From His Heart

Speaker 1

Here's a good question. Why do bad things happen to good people? We'll find out today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Speaker 2

You say, you know, I'm walking with God the best I know how, and I just lost my job. And man, my neighbor across the street who doesn't give two hoots about God, he just got a promotion.

I'm serving God on the mission field and I just got cancer. That doesn't make sense. I'm walking with God. I'm serving God. I'm giving to God. And my spouse just told me they're leaving me for another.

My family is disintegrating on me and I don't understand it. Why do bad things happen to good people? He can heal every scar with real truth, real love, real hope. From his heart.

Speaker 1

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. And we're beginning a series today that answers some of life's toughest questions. It's entitled "Now That's a Tough Answering the Difficult Questions of Life."

Pastor, I know that in this series you'll address questions about the salvation of those who haven't heard the name of Jesus. Can someone lose their salvation? How can you know the will of God in your life?

You'll start today with a message called "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?" But what made you select these and other difficult questions to teach on?

Speaker 2

I just kind of looked through the Scripture and just in my own mind, what are the things that caused me to really question and what have people asked me before concerning? Well, how could this be true or how could that be true? Basic questions that people have and deep questions and what does the Bible say concerning those questions?

In this series, we just try and pinpoint those areas where people have an itch and scratch where they're itching and say, this is what the Bible says concerning this key question.

Speaker 1

Well, I know today on the broadcast you're going to do a lot more than just scratch the surface in answering the question today, which is the title of the message: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Remember, if you can't be with us for the entire broadcast, you can listen again anytime at fromhisheart.org. There too, you can also download Pastor Jeff's sermon outlines and notes.

Right now, open your Bible to the book of Acts 14. Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve to find the Bible's answer to this often asked question.

Speaker 2

One of my favorite comedians is a guy named Steven Wright. I don't know if you've ever heard of Steven Wright. Steven Wright has a really weird sense of humor. His delivery is what makes his jokes so funny. And I don't have that kind of delivery. But some of the things that Steven Wright says, he tells his audience, he said, you know, I was Caesarean born, although you can't really tell except when I leave the house, I always go out through the window. I mean, just weird stuff like that. Is Steven Wright. Well, he asks some weird questions in his comedy routine. Questions like this: if Barbie's so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? That's a good question. Why are there five syllables in the word monosyllabic? Last question: why doesn't the fattest man in the world become a hockey goalie? I love that. Lots of tough questions.

Well, tonight we want to look at the tough, tough question that so many people ask throughout the ages: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why on earth, God, do bad things happen to those people who are trying to do good, who are trying to walk with you? Yet so many people who have really tried to walk with God have experienced so many bad things. You say, you know, I'm walking with God the best I know how and I just lost my job, and man, my neighbor across the street who doesn't give two hoots about God, he just got a promotion. What gives there? Why do bad things happen to good people?

Acts, chapter 14, verses 21 and 22. The Bible says this: "And after they had departed or had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Through many tribulations. That word, tribulations, "Thalipsis" in the Greek is also translated afflictions, anguish, distress, persecution, trouble. And Paul and those who were with him on his missionary journey were encouraging the disciples, encouraging those people that were wanting to walk with God, that had heard the gospel and believed the gospel and obeyed the gospel and given their hearts to Jesus. He encouraged those folks and strengthened those folks and told those folks, you're going to have tribulation. You're going to have not just a little bit of tribulation; you're going to have a lot of tribulation. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

Why do bad things happen to good people? I want to give you seven reasons, seven possible reasons why bad things happen. Reason number one: because you may have done something wrong. Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, maybe you did something wrong. You know, good is a relative term. We talk about being a good person. Well, we're not perfect people. I'm not a perfect person. You're not a perfect person. Billy Graham's not a perfect person. The apostle Paul wasn't a perfect person. No one is a perfect person. Jesus is the only perfect person. He still had a lot of problems in his life. He's a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. But, you know, one of the reasons that we can run into bad things in our lives is because when we're just dead honest, we've done something wrong.

You know, there's a good person in the Old Testament. He was such a good person that God called him as one of his prophets and gave him a special assignment: "Arise, Jonah, and go to Nineveh and preach to the Ninevites, because their wickedness has come up before me." And Jonah was in Israel, and God said, "Arise, go east, young man, to Nineveh." Nineveh is in modern-day Iraq. Go there. That's the capital city of the Assyrians. That's where I want you to go. And Jonah arose. God said, "Go east." And Jonah says, "Forget that, I'm going west." He went down to Joppa, boarded a ship, and paid the fare, trying to get to Tarshish. Tarshish is 3,500 miles away from Nineveh. I'm trying to get as far away from Nineveh as I possibly can. You know why Jonah did that? Because he hated the Ninevites. He hated Nineveh, which was the capital city of Assyria, and the Assyrians were really bad guys. He didn't want to preach to them; he just wanted them to die. So he hightailed it and fled from the will of God and from the plan of God to go to Tarshish.

Well, what happens when you go the wrong way? Jonah is on his way to Tarshish. A big storm arises, and the ship is almost about to be broken up. Jonah 1:4 says, "And the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship was about to break up." The sailors that he's with are freaking out. They find out what's the problem here. They cast lots and find out the lot fell to Jonah. They said, "Tell us what's going on." He said, "I'm fleeing from the presence of the Lord." They said, "How could you have done this?" Jonah says, "Listen, if you want the sea to be calm, throw me into the sea." They didn't want to do that, but finally, they didn't have any choice. So they threw Jonah into the sea, and Jonah got swallowed by a big fish. A bad thing happened to a good person, Jonah, because he did something wrong.

Maybe you're here tonight and you're kind of running from the Lord. You know, God wants you to go to Nineveh, so to speak. He wants you to do a specific thing, and you're saying, "No, no, no," and you're going the wrong way. Hey, you can't hide. A bad thing can happen to you and to me when we do something wrong.

Reason number two: maybe you haven't done anything wrong, but maybe someone else has done something wrong. See, bad things can happen to you and me when someone else does something wrong. The Bible says in Romans 14:7, "None of us live to ourselves." We don't live in a vacuum. The things that I do affect you, and the things that you do affect me. Our lives intersect, and our lives are entwined in this world. I can get in my car and drive to a restaurant after this service, and I can get hit on Richmond Road, head-on, by a drunk driver. Now, I didn't have anything to drink. I didn't do anything wrong. He did something wrong, but I'm affected by that.

You know, there's a good example in the Old Testament of someone who did something wrong that affected a whole group of people who didn't do anything wrong. That story is found in Joshua, chapter seven. When Joshua and the people defeated Jericho, God had told the people, "Listen, everything in the city belongs to me." He called it under the ban; you're banned from that stuff. It belongs to me. So don't take anything out of Jericho. But there was a man there named Achan. As he was going through the city of Jericho, after the walls had come down and there was a great victory, he saw a coat that he liked, a Babylonian coat. He said, "Man, this is pretty cool. And no one's seeing this. I'm going to grab it. I'm going to pick this up." Then he found some silver and some gold. He took those articles and brought them back to his tent and buried them under his tent. He thought no one saw and no one knew. He told his wife and his children, "Shh, don't tell anybody," but God saw. God saw.

Then the very next battle is the battle against a little dinky place called Ai. So dinky, it's just two letters: AI. They go up against AI, and Israel says, "Well, Joshua, don't send a lot of people against AI. I mean, that's just a seventh-grade team; we're going to wipe them out." So they just send a few thousand, but they don't do so good against AI. Thirty-six men of Israel die, and the rest flee for their lives. Joshua doesn't understand it. He says, "God, I don't understand this." God says to Joshua, "Israel has sinned." The whole nation, but really just one guy and his family: Achan. Achan was the one who sinned. The Lord says in Joshua chapter 7, verse 12, "Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst." Achan sinned. He did something wrong, and Israel suffered. They had 36 funerals because of Achan's sin.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, maybe you did something wrong. Maybe somebody else did something wrong. Reason number three: maybe it's because Satan is attacking you.

Speaker 1

Today's message is called "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?" and it's from Pastor Jeff's powerful series, "Answering the Difficult Questions of Life." We'll be airing messages from this series for the rest of the month, but you can find out more about this timely series when you go to fromisheart.org and just click the listen tab.

This month is devoted to answering life's big questions in Pastor Jeff's latest six-message series, "Life's Big Questions." This series addresses six of the most profound questions that you could ask. It's available for your gift of any amount from His Heart in the format of your choice—on CDs, DVDs, MP3 download, or on a USB flash drive.

You can make your gift by calling 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or simply go to fromisheart.org. With that gift, we'll also send you Pastor Jeff's booklet called "The ABCs of the Christian Life," which will help you learn how beneficial a healthy fear of God is in your life—an understanding that brings joy and freedom in Christ.

Again, you can get the series "Life's Big Questions" and the booklet "The ABCs of the Christian Life" when you call today at 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromisheart.org to make your gift. God bless you for standing beside us and helping us reach the world for Jesus.

Now, let's continue with the message, "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?" Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 2

Why do bad things happen to good people? Maybe it's because Satan is attacking you. Now, the modern-day theologians, the liberal guys who like to rip apart the Bible and say, well, you know, Genesis is myth and Revelation is myth, mystery, and they like to look at all the stuff in the Bible, pull out all the miracles, and one of the things they don't like the idea of is a personal devil, a real being called the devil. They say, well, no, that's not true. The devil's just a force. It's just symbolism for evil and things like that.

Listen, the devil is a real being and he has a real army of demons. The devil was created a beautiful angel. His name was Lucifer. But he rebelled against God, and God kicked him out of heaven, and he became Satan. When the devil rebelled against God, he didn't do it all by himself. He took a third of the angels and won them over to rebel against God too. Well, God threw all of them out, and they're all now fallen angels, and we know them as the devil and demons. He is real.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8-10, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, but resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."

Oh, the devil is out there, and he prowls around. He's looking for someone to attack; he's looking for someone to devour, and he causes suffering among God's people. But as we learn from the story of Job, who was terribly, horribly attacked by the devil, the devil is limited as to what he can do to a child of God because God puts a hedge of protection around his children. The devil has to get permission to come after you and to come after me. God sees to it.

Do you remember Jesus at the Last Supper said to Simon Peter, "Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded permission to sift you as wheat"? He couldn't just take out Simon; he had to get permission. But why do bad things happen to good people? Well, it could be that you're being attacked right now. If you're going through some terrible, horrible things, it could be that you're being attacked by the devil and you're suffering as a result.

Reason number four: Maybe bad things are happening to you, a good person, because God is testing you. First Peter, chapter four, verse 12 says, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you." See, some of these other things could be or couldn't be. I don't know if it's something I did wrong or someone else did something wrong, but I do know that God does test me, and he does test you.

When you go through fiery trials, don't be surprised, like, "Whoa, who signed me up for this? Why am I getting this?" Peter says, "Listen, the Lord is testing you." Those fiery trials, those difficulties that come into your life, that come into my life, it's a test. God is testing your faith. When I was in school, every class I took always had tests. There was always a test. There was always classroom time where you had to take notes; you had to pay attention because there was a test.

Every now and again, especially in high school, we'd have some kind of movie or some special speaker in there, and we'd ask the teacher, "Are we going to be tested on this material?" If they said, "No, you're not going to be tested," well, I put up my pen, closed up my notebook, and really kind of checked out mentally. I'm not going to be tested over this; I'm not going to listen very much.

Listen, God doesn't want you to do that in life. God wants you to learn in life. He wants you to grow in life. So God says, "Listen, when you go through trials, know this: every trial is a test, and a faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted." So God tests us.

Abraham was given a promise that he was going to have a son. And 30 years later, he had that son. He loved that son; his name was Isaac. In Genesis, chapter 22, verse 1, the Scripture says, "Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham." God said, "Abraham, Abraham." And Abraham said, "Here I am."

He said, "Abraham, take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and offer him up to me as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of Moriah." Wow. Abraham obeyed God, and he took Isaac. They walked and went to the mountains of Moriah for three days. It was a three-day journey. With a heavy heart, with misery, with brokenness, with pain, and bewilderment, he didn't understand, "Why is God doing this?"

He didn't have the benefit of Genesis chapter 22, verse 1, where it says that God was testing him. He didn't know that. God didn't say, "Now, Abraham, I've given you a test. I'm going to ask you to sacrifice your son. But listen, don't worry, because I'm not really going to do that. I'm going to come through at the 11th hour, so don't really worry about this." He didn't have that. All he knew was that God told him to do that.

He went all the way through and put his son on the altar and tied him there. He took the knife and drew it back to plunge it into his son's heart. As he had the knife back to plunge it into his heart, God said, "Abraham, Abraham." And Abraham said, "Here I am." God said, "Abraham, do not stretch out your hand against the lad, for now I know that you fear me because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

It was a test. It was a test, and he passed the test. Why are bad things happening to you, maybe right this moment in your life? Because God is testing you. And don't be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing.

Reason number five: Why do bad things happen to good people? Because God is teaching you. All the time God is testing, and all the time God is teaching. I think we would all agree one of the greatest Christians who has ever lived, maybe the greatest Christian to have ever lived, was the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul, you talk about bad things happening—wow. He had bad things in spades.

Now, he had some great and awesome and incredible things that happened in his life, through his life. One of the great and awesome things was he was taken to heaven. He said, "I learned things and I was taught things, and I was shown things that are not permitted for a man to speak." I can't even talk about them because he said, "The revelations God gave me were so great and so awesome."

What came also with those revelations was a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to keep me from exalting myself. Because there was a great tendency with what God had shown him that Paul would have exalted himself, would have said, "Look at me. Look what God did in my life. Look at the things I know, at the things these eyes have seen."

So God gave him a thorn in the flesh. Now, we don't know what that was. Some say, "Well, Paul had migraine headaches." We don't know. Some say he had bad eyesight and he so wanted to be able to see. Some say he had problems with all the enemies that were constantly attacking him. Some say his thorn in the flesh was that he was a hunchback. But whatever it was, he didn't want it; it was a thorn, actually a stake that was going through him.

He says in Second Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 8, "Concerning this thorn in the flesh, I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me." And he has said to me, "Paul, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness." And the light came on for Paul. Wow. God taught him a great lesson through his suffering, through this bad thing, this thorn in the flesh.

Speaker 1

You know, the Bible never told us what Paul's thorn in the flesh was, but what it did point out was that this obstacle in his life was an avenue for God's power to flow through him.

We're only halfway through with this message. Pastor Jeff returns tomorrow for part two of the lesson, "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

When Pastor Jeff Shreve opens up God's word and shares real truth, love, and hope from God's heart, here on From His Heart.

Speaker 2

There is tremendous truth There is hope that you always dream Love he can heal every scarlet Love Real hope From his heart.

Speaker 1

From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world.

Remember that no matter what, God loves you. And he has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out about that when you go to fromisheart.org.