The Cross: The Suffering Of God Part 2

Boris looking to Jesus and found her outside of Jerusalem. One day Jesus the Messiah then is no people passed by realizing the eternal consequences of what was happening on moment cross today. More about the wonder cream sacrifice from the Moody Church in Chicago this morning to serve teaching make it across the finish line will take us again to Isaiah chapter 53, we see an amazing processing suffering Messiah gave the reason that I do this is because I want people to understand that Christianity is different from all the other religions of the world. Here's what happens.

People go online and they discovered that other religions also demanded a blood sacrifice. And so they say Christianity is no different than all those other religions, Christianity is different because, listen carefully in Christianity God becomes the sacrifice.

No other religion can say that. So the uniqueness of the cross of Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is the heart of what we believe and it is the heart of our redemption. So let's think carefully about this, even as we continue to study the suffering of God. He was stricken. He was smitten of God, yes, and afflicted it please the Lord to bruise him clearly Christ want to ask you a question God the father suffer did he or did he not know throughout the centuries that theologians have debated this and they have come up with the impossibility of God, not impossibility, but in impossibility on July giveaway theologians. They love big words so that you and I can come along and try to figure out what it is that they mean but there's an idea. There were impassable means that he is unaffected either by pleasure or pain and and they argued that based on the immutability of God. The fact that the Lord does not change that. Therefore he cannot be subject to the pushes and pulls of emotions like we as human beings, and therefore God is beyond all of the pleasures and the pains of this world and actually that error and it is an error has led to the idea that somehow Jesus is compassionate but the father isn't. Let me ask you a question today is the father compassionate or is the father passive and detached, unaffected by our humanness and our dilemma. There is a passage and there are many passages but let me read simply one to you now listen, this is God the father.

This is Jehovah speaking and you answer whether or not God is a God of D pathos and emotion. How can I give you level Ephraim. How can I surrender you. Oh Israel, how can I make you like them. How can I treat you like the example BM my heart is turned over within me.

All my compassions are kindled I will not execute my fierce anger.

I will not destroy Ephraim again for I am God, and not a man, the holy one who is in your midst, and I will not come in my wrath Scott have emotion. He is a being with deep emotion, far from being untouched by the human dilemma.

He is one who not only knows what we are going through, but he is keenly aware of pain, having endured it himself disabled does not.

This impinge on the sovereignty of God. A man is God, the victim of emotions just like we are the answer is no. Here's the difference you see you and I are subject to emotions because of circumstances that we cannot control. God is not a jilted lover. He's not someone who wishes he wouldn't have to endure pain but things kind of got out of control and what is heatedly asked endure it as best he can no God is one who has voluntarily and willingly chosen to suffer was a choice he did not have to.

He had the option of creating a whole bunch of other world worlds in which there was no sin world in which there was no fault but he chose this particular world because he said I voluntarily choose suffering and that's why he remains God.

He remains God completely. He remains God because it was the consent of the Godhead to suffer. Let us just simply say boldly that when you see Christ on the cross. You see God on the cross, Jesus said he that hath seen me hath seen the father is it true to say that God died for man PT Forsyth said God dying for man.

I am not afraid of that raise.

In fact, I cannot do without it thinkable the sun would suffer on the cross of the father not suffer real with me today. I hope so. Parents think about this your son being crucified your daughter being crucified. You telling me that a child could be crucified and go through that terrible, horrible ordeal and we simply say, well, you know, the, the child suffered but the parents didn't suffer all out what kind of a parent would that be if he didn't suffer more than the child who is being crucified. When Jesus said, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me that was the suffering of Christ, but was also the suffering of God. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself as an Italian church in which there is a picture of the crucifixion, and that Jesus is dying there on the cross and there is a nail through his hand.

But behind the picture. There is this shadow that represents God the father and the same nail that goes through the hand of Christ goes through the hand of God. Let me draw some conclusions from what we have said so far today. First of all, God feels our pain. He really does. He was the chief actor. He was the chief player is because of the mercy of God toward us that his son was given God cares Phil Donahue, that great interpreter of American culture is giving some reasons why was disillusioned with Christianity and here are his words. How could an all-knowing, all loving God allow his son to be murdered on the cross to redeem my sins. If God the father is so loving, why didn't the father go to Calvary and do it himself. And the answer is fill in Christ, he did it himself. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and then the little girl who prayed and said oh I love Jesus, but I'm really scared of God. She needs her theology corrected. She needs her theology corrected because it is impossible to separate the heart of Jesus in the heart of God as if to say, a God is stern and uncaring and unloving and demanding, and Jesus is sweet, compassionate and loving and kind and is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. That is a false theology, and it is that kind of theology that sometimes makes us think dreadful things about God that we should never think he that have seen me hath seen the father.

You see God's and turned his back on the human race and anger. Someday he will but not during this era of grace.

When people can come to him and and repent and end God is one who was willingly subjected to the rejection of his creation and he will that he would be any chose that path. As a result of that, we can say today with integrity. God cares and is touched touched and moved by your pain as a second conclusion and that is that God suffers with us even today it's not just limited to the cross. He said already in Isaiah 43 that when you pass through the waters, I will be with you and the floods will not overtake you because I will walk through the furnace of affliction.

In Deuteronomy 31 verse eight the Lord says he goes ahead of his people in their suffering in the New Testament God of course is the silent software. When Jesus came out of heaven, and said to Paul why persecutors thou me wasn't just that Jesus was feeling the pain of his people who were going through all that terror and you know, today there is more persecution and more heartache and more deaths on account of Jesus Christ than ever before in history as people are dying their faith. It is not as if this goes unnoticed in heaven by a callused God who is seen evil for so many centuries that he is gotten used to it and it doesn't affect him anymore me tell you something if you love somebody and they are suffering you suffer with them, and God loves us and he suffers with the reason I preach this message is I want to say something that young man who was a disciple of Christ, who witness for Christ. But when his sister was brutally raped and murdered the boy decided to leave the faith and to say if that's the way God is. I'm not that I have anything to do with him again. I think if he could be in heaven and he could see what is happening and not intervene. I will not serve him how to put my arm around him and say God cares God cares woman in anger said to her pastor son had died in a truck accident. Where was your God when my son was killed, which he replied he was in the same place where he was when his son was killed.

We have a suffering God doesn't answer all of our questions doesn't believe the mystery note that we can now look at a circumstance and we can see in it everything that we would want to see what it means is that there is an explanation. And someday God may give it to us and it also means that since God chose suffering and will with all these different options. There must be some grand worthwhile purpose to which all of it moves and with that we can have confidence that God is involved and there is a purpose. There is a purpose. There is no place my friend today where your sorrows are more keenly felt that heaven people may not feel it on earth you may think that people would become callused and you have been neglected in your need. But God knows and he cares and he has felt what you have gone through. There's 1/3 lesson and that is that our calling is to really suffer in the world.

That's our calling. You were talking about taking the cross into the world and later on we'll talk about that more specifically as to what it means. The implications of the cross in daily living. But suffering is to be the mark of the Christian all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

I like the words of Bonhoeffer's said that suffering is not some interruption that is brought into our life.

Bonhoeffer said suffering is our calling.

We are to fill up the sufferings of Christ, the Scripture says we are to share in his suffering. That's what troubles me. Sometimes when our rights are taken away and when things happen in society where we feel that we are going to lose whatever it is that we consider valuable in this life. We become angry and we become defensive and we become very un-Christ -like very un-Christ and I wish that all the world needed was words we got plenty of words we got words in books we got words on tapes we got words in churches, we got words on the radio and words on television while we just give them words, God ordained it in such a way that most people will not believe the gospel simply because they have heard and they need to see it lived out to give it its authenticity. Michael Baume Garten. How in the world would you know that he was German Baume in German means tree Garten means garden so you have it tree Garten Michael tree Garten, a Lutheran pastor after being excommunicated from his church for standing what he believed to be right said this, there are times in which lectures and publications will no longer suffice to communicate the necessary truth.

At such times the deeds and the sufferings of the saints create a new alphabet in order to reveal the secret truth, the gospel of suffering puts the good news in an entirely different light and heat communicated with authenticity cemented the time will come in America when no one will listen until we have students that are universities willing to fail willing to fail because they will not accept what is quote politically correct. Perhaps there will be no transformation until nurses are willing to lose their jobs rather than dissipate in abortions and maybe our witness will not be authenticated until there are those who are willing to go through hardship at work even when you have politically correct laws in the workplace who nevertheless will witness for Christ and thereby be punished but to take it with a sense of tranquility and a sense of joy not with a victim mentality but as the early apostles, who rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for his name. We represent a suffering God a missionary in Kenya said this about to some of the believers there who had been through death and mutilation is that I'm constantly humbled by their patients and lack of bitterness which springs from an acceptance of the cross in their lives. That's what the cross enables us to do. Jesus, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again when he suffered, he uttered no threats but committed himself to him. The judges righteously. That is our example that is our model of suffering and what we must be willing to do is to in some way endure at least a part of what he endured. Blessed are ye, when men revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my namesake. Great is your reward in heaven. God suffered we should suffer, and in doing so. If we do it correctly. We represent you stable. Should we change everything we can change yes of course I have no better advice than the old adage that says change everything that you can change except what you cannot change and pray to God that you know the difference. Blessed are those who see God in their suffering. You know, of course, that we talk about seeing God work mightily in America. I told you about England in a previous message, and in a great spiritual need during the 1800s, and how God raised up to man and one was the Charles Wesley Miller was his brother John and the Wesley brothers preached throughout the length and breadth of England and of course in the 1700s.

They came here as well. They preached over in new England and God did mighty works.

What they believed is what we need to believe but at the end of the day what America really needs us to see the cross born lovingly and joyfully by Christians were cold by his name. One of the brothers that is Charles love to write, hymns, and he wrote the hymn with which we are going to conclude today. Can you sing it, can we sing it authentically amazing love and can it be that thou my God should die for me and if God did that we must be like him in our willingness to suffer. That's an interesting thought is that the fact that God suffered means that we should be willing to suffer as well. And here in the United States where we have always had religious freedom.

All of us know that those freedoms are now being compromised in the midst of secularism at the time of real suffering may lie just ahead of the ministry of running to win goes to your bracket ran, Israel, Jordan and Syria in the Arabic language and we rejoice in that that there are people in those countries that are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and also by the way, in 100 stations in Central and South America in Spanish, but it also is broadcast here in Chicago obviously and I was reminded of that recently when I walked into a store and I spoke to two people who recognized my voice and they told me their stories, one with tears in his eyes said that you will never know what running to win means to me and you know as I looked at his face and saw his tears. I was reminded of the fact that we continue this ministry because we have many partners supporting the ministry of running to win.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Would you like to become an endurance partner that somebody who prays for us and this supports this ministry on a regular basis and you can find out about our ministry by going to RTW offer.com.

Click on the endurance partner button. Endurance partners are those people that we depend upon or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 from the bottom of my heart. I want to tell you this. This is not my ministry. It's not the ministry of the church or the ministry of a committee. This is God's ministry we rejoice in all that we've been able to do, but it is because of people like you joining the running to win family go to RTW offer.com. Click on the endurance partner button RTW offer.com or if you wish, call us at 1-888-218-9337 1-888-218-9337 it's time again for you to ask certain questions about the Bible or the Christian life. Today's question is based on prospects for marriage when both partners have a past content with our lien rights. I'm dating and would like to marry a man whom I've known for many years. We both have a lot of family issues, both coming from very dysfunctional families.

He is wonderful. But his problem is with when he is discouraged and depressed. He turns to drink. I've talked to him about this because I used to have an alcohol problem to both of us are Christians, but with mixed this very difficult is that we have been sexually intimate. And so I feel an obligation to marry him. I know we've done wrong and he even agrees, but I can't just walk away.

Even though I see trouble ahead. Arlene, thank you so much for writing to me and I need to speak to you very plainly because I believe that my advice though tough will be good and I trust it will be helpful. I think you need to walk away from this relationship of this man ultimately is bad news.

He can be nice but if he turns to drink when things get difficult. Believe me, these drinking before you get married. He most assuredly is going to be drinking after you get married, and a probably much more so. Furthermore, Arlene.

You have to realize that when you are sleeping with a man to whom you are not married, you're in no position to assess whether or not this is going to be a good relationship.

I know that you feel an obligation to marry this man because of that intimacy but you need to accept God's forgiveness for your sin and then you need to move on and commit yourself to a life of purity.

The fact remains that that even though you have been intimate that does not mean that you are obligated to marry, you need to understand Arlene that you have a past and so does he, until the both of you get it all cleaned up until you separate until you develop faith in one another and purity and holiness, and counseling.

Neither of you is ready for marriage. Bottom line, walk away, get your own act together, go to your church.

Commit yourself to other believers walk in purity and holiness and let God lead you that is more important than marrying, and I believe that if you marry that man. You're going to regret it. Thank you. Dr. Moser if you'd like to hear your question answered. Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor lutes or or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us at running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 many of today's conflicts stem from deep rooted racial or ethnic strife. It seems there's no human solution, but there is a divine solution.

There is a place of common ground for those who can't stand the sight of each other. Next time I'm running to win our series on Christians politics and the cross continue join us for message number six why the cross is the basis for reconciliation. This is Dave Callister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church