> 00:03:17,664 It's usually in the seasons of waiting 56 00:03:17,830 --> 00:03:23,670 that we ask most of our introspective and existential theological questions. 57 00:03:23,670 --> 00:03:26,673 It's in seasons of waiting, for example, 58 00:03:26,839 --> 00:03:29,842 that we'll find ourselves asking, God, are you out there? 59 00:03:30,810 --> 00:03:32,879 God, do you care? 60 00:03:32,879 --> 00:03:35,081 Are you paying attention? 61 00:03:35,081 --> 00:03:37,650 Will you do something to help? 62 00:03:37,650 --> 00:03:39,852 Life is full of waiting rooms. 63 00:03:39,852 --> 00:03:42,088 Waiting rooms are full of questions. 64 00:03:42,088 --> 00:03:47,727 The next four weeks, this sermon series is designed for those rooms. 65 00:03:47,727 --> 00:03:52,966 And those questions where spend the next four weeks looking at four different kinds 66 00:03:52,966 --> 00:03:56,703 of waiting for different seasons of waiting that we will either 67 00:03:56,703 --> 00:04:01,841 find ourselves in now or in the future, and how to navigate them. 68 00:04:01,841 --> 00:04:07,013 Well, the first is we're going to talk about waiting in times of suffering. 69 00:04:07,180 --> 00:04:08,881 And to do that, if you have a Bible, 70 00:04:08,881 --> 00:04:12,685 would you take it out and open it up to Exodus chapter two? 71 00:04:12,685 --> 00:04:17,790 We're gonna look at verses 23, 24 and 25, which were just so beautifully read, 72 00:04:18,524 --> 00:04:23,162 perfectly okay, by the way, to take out your tablet or device to read, 73 00:04:23,463 --> 00:04:26,299 if you're here and you didn't bring a Bible, but you'd like to follow 74 00:04:26,299 --> 00:04:30,003 along in a Bible, you should know that verses will be on the screen behind me. 75 00:04:30,003 --> 00:04:30,436 But if you want to 76 00:04:30,436 --> 00:04:33,806 hold something in your hand, there is a Bible in the pew in front of you. 77 00:04:34,207 --> 00:04:36,843 And, I'm using one of those Bibles so that I can tell you 78 00:04:36,843 --> 00:04:40,213 today's reading is on page 42 if you want to join us. 79 00:04:40,213 --> 00:04:41,514 Thanks for being here. 80 00:04:41,514 --> 00:04:43,516 But however you're getting to Exodus 81 00:04:43,516 --> 00:04:47,253 chapter two, I want to hold out an outline I'm going to use to guide our time together. 82 00:04:47,253 --> 00:04:50,490 Three simple points and they'll go like this 83 00:04:50,490 --> 00:04:54,127 I want to talk about the usual approach to waiting and suffering, 84 00:04:55,094 --> 00:04:58,097 the biblical approach to waiting and suffering, 85 00:04:59,132 --> 00:05:01,000 and how to move from one to the other. 86 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:06,306 The usual approach, the biblical approach, and how to move from one to the other. 87 00:05:06,506 --> 00:05:07,807 All right, let's start with the first one. 88 00:05:07,807 --> 00:05:11,010 The usual approach to waiting and suffering. 89 00:05:11,010 --> 00:05:13,980 This is a passage on suffering and waiting. 90 00:05:13,980 --> 00:05:14,981 At this point. 91 00:05:14,981 --> 00:05:19,519 Israel, God's people have been in Egypt for 400 years. 92 00:05:19,519 --> 00:05:20,720 That's a long time. 93 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,957 But the last 200 or so they have been in slavery 94 00:05:25,258 --> 00:05:28,928 200 years, living under the oppression of the Egyptians, 95 00:05:29,128 --> 00:05:32,598 building their buildings, waiting their tables, taking care 96 00:05:32,732 --> 00:05:36,536 of their families under the thumb of Pharaoh and his army. 97 00:05:36,536 --> 00:05:39,072 200 years. 98 00:05:39,072 --> 00:05:40,440 That's a long time. 99 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,142 To put that in perspective, let's just say that at this point, 100 00:05:43,142 --> 00:05:46,679 the average Hebrew slave lives 50 years. 101 00:05:46,979 --> 00:05:50,249 That would mean that four generations have come and gone 102 00:05:50,249 --> 00:05:53,753 like great grandfather lived his whole life as a slave. 103 00:05:54,087 --> 00:05:56,255 Grandfather lived his whole life as a slave. 104 00:05:56,255 --> 00:05:58,458 Dad lived his whole life as a slave. 105 00:05:58,458 --> 00:06:02,995 And now you, at the end of your life, have also only known slavery. 106 00:06:02,995 --> 00:06:09,235 It is a time of suffering and it has been a long time of waiting. 107 00:06:09,635 --> 00:06:13,139 It's like, I want you to see four things that this passage is teaching us 108 00:06:13,306 --> 00:06:15,908 about suffering and waiting. Here's the first thing. 109 00:06:15,908 --> 00:06:20,179 Suffering always comes with waiting. 110 00:06:20,913 --> 00:06:24,050 Suffering always comes with waiting. 111 00:06:24,050 --> 00:06:26,853 That's what makes it suffering. 112 00:06:26,853 --> 00:06:30,523 If it didn't involve waiting, suffering wouldn't be the right word. 113 00:06:30,523 --> 00:06:32,024 Like, let me give you an example. 114 00:06:32,024 --> 00:06:35,261 Let me tell you about the worst pain that I can imagine feeling. 115 00:06:35,261 --> 00:06:37,196 And ladies who have had children. 116 00:06:37,196 --> 00:06:39,932 I'm excluding that because I have not experienced that. 117 00:06:39,932 --> 00:06:40,633 Okay. 118 00:06:40,633 --> 00:06:43,803 The worst pain that I've ever experienced is stepping on a Lego. 119 00:06:45,872 --> 00:06:48,207 And if you're laughing, it's because you've not done it before. 120 00:06:48,207 --> 00:06:51,744 Okay, stepping on a Lego hurts and it also sneaks up on you. 121 00:06:51,744 --> 00:06:55,047 You're never ready for it, so it hurts even more. 122 00:06:55,047 --> 00:06:55,415 It is. 123 00:06:55,415 --> 00:06:56,349 I am not proud. 124 00:06:56,349 --> 00:06:57,417 I'm not too proud to admit 125 00:06:57,417 --> 00:07:01,788 I have said some things I would like back after stepping on a Lego. 126 00:07:01,788 --> 00:07:05,191 It really hurts, but it isn't suffering. 127 00:07:05,658 --> 00:07:08,394 That's because it hurts and then it goes away. 128 00:07:08,394 --> 00:07:10,096 It doesn't last forever. 129 00:07:10,096 --> 00:07:12,965 Suffering isn't the right word for that experience. 130 00:07:12,965 --> 00:07:17,403 Suffering describes pain that doesn't go away. 131 00:07:18,404 --> 00:07:20,673 Suffering describes difficulty 132 00:07:20,673 --> 00:07:24,043 that comes over a protracted period of time. 133 00:07:24,043 --> 00:07:27,079 Israel hasn't been in slavery for an hour 134 00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:31,584 or a day or a week, but for 200 years. 135 00:07:31,584 --> 00:07:35,888 Suffering always involves waiting. 136 00:07:36,556 --> 00:07:39,559 Here's the second thing waiting 137 00:07:39,592 --> 00:07:42,161 is its own kind of suffering. 138 00:07:42,161 --> 00:07:43,329 Is that not true? 139 00:07:43,329 --> 00:07:46,265 Suffering always comes with waiting in the waiting 140 00:07:47,366 --> 00:07:49,268 is its own kind of suffering. 141 00:07:49,268 --> 00:07:53,306 This protracted period of time where you're wondering, is anything going to happen? 142 00:07:53,306 --> 00:07:54,874 Is anything going to change? 143 00:07:54,874 --> 00:07:57,510 Will I be stuck here forever? 144 00:07:57,510 --> 00:08:01,714 Or is this the way my life is going to go? 145 00:08:01,714 --> 00:08:03,416 Suffering always involves waiting. 146 00:08:03,416 --> 00:08:06,085 Waiting is its own kind of suffering. 147 00:08:06,085 --> 00:08:09,088 And what this passage tells us is that suffering 148 00:08:09,188 --> 00:08:12,191 and waiting lead to groaning. 149 00:08:12,825 --> 00:08:14,560 Suffering and waiting lead to groaning. 150 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,295 Look at the verse with me. Verse 23. 151 00:08:16,295 --> 00:08:19,398 This is what it says during those many days, 152 00:08:20,066 --> 00:08:22,602 the King of Egypt died. 153 00:08:22,602 --> 00:08:25,371 The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery 154 00:08:25,371 --> 00:08:28,374 and cried out for help. 155 00:08:29,342 --> 00:08:32,311 Now the Hebrew word here that's translated groaning 156 00:08:33,045 --> 00:08:37,583 carries with it this kind of idea, this guttural, visceral lament, 157 00:08:37,850 --> 00:08:42,989 this kind of sound that comes out of you without you even realizing it's 158 00:08:42,989 --> 00:08:46,025 coming out to groan, is basically this. 159 00:08:46,025 --> 00:08:46,859 You groan. 160 00:08:46,859 --> 00:08:52,431 This, this word would mean when your pain exceeds your social consciousness. 161 00:08:54,066 --> 00:08:55,301 Do you know what I mean by that? 162 00:08:55,301 --> 00:08:57,803 I mean, most of us are pretty mindful of how we come off, right? 163 00:08:57,803 --> 00:09:01,707 So you might cry in public, but it's going to be like that single tear 164 00:09:01,707 --> 00:09:03,242 down the cheek, right? 165 00:09:03,242 --> 00:09:05,278 You're going to be mindful of your posture. 166 00:09:05,278 --> 00:09:07,713 We don't want to embarrass ourselves. 167 00:09:07,713 --> 00:09:10,383 So sometimes we're experiencing pain, 168 00:09:10,383 --> 00:09:14,820 but it doesn't meet the level of transcending our social awareness. 169 00:09:14,820 --> 00:09:16,622 So we kind of hold it in. 170 00:09:16,622 --> 00:09:21,961 But the word here conveys those moments where you no longer care what you look like. 171 00:09:22,929 --> 00:09:25,932 This is not bubbles coming out of your nose. 172 00:09:26,866 --> 00:09:29,869 This is the fetal position on the floor 173 00:09:30,303 --> 00:09:32,738 where you got the news. 174 00:09:32,738 --> 00:09:35,975 This is that visceral sound that comes out of you. 175 00:09:36,008 --> 00:09:38,177 You don't even realize you're making it where you are. 176 00:09:38,177 --> 00:09:43,082 Your body is just catching up to your heart and to your mind and letting out this groan 177 00:09:43,149 --> 00:09:47,520 that is letting everyone know you're hurting and you've had enough 178 00:09:49,255 --> 00:09:51,157 suffering and waiting lead to groaning. 179 00:09:51,157 --> 00:09:55,261 By the way, by the way, some of us are so emotionally hardened 180 00:09:56,329 --> 00:09:59,298 that we're very careful about letting any emotion show. 181 00:09:59,298 --> 00:10:03,502 So I want you to know that the word groaning here doesn't have to be external. 182 00:10:03,603 --> 00:10:05,404 It doesn't have to be verbal. 183 00:10:05,404 --> 00:10:08,341 It could simply be internal meaning. 184 00:10:08,341 --> 00:10:11,711 I think there's a way of living life where you get up in the morning 185 00:10:11,911 --> 00:10:16,682 and you shower and you shave and you get dressed and you, you go to work 186 00:10:16,682 --> 00:10:18,150 and you work and you come home 187 00:10:18,150 --> 00:10:22,054 and you make dinner and you clean and you watch some TV, and then you go to bed 188 00:10:22,188 --> 00:10:25,424 and on the outside you look fine, but in the inside 189 00:10:26,258 --> 00:10:28,594 you're groaning. 190 00:10:28,594 --> 00:10:30,229 On the inside you're suffering 191 00:10:30,229 --> 00:10:33,232 and you're waiting, and you're wondering how long. 192 00:10:33,232 --> 00:10:37,269 And everyone around you at work has no idea your marriage is crumbling 193 00:10:39,205 --> 00:10:41,073 and everyone at home has no idea. 194 00:10:41,073 --> 00:10:43,743 You might lose your job, 195 00:10:43,743 --> 00:10:44,877 but you're groaning. 196 00:10:44,877 --> 00:10:46,178 This is what I think Thoreau meant 197 00:10:46,178 --> 00:10:50,182 when he said that most men live lives of quiet desperation, 198 00:10:50,182 --> 00:10:54,920 that most of us have such a hardened social shell that we project. 199 00:10:54,920 --> 00:11:00,092 But on the inside we're groaning, suffering, and waiting lead to groaning. 200 00:11:00,092 --> 00:11:03,162 And here's the fourth thing groaning leads to a certain 201 00:11:03,162 --> 00:11:06,165 kind of prayer. 202 00:11:07,099 --> 00:11:08,000 The passage says 203 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,537 that Israel is groaning and they cry out for help. 204 00:11:11,671 --> 00:11:13,472 But you notice what it doesn't say. 205 00:11:13,472 --> 00:11:16,442 Who are they crying out to? 206 00:11:17,209 --> 00:11:19,078 They don't even know. 207 00:11:19,078 --> 00:11:20,546 It's been 200 years. 208 00:11:20,546 --> 00:11:21,280 They have no idea. 209 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,450 They don't pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 210 00:11:24,550 --> 00:11:26,886 They don't pray to the God of creation. 211 00:11:26,886 --> 00:11:28,854 They don't pray to the God of the Bible. 212 00:11:28,854 --> 00:11:32,491 They're they're just speaking a prayer into the void. 213 00:11:35,895 --> 00:11:38,898 Because in times of suffering and waiting, 214 00:11:39,765 --> 00:11:42,001 you're not praying theologically informed prayers. 215 00:11:42,001 --> 00:11:44,804 You're praying prayers of desperation. 216 00:11:44,804 --> 00:11:47,273 In fact, what comes to mind here is if you plan on celebrating 217 00:11:47,273 --> 00:11:50,476 a good Christmas, then you know you have to watch It's a Wonderful Life 218 00:11:51,744 --> 00:11:53,412 and if you don't, you're a monster. 219 00:11:53,412 --> 00:11:55,047 What's wrong with you? 220 00:11:55,047 --> 00:11:58,050 But you know, when you watch that movie, there'll be this scene where George Bailey 221 00:11:58,050 --> 00:12:01,253 is sitting in Martini's bar and he's getting ready to get punched in the face, 222 00:12:02,288 --> 00:12:05,291 and he will pray something like, God, if you're out there, 223 00:12:06,225 --> 00:12:07,526 I'm not much of a prayer. 224 00:12:07,526 --> 00:12:11,864 I don't even know if you exist, but if you're out there, would you help? 225 00:12:12,064 --> 00:12:14,834 That's this kind of prayer. 226 00:12:14,834 --> 00:12:16,936 How can you be honest enough to say 227 00:12:16,936 --> 00:12:19,772 that for some of you, that's what brought you here this weekend. 228 00:12:22,341 --> 00:12:25,344 This is about as deep as your prayers get. 229 00:12:26,011 --> 00:12:31,350 I'm speaking things into the void, hoping that somewhere out 230 00:12:31,350 --> 00:12:34,353 there is a God that I know nothing about 231 00:12:34,487 --> 00:12:37,656 but will help me in my time of need. 232 00:12:37,656 --> 00:12:42,061 That is the usual approach to waiting and suffering. 233 00:12:42,061 --> 00:12:44,930 Now let me show you second point. 234 00:12:44,930 --> 00:12:47,133 The biblical approach. 235 00:12:47,133 --> 00:12:49,735 By the way, when I say biblical approach, please don't. 236 00:12:49,735 --> 00:12:52,738 I don't want you to hear anything judgmental in that. 237 00:12:52,738 --> 00:12:53,539 If you grown up in 238 00:12:53,539 --> 00:12:57,243 and around the church, you probably probably that term has been weaponized against you. 239 00:12:57,543 --> 00:12:58,244 Oh, here we go. 240 00:12:58,244 --> 00:12:59,612 Oh, let's be biblical. 241 00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:02,681 I just mean there's a usual way of dealing with it. 242 00:13:02,681 --> 00:13:06,552 And then there's a way, a different way, an alternative way of dealing with waiting 243 00:13:06,552 --> 00:13:09,955 and suffering that the Bible is calling us to. 244 00:13:10,689 --> 00:13:12,825 And let me show you two things about that. 245 00:13:12,825 --> 00:13:17,563 You can find both of these things, by the way, in verse 24, look at what it says. 246 00:13:19,532 --> 00:13:22,535 And God heard their groaning, 247 00:13:22,568 --> 00:13:24,703 and God remembered his covenant 248 00:13:24,703 --> 00:13:27,873 with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 249 00:13:27,873 --> 00:13:31,477 The first thing that the biblical approach to waiting and suffering teaches us 250 00:13:31,644 --> 00:13:35,381 is that suffering and waiting never escape the attention of God. 251 00:13:36,315 --> 00:13:38,717 Those suffering and waiting 252 00:13:38,717 --> 00:13:42,254 never escape the attention of God. 253 00:13:42,254 --> 00:13:45,624 You see, when you're suffering, when you're waiting, 254 00:13:45,658 --> 00:13:50,196 your temptation is to say, God has forgotten me. 255 00:13:50,262 --> 00:13:53,666 God doesn't care. I'm not on God's radar. 256 00:13:53,666 --> 00:13:57,436 You might even be tempted to say there is no God. 257 00:13:57,436 --> 00:14:00,673 But passages like this are telling us that suffering 258 00:14:00,673 --> 00:14:04,109 and waiting never escape God's attention. 259 00:14:04,109 --> 00:14:08,047 Now, I know that begs the question, well, if God knows I'm suffering 260 00:14:08,047 --> 00:14:11,851 and he knows I'm waiting, why doesn't he do something about it? 261 00:14:11,851 --> 00:14:14,320 I'm going to give you a quick answer on that in a second. 262 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:18,691 But before I do that, consider this what if you ask the opposite question 263 00:14:20,626 --> 00:14:23,629 what if there is no God? 264 00:14:24,897 --> 00:14:26,832 Well, certainly you must know then, that waiting 265 00:14:26,832 --> 00:14:30,069 and suffering are completely and utterly meaningless. 266 00:14:30,736 --> 00:14:34,373 Random, capricious, arbitrary. 267 00:14:34,406 --> 00:14:38,210 They're simply a product of the country you were born into the century. 268 00:14:38,244 --> 00:14:41,780 You were born into the family, the biology, the genetics. 269 00:14:41,914 --> 00:14:43,782 You were born into. 270 00:14:43,782 --> 00:14:45,017 They're meaningless. 271 00:14:45,017 --> 00:14:46,819 Ultimately, they don't matter. 272 00:14:46,819 --> 00:14:48,020 You came from nothing. 273 00:14:48,020 --> 00:14:49,955 You're going to nothing. Nothing. 274 00:14:49,955 --> 00:14:52,024 Your suffering is pointless. 275 00:14:52,024 --> 00:14:55,027 You see, it's only when we interject the idea of God 276 00:14:55,861 --> 00:14:58,197 that any question of hope actually 277 00:14:58,197 --> 00:15:01,300 becomes a reality in the Bible, 278 00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:05,237 and the Old Testament presents us with three major sufferers. 279 00:15:05,838 --> 00:15:07,139 But there are lots of sufferers. 280 00:15:07,139 --> 00:15:09,208 In the Old Testament there are three major sufferers. 281 00:15:09,208 --> 00:15:11,744 The first is a guy named Joseph. 282 00:15:11,744 --> 00:15:13,412 Maybe you know his story. 283 00:15:13,412 --> 00:15:15,948 If not, hopefully you haven't seen the musical. 284 00:15:15,948 --> 00:15:18,951 But if you had to sit through that, maybe you know it from that. 285 00:15:19,785 --> 00:15:21,120 But Joseph is a sufferer. 286 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,856 Joseph has some dreams. When he is a young child. 287 00:15:23,856 --> 00:15:26,625 He has visions of grandeur. He's a little cocky about it. 288 00:15:26,625 --> 00:15:27,693 His brothers don't like it. 289 00:15:27,693 --> 00:15:29,762 They sell him into slavery. 290 00:15:29,762 --> 00:15:34,099 While a slave, he is accused of a crime he did not commit, 291 00:15:34,233 --> 00:15:37,870 wrongfully imprisoned and left to languish in prison. 292 00:15:37,870 --> 00:15:39,405 He is a sufferer. 293 00:15:39,405 --> 00:15:41,941 He is a waiter. He's the first. 294 00:15:42,908 --> 00:15:45,244 The second is Israel, here in Egypt, 295 00:15:45,244 --> 00:15:50,049 suffering under oppression of Pharaoh, waiting hopefully for deliverance. 296 00:15:50,049 --> 00:15:52,885 The third is a guy named Jobe. 297 00:15:52,885 --> 00:15:57,990 The Jobe lives a life of suffering incredible, poignant, visceral suffering. 298 00:15:57,990 --> 00:16:00,693 It takes over 40 chapters to tell his story. 299 00:16:00,693 --> 00:16:03,162 So deep is his suffering. 300 00:16:03,162 --> 00:16:05,731 Let's listen. Hey, by the way, did you know this? You might not have known. 301 00:16:05,731 --> 00:16:09,134 So very instructive that the oldest book of the Bible is the Book of Jobe. 302 00:16:10,035 --> 00:16:11,971 It was the first book written. 303 00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:14,673 Now, the reason why that's instructive is because you take the Christian view 304 00:16:14,673 --> 00:16:19,011 that the Bible is how God communicates with us, that God wanted to communicate 305 00:16:19,011 --> 00:16:22,681 with us through a book that when God metaphorically sat down 306 00:16:22,681 --> 00:16:27,786 to write the very first subject matter he turned his attention to was suffering. 307 00:16:31,590 --> 00:16:32,858 Now these stories are very different. 308 00:16:32,858 --> 00:16:36,428 But one common thread in Joseph and Israel, in Jobe 309 00:16:36,662 --> 00:16:40,833 is that God is incredibly and intimately aware 310 00:16:40,966 --> 00:16:44,470 of the suffering and waiting that takes place in each instance. 311 00:16:44,470 --> 00:16:49,641 Suffering and waiting do not escape the attention of God. 312 00:16:49,742 --> 00:16:51,977 He knows who you are. 313 00:16:51,977 --> 00:16:54,213 He knows what you're going through. 314 00:16:54,213 --> 00:16:56,482 He knows what you're experiencing. 315 00:16:56,482 --> 00:16:58,117 It may not always feel that way. 316 00:16:58,117 --> 00:17:00,052 It didn't feel that way for Israel, 317 00:17:00,052 --> 00:17:03,889 but there are about three verses away from God doing some pretty incredible stuff. 318 00:17:03,889 --> 00:17:06,725 Listen, feelings are not facts. 319 00:17:06,725 --> 00:17:10,963 It may feel like God has forgotten you, but time and time again, 320 00:17:10,963 --> 00:17:13,966 the Bible is telling us suffering and waiting 321 00:17:13,966 --> 00:17:16,969 do not escape his attention. 322 00:17:17,202 --> 00:17:20,539 But the second thing the Bible tells us about waiting and suffering. 323 00:17:20,539 --> 00:17:25,210 The second part of the biblical approach to waiting and suffering is that for God's 324 00:17:25,210 --> 00:17:29,148 people, suffering and waiting exist in the space 325 00:17:29,148 --> 00:17:33,786 between God's promises made and God's promises kept. 326 00:17:35,521 --> 00:17:37,456 God makes a promise, 327 00:17:37,456 --> 00:17:41,427 and in the space between him making and keeping the promise, 328 00:17:42,661 --> 00:17:46,532 suffering and waiting can happen, but they're always sandwiched in between. 329 00:17:46,532 --> 00:17:49,301 That's what it means here in verse 24, what it says. 330 00:17:49,301 --> 00:17:51,003 And God heard their groaning 331 00:17:51,003 --> 00:17:55,140 and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 332 00:17:55,307 --> 00:17:57,476 They're telling you that before their suffering, 333 00:17:57,476 --> 00:18:01,213 God had made a promise to Abraham that through him 334 00:18:01,213 --> 00:18:05,951 he would produce a family who would bless all the families of the earth. 335 00:18:06,051 --> 00:18:09,221 He had made that promise, and he couldn't keep it. 336 00:18:09,421 --> 00:18:12,558 If Israel died in slavery in Egypt. 337 00:18:12,558 --> 00:18:13,625 So they were suffering. 338 00:18:13,625 --> 00:18:15,961 Yes, they had been waiting, yes. 339 00:18:15,961 --> 00:18:19,031 But their suffering and waiting simply existed 340 00:18:19,031 --> 00:18:22,701 in the space between God making and keeping promises. 341 00:18:22,734 --> 00:18:26,371 One other theme that you'll find in Joseph and Israel 342 00:18:26,371 --> 00:18:29,508 in Jobe is that, and not a single one of those stories. 343 00:18:29,508 --> 00:18:31,143 Does God waste the suffering? 344 00:18:33,545 --> 00:18:35,080 Joseph's suffering will 345 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,818 result in Israel and Egypt and the known world surviving a famine. 346 00:18:39,818 --> 00:18:43,355 Israel's suffering will become the backdrop for God's 347 00:18:43,355 --> 00:18:47,826 convincing them that he has a plan for them into the Promised Land. 348 00:18:47,826 --> 00:18:51,930 It'll set up the Red sea and manna and water from Iraq and Jericho, 349 00:18:51,930 --> 00:18:56,201 and countless other ways God will build his reputation with Israel. 350 00:18:56,201 --> 00:18:59,905 The suffering of Jobe will stand for centuries 351 00:18:59,972 --> 00:19:04,610 as a testament to God's love and faithfulness to the sufferer. 352 00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:06,044 Listen, I wish I could tell you 353 00:19:06,044 --> 00:19:11,150 and each one of your individual stories what God is doing and why you are suffering 354 00:19:11,150 --> 00:19:15,053 and why you are waiting, and where God is taking you. 355 00:19:15,053 --> 00:19:21,193 I can't, but I can say this the theme in the Bible is clear God does not waste suffering. 356 00:19:21,293 --> 00:19:23,095 God doesn't miss suffering. 357 00:19:23,095 --> 00:19:24,830 He doesn't ignore suffering. 358 00:19:24,830 --> 00:19:31,436 And suffering only happens in between him making and keeping a promise. 359 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:36,842 In other words, you can think about it this way 360 00:19:36,842 --> 00:19:41,446 the difference between adults and kids in a waiting room is pretty simple. 361 00:19:41,446 --> 00:19:44,449 Nobody likes the waiting room, 362 00:19:44,750 --> 00:19:47,753 but adults know eventually the door will open 363 00:19:48,353 --> 00:19:51,356 where they will move you to another way to grow. 364 00:19:52,424 --> 00:19:54,693 Eventually the door opens and the dentist is ready. 365 00:19:54,693 --> 00:19:56,962 The doctor is ready. The oil has been changed. 366 00:19:56,962 --> 00:19:59,932 The counselor will see you. Your boss is ready for you. 367 00:19:59,932 --> 00:20:01,066 Eventually the door opens. 368 00:20:01,066 --> 00:20:04,102 Kids are convinced they will die in the waiting room. 369 00:20:05,437 --> 00:20:09,775 They're never going to call our name. 370 00:20:10,242 --> 00:20:13,145 That's a good sign. 371 00:20:13,145 --> 00:20:14,046 Kids think they'll die. 372 00:20:14,046 --> 00:20:16,315 They're. 373 00:20:16,315 --> 00:20:18,650 See, what the Bible is telling us 374 00:20:18,650 --> 00:20:23,322 is that the usual approach to waiting and suffering is a kid in a waiting room. 375 00:20:24,656 --> 00:20:26,725 But the biblical approach 376 00:20:26,725 --> 00:20:29,728 is that the God who told you he would open a door 377 00:20:30,729 --> 00:20:32,431 will, in fact open the door. 378 00:20:32,431 --> 00:20:35,500 The waiting will come to an end. 379 00:20:36,368 --> 00:20:39,538 Now, if you've been paying attention, you'll notice I nuanced that and said, 380 00:20:39,705 --> 00:20:43,275 for God's people, waiting and suffering 381 00:20:43,442 --> 00:20:46,745 exist in the space between a promise made and a promise kept. 382 00:20:46,812 --> 00:20:51,283 That begs the question, well, how do I know if I'm one of God's people? 383 00:20:52,184 --> 00:20:54,052 How do I know if that's true? 384 00:20:54,052 --> 00:20:56,388 For me, in my suffering and in my waiting? 385 00:20:56,388 --> 00:20:59,324 How can I know that I'm simply existing 386 00:20:59,324 --> 00:21:02,861 in the space between God making a promise and keeping a promise? 387 00:21:02,861 --> 00:21:04,763 Well, that's my third point. 388 00:21:04,763 --> 00:21:07,065 There's the usual approach to waiting and suffering. 389 00:21:07,065 --> 00:21:09,534 There's the biblical approach to waiting and suffering. 390 00:21:09,534 --> 00:21:11,336 How do I move from one 391 00:21:12,437 --> 00:21:14,940 to the other? 392 00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:19,544 Well, for Israel, how did they know that they were God's people? 393 00:21:19,911 --> 00:21:22,247 That answer is in three parts. 394 00:21:22,247 --> 00:21:25,584 First, God had a resume with them. 395 00:21:26,151 --> 00:21:27,486 Look at what it says here. 396 00:21:27,486 --> 00:21:29,187 And God heard their groaning. 397 00:21:29,187 --> 00:21:35,060 Verse 24, And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 398 00:21:35,127 --> 00:21:36,895 Abraham was a sufferer. 399 00:21:36,895 --> 00:21:40,165 Do you remember he and his wife Sarah could not have kids. 400 00:21:40,165 --> 00:21:42,668 How long did they wait for kids? 401 00:21:42,668 --> 00:21:44,403 But God came through. 402 00:21:44,403 --> 00:21:48,073 Jacob was a sufferer, partly because he was a liar and a deceiver. 403 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:52,010 But God, in his mercy and grace came through for Jacob. 404 00:21:52,010 --> 00:21:57,749 In other words, God was saying to Israel and to the reader, I have a track record. 405 00:21:57,749 --> 00:22:00,752 Look me up, Google me, 406 00:22:00,852 --> 00:22:03,955 I come through, you suffer and wait. 407 00:22:03,955 --> 00:22:04,523 That's true. 408 00:22:04,523 --> 00:22:07,726 But I always show up. I always come through. 409 00:22:07,759 --> 00:22:09,127 He had a resume. 410 00:22:09,127 --> 00:22:09,695 Now here's the thing. 411 00:22:09,695 --> 00:22:12,864 If you're an Israelite slave and somebody says, well, remember 412 00:22:12,864 --> 00:22:16,635 Abraham, remember Isaac, remember Jacob, you don't care about them. 413 00:22:19,237 --> 00:22:21,973 Because you're in slavery today. 414 00:22:21,973 --> 00:22:23,642 I don't need past faithfulness. 415 00:22:23,642 --> 00:22:26,511 I need present faithfulness. So you don't just need a resume. 416 00:22:26,511 --> 00:22:28,914 You need a Redeemer. 417 00:22:28,914 --> 00:22:31,917 Just a few verses from now, baby will be put in a basket right? 418 00:22:32,784 --> 00:22:34,286 Float down the river. It's going to be Moses. 419 00:22:34,286 --> 00:22:37,155 He, Moses is whose you want. You got the resume? That's great. 420 00:22:37,155 --> 00:22:38,256 But I need Moses. 421 00:22:38,256 --> 00:22:41,360 I need a leader who stands toe to toe with Pharaoh. 422 00:22:41,493 --> 00:22:45,330 I need a leader who gets between me and my enemies and says, 423 00:22:45,330 --> 00:22:47,366 get behind me and watch what I do. 424 00:22:47,366 --> 00:22:50,969 I need a leader who can split the Red sea and take me through 425 00:22:50,969 --> 00:22:53,972 seeming death into life. 426 00:22:55,774 --> 00:22:57,376 That's what Israel gets. 427 00:22:57,376 --> 00:23:00,679 And then finally, third, not just a redeem, not just a resume, not just redeemer, 428 00:23:00,679 --> 00:23:04,049 but a return to an actual living 429 00:23:04,049 --> 00:23:07,352 life with God Promised Land right there going to be with God. 430 00:23:07,352 --> 00:23:09,921 He will be their God. They will be his people. 431 00:23:09,921 --> 00:23:14,126 Israel knows that they are God's people because God has a resume 432 00:23:14,192 --> 00:23:15,427 of coming through for them. 433 00:23:15,427 --> 00:23:17,629 God sent a Redeemer to rescue them. 434 00:23:17,629 --> 00:23:20,599 God is promising a return to life with them. 435 00:23:20,599 --> 00:23:22,134 You say, well, was that God's good for Israel? 436 00:23:22,134 --> 00:23:23,301 How do I know? 437 00:23:23,301 --> 00:23:25,871 In my waiting room, in my suffering 438 00:23:25,871 --> 00:23:29,908 and in my waiting, how do I know that God will come through for me? 439 00:23:29,941 --> 00:23:33,845 Well, friends, he's given us the exact same three things. 440 00:23:37,048 --> 00:23:37,549 I don't know if you 441 00:23:37,549 --> 00:23:40,552 realize this or not, but you know what the Bible is. 442 00:23:40,952 --> 00:23:43,922 It's God's resumé. 443 00:23:46,057 --> 00:23:49,060 It's not a textbook. 444 00:23:49,227 --> 00:23:50,896 It's not inspiration. 445 00:23:50,896 --> 00:23:53,899 It's not even family friendly. 446 00:23:56,568 --> 00:23:58,904 It is God saying to you, 447 00:23:58,904 --> 00:24:02,407 I know you wonder in your suffering if I will come through. 448 00:24:02,507 --> 00:24:04,976 I know you wonder if I'll show up. 449 00:24:04,976 --> 00:24:08,313 I know you wonder if I can face down your enemies. 450 00:24:08,313 --> 00:24:11,016 I know you wonder if I've forgotten you. 451 00:24:11,016 --> 00:24:12,884 Here's a story for that. 452 00:24:12,884 --> 00:24:15,120 Here's a time where I did that. 453 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,657 Here's where you can go to know that I show up. 454 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,664 But second, because that resume doesn't mean anything to you 455 00:24:25,664 --> 00:24:28,900 in your present suffering, he sends a Redeemer, 456 00:24:30,502 --> 00:24:32,571 a greater Moses. 457 00:24:32,571 --> 00:24:34,306 Jesus, 458 00:24:34,306 --> 00:24:37,075 who puts himself between us and our enemies, 459 00:24:38,143 --> 00:24:40,345 not Pharaoh, but sin and death. 460 00:24:40,345 --> 00:24:44,115 Jesus, who leads us into death, splitting death 461 00:24:44,249 --> 00:24:49,221 like the Red sea, saying to us, if you grab hold of me, if you get behind me, 462 00:24:49,221 --> 00:24:54,226 if you walk with me, I'll take you through seeming death to life everlasting. 463 00:24:54,226 --> 00:24:56,628 You say, well, how do I know if I'm one of God's people? 464 00:24:56,628 --> 00:24:58,497 Well, if you were an Israelite, how did you know? 465 00:24:58,497 --> 00:25:01,500 If you were with Moses? 466 00:25:01,566 --> 00:25:03,635 He started walking 467 00:25:03,635 --> 00:25:06,638 and you got behind him. 468 00:25:07,639 --> 00:25:08,640 God has a resume. 469 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,442 God has sent a Redeemer. 470 00:25:10,442 --> 00:25:12,911 And what does he promise? 471 00:25:12,911 --> 00:25:16,515 A return to life everlasting with him. 472 00:25:16,681 --> 00:25:18,250 Don't you know that's how the Bible ends? 473 00:25:18,250 --> 00:25:20,685 God says, I know you're in the waiting room. 474 00:25:20,685 --> 00:25:21,820 I know you're suffering. 475 00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:23,054 I know you're waiting. 476 00:25:23,054 --> 00:25:25,790 But the door will open. 477 00:25:27,292 --> 00:25:30,795 You will not be in the waiting room forever. 478 00:25:31,696 --> 00:25:34,432 You have not been forgotten. 479 00:25:34,432 --> 00:25:37,135 And if you doubt it, check my resume. 480 00:25:37,135 --> 00:25:39,938 If you doubt it, look to my Redeemer. 481 00:25:39,938 --> 00:25:43,742 If you doubted, hear the promise of my return. 482 00:25:43,742 --> 00:25:48,346 Friends, I wish I could offer you immediate help in your individual situation. 483 00:25:48,346 --> 00:25:50,081 But what I can tell you is this. 484 00:25:50,081 --> 00:25:54,119 Is that in your present moment, you exist in between the promises 485 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:57,789 God has made in Christ and the day of Christ's return. 486 00:25:57,789 --> 00:26:01,526 We're all those promises will be kept. 487 00:26:04,396 --> 00:26:07,165 You don't have to be the child in the waiting room saying, 488 00:26:07,165 --> 00:26:10,168 I'm never going to get out. 489 00:26:11,036 --> 00:26:13,805 You can sit with confidence 490 00:26:13,805 --> 00:26:15,874 that God will come through. 491 00:26:15,874 --> 00:26:18,944 Listen, I told you that in the waiting room we ask a lot of questions. 492 00:26:19,311 --> 00:26:21,479 Has God forgotten me? Does God love me? 493 00:26:21,479 --> 00:26:24,549 I'm going to end with this because the apostle Paul says this better 494 00:26:24,549 --> 00:26:25,250 than I ever could. 495 00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:28,086 In the book of Romans chapter eight, listen to what he says. 496 00:26:28,086 --> 00:26:30,488 It's gonna be on the screen behind me, beginning in verse 31. 497 00:26:30,488 --> 00:26:33,124 He says, what then shall we say to these things? 498 00:26:34,793 --> 00:26:37,796 If God is for us, who can be against us? 499 00:26:38,697 --> 00:26:42,634 He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, 500 00:26:42,901 --> 00:26:47,272 how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 501 00:26:49,007 --> 00:26:52,010 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? 502 00:26:52,010 --> 00:26:55,013 It is God who justifies, who is to condemn 503 00:26:55,113 --> 00:26:58,750 Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised, 504 00:26:58,750 --> 00:27:02,721 who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 505 00:27:02,821 --> 00:27:05,790 Listen to this church, who shall separate 506 00:27:05,790 --> 00:27:08,793 us from the love of Christ? 507 00:27:09,060 --> 00:27:13,398 Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, 508 00:27:13,398 --> 00:27:17,502 or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 509 00:27:17,502 --> 00:27:22,073 Don't you see we could put in there, or infertility, or unwanted singleness, 510 00:27:22,073 --> 00:27:25,410 or losing my job, or a cancer diagnosis, 511 00:27:25,443 --> 00:27:28,980 or divorce, or bankruptcy, or debt. 512 00:27:31,282 --> 00:27:33,518 No. Well, I'm sorry I lost my place as it is written. 513 00:27:33,518 --> 00:27:35,754 Got excited 514 00:27:35,754 --> 00:27:37,055 for your sake. 515 00:27:37,055 --> 00:27:39,824 We are being killed in all the day long. 516 00:27:39,824 --> 00:27:42,060 We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 517 00:27:42,060 --> 00:27:47,232 No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 518 00:27:47,232 --> 00:27:50,702 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, 519 00:27:50,835 --> 00:27:54,439 nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, 520 00:27:54,539 --> 00:27:58,476 nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, 521 00:27:58,543 --> 00:28:02,247 nor anything else in all creation, will be able 522 00:28:02,247 --> 00:28:05,984 to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 523 00:28:05,984 --> 00:28:08,119 Do you see what he's saying? 524 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:10,288 Life is full of waiting rooms. 525 00:28:10,288 --> 00:28:13,291 Waiting rooms are full of questions, 526 00:28:13,925 --> 00:28:16,928 but Jesus Christ himself will open the door. 527 00:28:20,065 --> 00:28:23,068 Waiting and suffering are present, 528 00:28:23,902 --> 00:28:25,103 but they are not permanent. 529 00:28:27,138 --> 00:28:29,407 Because of Jesus, 530 00:28:29,407 --> 00:28:30,175 let me pray for us. 531 00:28:30,175 --> 00:28:33,178 Father God. 532 00:28:34,179 --> 00:28:37,182 What a gift that you talk about suffering. 533 00:28:38,650 --> 00:28:40,285 The Bible is not propaganda. 534 00:28:40,285 --> 00:28:42,120 It's not inspiration. 535 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:44,856 You wouldn't put this in there 536 00:28:44,856 --> 00:28:46,558 200 years of slavery. 537 00:28:46,558 --> 00:28:48,193 You wouldn't say that. The book of job. 538 00:28:48,193 --> 00:28:49,561 You wouldn't include that. 539 00:28:49,561 --> 00:28:51,563 The story of Joseph, so many others. 540 00:28:51,563 --> 00:28:52,864 You wouldn't put him in there. 541 00:28:52,864 --> 00:28:55,333 You wouldn't have the psalmist saying, how long? 542 00:28:55,333 --> 00:28:56,868 Oh, God, where are you at? 543 00:28:56,868 --> 00:28:58,636 God, what are you doing? God? 544 00:28:58,636 --> 00:29:01,639 You put those in there for us. 545 00:29:02,974 --> 00:29:04,008 Because you knew life 546 00:29:04,008 --> 00:29:07,178 was full of waiting rooms, and you knew waiting rooms were full of questions. 547 00:29:07,178 --> 00:29:09,681 You knew we would suffer and wait. 548 00:29:09,681 --> 00:29:12,450 And in your kindness 549 00:29:12,450 --> 00:29:15,453 you not only spoke into that experience, 550 00:29:15,987 --> 00:29:19,290 but you came in Jesus to rescue us, 551 00:29:20,158 --> 00:29:22,327 to open the door and to lead us out. 552 00:29:24,362 --> 00:29:26,231 In his name we pray. 553 00:29:26,231 --> 00:29:26,598 Amen.