25-0330a Transcript

Preacher: Tom Freed

(1:05) Good morning. (1:07) Good to see everybody.

(1:10) My turn in preaching rotation. (1:13) It seems like people are interested in the title, Life’s Not Fair. (1:19) And maybe because people feel that life’s not fair sometimes.

(1:24) You know, I’m sure there’s all been times in our lives when everybody thought that life wasn’t fair. (1:31) And maybe they weren’t treated right or something bad happened to them they don’t deserve. (1:38) We’ve all had bad things happen to us throughout our journey in life.

(1:43) And plenty of times we’ve been treated unfairly or felt that evil things have happened to us for no reason. (1:51) You might even be thinking to yourself at this moment that life isn’t fair. (1:56) And that you don’t deserve the problems you’re dealing with.

(2:01) It could be a million different reasons. (2:03) You may have lost your job. (2:06) You could be fighting cancer.

(2:07) There’s a lot of people in here that have had cancer or are fighting cancer. (2:13) Even people have passed away that were members here. (2:16) You might have heart disease or some other sickness.

(2:21) Maybe you got into a car accident. (2:23) Maybe you have debt. (2:25) Or you might be going through a divorce or other relationship problems.

(2:29) Or you could have lost a loved one. (2:32) There’s tons of problems that come along in life. (2:37) Throughout your journey there may be many good and bad things that happen to you.

(2:43) How do you react when something bad or evil happens to you? (2:48) Do you blame God for it and shake your fist in the air and say, why me? (2:53) Or do you reflect on why this might be happening to you at this time? (2:58) How many of us get mad when something bad happens and we blame God and we get upset at Him? (3:06) Many of our issues are brought on by ourselves. (3:10) From decisions we made and acted upon and then we blame God and we have to deal with the consequences. (3:17) Have you ever done that? (3:19) Have you ever blamed God for the mistakes you made? (3:22) The things you have to deal with? (3:25) How many of us have done something stupid or committed some kind of sin? (3:30) Maybe even for years or decades and then when we finally get punished for it we blame God.

(3:40) Proverbs 19.3 (3:43) A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord. (3:51) I’m sure we’ve all maybe done this once or twice in life. (3:56) You know, we’ve committed a sin or done something stupid or made a bad decision (4:01) and then we blame God when we have to deal with it, deal with the consequences that come from it.
(4:10) The fact is you are responsible for how your life turned out and nobody else. (4:16) The decisions you make in life that dictate how your life turns out. (4:22) Every choice you make has consequences and you should take responsibility for them.

(4:30) You might ask, Lord, why am I broke and have no money? (4:34) Maybe because you quit your job and don’t want to work. (4:38) Lord, why am I getting a divorce? (4:42) Maybe because you didn’t put any effort into your marriage (4:45) or were abusive and neglectful or possibly even committed adultery. (4:49) Could you imagine cheating on your spouse and saying, Lord, why is my marriage turning out so bad? (4:57) You might ask, why do I have cancer or some other disease? (5:02) Maybe because of years and decades of a poor diet and no exercise.

(5:08) I got that problem, but I don’t have any disease yet. (5:11) You could say that about anything. (5:12) Lord, why do I have bad grades in school? (5:15) Maybe because you don’t do your homework.

(5:17) Maybe because you don’t study for your test. (5:21) It’s not that hard to figure out. (5:23) But we don’t want to take responsibility a lot of times for our actions.

(5:31) I remember doing the exact same thing years ago when I had problems getting arrested. (5:37) You know, with drinking and other things. (5:40) I was depressed.

(5:42) I was mad at God. (5:44) I wasn’t a Christian at that time, but I was still mad at God. (5:48) For my life situation.

(5:51) But the truth is, I was the only one to blame. (5:55) Even now when things don’t go my way or something bad happens, I can sometimes get upset at God. (6:02) I know better now, but a lot of times we still get mad.

(6:09) The exact same thing happened from the beginning. (6:12) We would go all the way back to the start of it all in the garden and see where we may have inherited this mentality from. (6:21) We all know the story of Adam and Eve and how they were not supposed to eat the forbidden fruit.

(6:28) They 100% knew better than to eat of it. (6:32) But when they gave in to temptation, what was the first thing Adam did? (6:36) Did Adam stand up and say to God, I take full responsibility for my actions? (6:44) He did the exact opposite. (6:46) The first thing he did was started blaming everybody else.

(6:50) Genesis 3.12. (6:53) The man said, the woman you put me here with, she gave me some of the fruit and I ate it. (7:02) So you can see, what did he do? (7:04) He blamed God right away. (7:05) He blamed Eve.

(7:08) God, it’s your fault because you put this woman here and she gave me the fruit. (7:13) Eve was no better. (7:14) She did the exact same thing, blaming Satan.

(7:18) Genesis 3.13. (7:20) Then the Lord said to the woman, what is this you have done? (7:25) The woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. (7:31) Eve was no better. (7:32) They both tried to blame everybody else.

(7:37) They both completely knew what God told them. (7:41) Eve even repeated the same thing when Satan tempted her. (7:46) But they did it because they wanted to see what would happen.

(7:49) They thought they would get some great reward. (7:52) How often do we do the same thing in life? (7:56) A lot of the time when something goes wrong and we make a mistake, (7:59) we look around and see who we can blame for it. (8:04) Oh, it’s so and so’s fault.

(8:06) It’s my parents' fault 20 years ago. (8:10) It’s my brother’s. (8:11) It’s my wife’s fault.

(8:14) One of the hardest things to do in life is take responsibility for our own actions. (8:19) When we sin or do something wrong, we need to stand up for what we’ve done (8:23) and take the blame just like David did when he committed adultery and murder. (8:30) When Nathan came to David and told him the parable, (8:34) that referred to what sin he had committed, and called him out for it, (8:38) David didn’t try to blame anybody else.

(8:41) He immediately took responsibility for his actions, and God forgave him. (8:46) 2 Samuel 12, 13, (8:49) And David said to Nathan, (8:52) I have sinned against the Lord. (8:55) Nathan replied, (8:56) The Lord has taken away your sin.

(8:59) You are not going to die. (9:01) So maybe that’s why he had the heart after God. (9:05) He took responsibility.

(9:07) He stood up for what he’d done. (9:09) He didn’t blame others. (9:10) He didn’t say, God, you put this woman in front of me.

(9:14) You tempted me. (9:16) He took full responsibility. (9:19) He still had to face earthly consequences, (9:22) but his sins were forgiven by the Lord.

(9:26) The exact same thing goes for us when we confess our sins (9:30) to God as a Christian. (9:33) 1 John 1, 9 (9:35) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins (9:41) and purify us from all unrighteousness. (9:45) On the other hand, if we don’t take responsibility for the sin, (9:48) we won’t be forgiven.

(9:50) 1 John 1, 10 (9:51) If we claim we have not sinned, (9:54) we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (9:58) If you deny it and don’t take responsibility, (10:03) then how can you be forgiven? (10:06) If you confess your sins to God, you will find mercy. (10:13) Proverbs 28, 13 (10:16) He who conceals his sins does not prosper, (10:20) but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

(10:26) We can see that many of our problems that we have in life (10:30) are a result of our own doing, (10:31) but not all of them. (10:34) Sometimes bad things happen to us we have no control over. (10:39) When they say bad things happen to good people, (10:43) you could be a victim of a crime, (10:45) get hit by a drunk driver, (10:48) a child could be born with cancer or some other disease, (10:52) have a brain tumor, (10:53) lose everything in the stock market, (10:56) get a divorce because somebody cheated on you, (11:00) lose your job from cutbacks.

(11:04) Anything could happen. (11:06) Just like with you being responsible, (11:09) even if you’re not, there’s still a bunch of ways something bad could happen. (11:16) Some things just happen as part of life.

(11:19) Other things might be brought on by the devil who’s attacking us. (11:25) If you’re a Christian, don’t be surprised if you’re under attack from the devil. (11:29) The Bible says he’ll come after us.

(11:32) 1 Peter 4.12 (11:35) Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you. (11:41) As though something strange were happening to you. (11:44) Don’t be surprised when bad things come your way, (11:47) when you’re attacked by the devil.

(11:50) We are constantly attacked by the devil and his flaming arrows. (11:55) In all circumstances, take up your shield of faith (11:59) with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (12:05) The devil walks around like a roaring lion, (12:08) seeking whom he may devour.

(12:09) 1 Peter 5.8 (12:12) He’s looking who he can attack. (12:14) He’s looking who he can bring evil upon. (12:18) He wants to destroy us.

(12:20) And he’ll do everything he can in his power to do that. (12:26) He’s going to attack us with the full ability God will allow him to. (12:30) Just like he did with Job.

(12:33) Most of us remember the story of Job. (12:38) Satan saw how faithful Job was to God and wanted to test him. (12:43) Job 1.9-12 (12:46) Satan answered the Lord and said, (12:49) Does Job fear God for no reason? (12:53) Have you not put a hedge around him and his house (12:56) and all that he has on every side? (12:59) You have lost the work of his hands, (13:01) and his possessions have increased in the land.

(13:06) Stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, (13:09) and he will curse you to your face. (13:12) And the Lord said to Satan, (13:13) Behold, all that he has is in your hand. (13:17) Only against him do not stretch out your hand.

(13:20) So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. (13:24) God allowed Satan to attack Job, (13:28) attack everything that he had. (13:31) Satan took everything he could from Job.

(13:35) His livestock, servants. (13:37) He killed all his children, (13:40) and later took his house. (13:44) Satan has a chance.

(13:45) He’s going to do the worst he can to you, (13:46) especially if you’re a Christian. (13:52) You can see from this story, (13:54) he didn’t take any mercy on Job. (13:58) He attacked him fully.

(14:01) I can’t think of anybody that’s ever lived (14:03) that has gone through as much as Job did. (14:08) You can see in this story that Job felt punished by God (14:12) and felt he was treated unfairly (14:14) because he did nothing wrong. (14:17) He felt he didn’t have sin that, you know, (14:22) he felt that he didn’t sin to be punished like that.

(14:26) Even his friends came and attacked him, (14:30) telling him that because of sin or something he did, (14:33) God had punished him. (14:36) But he complained and told them that he was innocent (14:38) and that he didn’t deserve what happened to him. (14:41) He complained to God and said, (14:43) why are you doing this to me? (14:46) He said he didn’t deserve it.

(14:49) God finally confronted Job at the end of the book (14:52) and told him that if he wanted to contend with the Lord, (14:56) now was his chance. (14:59) But Job had nothing to say. (15:01) Job 40, 1 to 5. (15:05) And the Lord said to Job, (15:07) Shall a false finder contend with the Almighty? (15:11) He who argues with God, let him answer it.

(15:15) Then Job answered the Lord and said, (15:18) Behold, I am of small account. (15:21) What shall I answer you? (15:23) I lay my hand on my mouth. (15:25) I have spoken once and I will not answer.

(15:29) Twice I will proceed no further. (15:34) So when God confronted him and explained to him who he was, (15:38) all the creation he did, how powerful, how great he was, (15:43) Job had nothing to say. (15:47) Job widely realized he couldn’t contend with God’s knowledge, (15:50) power, and wisdom.

(15:53) And repentant dust and ashes for questioning God (15:56) for all the evil that came upon him. (15:59) He was smart enough to realize he couldn’t win (16:02) an argument with the Almighty Creator. (16:06) We should be the same way.

(16:10) We should know that we have no argument against God. (16:15) In the end, God blessed Job with twice as much as he had before. (16:19) And he lived for another 140 years after all this happened.

(16:26) We can see that God was just to him at the end. (16:30) Even if we are attacked by Satan as Job was, (16:34) we still have no right to blame God or say that life isn’t fair. (16:40) We don’t know what is going on in the spiritual realm (16:42) and have no idea what God’s reasons are (16:45) for the evil things that have happened to us.

(16:49) We can’t see what’s going on in the spiritual world. (16:55) We can’t see or know God’s reasons for the (16:59) why he allows evil things to happen to us. (17:04) Can clay argue with the potter? (17:07) Isaiah 45, 9-10.

(17:11) Woe to him who quarrels with his maker. (17:13) To him who is but a pot-shirt among pot-shirts on the ground. (17:19) Does the clay say to the potter, (17:21) What are you making? (17:24) Does your work say he has no hands? (17:28) Woe to him who says to his father, (17:30) What have you begun? (17:32) Or to his mother, (17:34) What have you brought to birth? (17:38) So if you made a pot out of clay (17:42) and it starts arguing with you, (17:45) Why did you make me? (17:47) You don’t know what you’re doing.

(17:48) What would you think? (17:49) God has created us out of the dust of the earth, (17:53) the dirt of the ground. (17:55) What are we to argue with him? (17:57) What do we know in comparison to God? (18:01) We don’t have the right to question God about anything (18:04) because his thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours. (18:08) Isaiah 55, 9. (18:11) As the heavens are higher than the earth, (18:13) so are your ways higher than my ways (18:16) and my thoughts than your thoughts.

(18:21) God is so much higher than us. (18:22) We’re just absolutely nothing in comparison. (18:28) How can we question him for things that happen? (18:33) God has reasons that we don’t know about (18:36) for allowing Satan to attack us.

(18:38) He could be testing us. (18:40) And at the end of it all, (18:41) he could bless us like he did with Job. (18:46) Just as gold and silver are tested and purified by fire, (18:50) so is your heart.

(18:51) Proverbs 17, 3. (18:54) The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold. (18:58) But the Lord tests the heart. (19:02) For you, O God, tested us.

(19:04) You refined us like silver. (19:05) Psalm 66, 10. (19:09) The fiery trials we go through in life (19:11) will either break us and ruin our faith (19:13) or refine us and make us stronger.

(19:18) If you withstand the trials of life like Job, (19:22) you’ll come out the other end with a stronger faith (19:25) and purified heart. (19:27) These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, (19:33) which perishes even through refined by fire, (19:37) may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor (19:41) when Jesus Christ is revealed. (19:44) 1 Peter 1, 7. (19:48) Zechariah 13, 9. (19:51) This third I will bring into the fire.

(19:54) I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. (19:58) They will call upon my name and I will answer them. (20:01) I will say, They are my people.

(20:03) And they will say, The Lord is our God. (20:07) But just like gold and silver are purified and refined by heat, (20:13) so are we. (20:14) So is our heart.

(20:17) When we come under attack, we can either withstand it (20:24) and make it through and become stronger or give up (20:27) and be destroyed. (20:30) If you’re going through a fiery trial right now (20:33) and feel like you’re being unfairly attacked, (20:36) look at Job as an example of how to hang in there and never give up. (20:43) None of us have been attacked like Job.

(20:48) We go through pills in comparison, so we have no excuse. (20:53) The last thing you want to do is get upset at God and blame him (20:57) or worse, turn your back on him because you feel like evil things (21:00) have happened to you for no reason. (21:03) Job didn’t blame God and neither should you.

(21:07) If you hang in there and remain faithful, you will receive the crown of life.
(21:11) Revelation 2, 10. (21:13) Do not be afraid of what you’re about to suffer.

(21:16) I tell you, the devil will put some of you into prison to test you (21:20) and you will suffer persecution for 10 days. (21:24) Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. (21:31) But God’s not going to test us and tempt us with what we can’t handle.

(21:38) So we need to persevere and hang in there even if times are tough (21:42) or you’re going through something horrible. (21:48) If you ever said in your life, if you ever said that life isn’t fair, (21:53) you’re completely right. (21:56) It is not fair at all.

(21:59) God is way more fair with us than we could ever imagine. (22:05) Just think about if God punished you for every single sin you ever committed. (22:09) None of us would stand a chance.

(22:11) We’d all be in hell for eternity. (22:15) We have a merciful God who does not punish us like we deserve. (22:21) Psalm 103, 10 through 12.

(22:25) He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (22:30) For as high as the heavens are above the earth, (22:34) so great is his love for those who fear him. (22:38) As far as the east is from the west, (22:41) so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

(22:47) So God is way more merciful than we deserve. (22:51) Think about all the times he’s sinned. (22:54) You’re not punished for hardly any of them.

(22:56) Every day I sin and have to repent. (23:00) God doesn’t punish us like we deserve. (23:07) He’s a merciful God.

(23:09) He’s long-suffering. (23:10) He’s patient with us. (23:15) Think about all the times he’s sinned in your life (23:18) and all the bad things you’ve done.

(23:23) The Lord, he’s had compassion on us. (23:27) You know, he takes all our sins and he throws them in the deepest part of the sea. (23:32) Micah 7, 19.

(23:35) You will again have compassion on us. (23:37) You will tread our sins underfoot (23:41) and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (23:46) So imagine that, all the sins you’ve ever committed.

(23:49) He takes it, puts it in a bag, (23:51) and tosses it in the deepest part of the sea (23:53) and doesn’t look at them. (23:59) I guarantee you that we’re not punished even close to what we deserve. (24:08) The only person who can say without a doubt that life isn’t fair is Jesus.

(24:13) He came to this earth when he didn’t have to. (24:17) He was completely sinless. (24:19) He fulfilled the entire law of the Old Testament.

(24:23) He helped as many people as he could. (24:25) He did countless miracles and so many great things (24:30) that the world cannot contain them if they’re all written down. (24:35) And for all this, they crucified him.

(24:40) He committed no sin and no deceit was found in him. (24:44) In his mouth, 1 Peter 2, 22. (24:47) He was the greatest person to ever live.
(24:50) He did nothing wrong. (24:51) He just tried to help people. (24:53) He came down here to save us.

(24:55) And yet he had to die a brutal death. (25:00) But he did it willingly. (25:03) He wouldn’t have gone to the cross.

(25:05) They couldn’t have kept him there if he didn’t want to be there. (25:08) He chose to go to the cross in our place so we could be forgiven. (25:12) Romans 5, 8. (25:14) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this.

(25:17) While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (25:21) By his wounds, we are healed. (25:23) Isaiah 53, 5. (25:27) He was pierced for our transgressions.

(25:29) He was crushed for our iniquities. (25:32) The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. (25:37) And by his wounds, we are healed.

(25:41) Life was not fair for Jesus, but it is more than fair for us. (25:46) God gave his only son that we might have eternal life. (25:50) For God so loved the world that he gave his only son (25:54) that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

(25:59) John 3, 16. (26:02) So we can see that it was unfair for Jesus. (26:05) He had no sin.

(26:07) That’s why the grave couldn’t keep him. (26:11) You know, he died for us. (26:15) We serve a great God that does not want anybody to perish, (26:18) but everybody to come to repentance.

(26:20) 2 Peter 3, 9. (26:23) He couldn’t be any more fair with us. (26:27) God has done everything in his power to give us a chance to be saved. (26:31) All we have to do is trust and obey.

(26:36) He’s made it easy for us. (26:40) You know, it’s not hard to become a Christian. (26:42) It is hard to live a Christian life, but God has made it easy to be saved.

(26:48) If you think God has treated you unfairly in life, you couldn’t be more wrong. (26:54) When Job was confronted by God, he had nothing to say. (26:59) And I promise if God confronts you, that you won’t have anything to say to him either.

(27:04) You are not wiser than Job. (27:08) And you won’t have a better argument to give to God than Job had. (27:12) Anyone sitting here could be called to stand before God this very day.

(27:19) It is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a living God. (27:23) Hebrews 10, 31. (27:27) Imagine standing before the Lord in judgment.

(27:30) It’s bad enough to go to court and stand in front of a judge, a human judge. (27:34) That could be nerve-wracking. (27:37) Imagine standing in front of God and having to answer for everything you’ve done in life.

(27:43) That would be a very scary thing, even as a Christian. (27:49) So, if you are in sin or haven’t become a Christian yet, now is the time. (27:56) If you think life’s unfair, you need to change your attitude.

(28:01) God is more than fair with us. (28:04) Bad things happen to everybody. (28:07) It’s up to us in our lives with the decisions we make to make things better.

(28:16) If you’re not a Christian or would like to come forward with any problem, (28:22) or even come forward with good news, now is the time.