Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Stephen Fowler, Andrea Endries, Levi Longoria
Series Code: THL
Program Code: THL000003
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00:01 My dad was one of the best examples to me
00:03 of what it means to be a true Christian. 00:05 He talked with God the way friends talk to each other. 00:09 He knew God's voice. 00:10 And he set the example for me of the kind of relationship 00:13 that I want to have with God. 00:15 It seems that everywhere he went 00:17 he was always showing his faith, 00:18 whether it was to his coworkers 00:20 or to his friends or the complete stranger 00:23 in the gas station. 00:24 God used him to touch countless lives. 00:27 That's why it was so terribly confusing to everyone 00:31 when he suddenly passed away with a heart attack 00:33 at the age of only 51. 00:35 Leaving me and my seven siblings without our father 00:38 and my mom without her husband who she loved and needed. 00:42 How could God allow such a good man, 00:45 a good father, a good husband 00:47 and a worker for Him to simply be taken away? 00:51 If God really is an all powerful God 00:54 then He could have stopped it. 00:55 He had every ability to prevent this tragedy. 00:58 And in fact, has every ability to prevent all tragedy 01:02 and suffering and pain in this world. 01:04 Yet He allows it to continue. Why? 01:08 And how am I supposed to believe 01:10 that a God who has the ability 01:12 to stop these things yet does not, 01:15 could really be a loving God? 01:17 Now have you ever wondered the same thing? 01:20 Well, today we're gonna 01:21 take a look at the teachings of Jesus 01:23 concerning these very questions. 02:16 It's the age old question 02:18 that continues to cause a storm of controversy. 02:22 Why do bad things happen to good people? 02:25 Or to say it another way, if God is so good 02:29 why does He allow so many bad things to take place? 02:33 There have been many throughout the ages 02:35 who have struggled with these very questions, and rightly so. 02:40 You would think that if God were truly a loving and caring God, 02:44 He could never allow such things as child abuse 02:47 or cancer or divorce or the loss of a loved one to take place. 02:53 So why then are these things so common in our world? 02:57 It's a very important question for it has everything to do 03:01 with whether or not you can truly believe 03:03 in a loving and merciful God. 03:07 A God of the Bible. 03:10 You know, often He is in fact the first one to be blamed 03:14 when something tragic happens. 03:16 And some people have turned their backs on God altogether 03:19 because they just can't imagine believing in a God 03:22 who is seemingly indifferent to our sufferings. 03:25 So how do we reconcile the apparent inconsistencies 03:30 between a loving and compassionate God 03:33 and the terrible tragedy and suffering 03:35 that takes place in this world? 03:38 Often we hear answers like, 03:40 "we just can't understand God's ways," 03:43 or "well, I suppose we'll have to wait 03:46 until we get to heaven to find out." 03:49 Now however true these things may be, 03:52 to many people, these are quite frankly 03:54 just not satisfactory answers. 03:57 And to those people I would say, "That's okay, 04:01 you don't have to be satisfied with these answers." Why? 04:05 Because the Bible gives us an answer. 04:08 And not just any answer but a good answer. Levi? 04:14 It sure does, Charles. 04:16 And, you know, often when we're seeking to understand 04:18 some of life's big questions, 04:21 the best way to go about it 04:22 is to take a look at the big picture. 04:24 In Matthew 13: 24-30, 04:27 Jesus tells an interesting parable 04:30 and that can help us to understand 04:31 a couple of very important points 04:33 about why so many terrible things take place in this world. 04:37 In this parable, there was a man 04:38 who planted a wheat field. 04:40 But while he slept, an enemy came 04:42 and sowed tares among the wheat. 04:45 When his servants asked him 04:46 what they should do with the tares, 04:48 he said to let them grow until the time of the harvest. 04:51 And at that time, they could be separated from the wheat. 04:54 But then Jesus goes on to explain 04:56 in verses 39-41 what this parable represents. 05:01 He says that the enemy in the story is the devil. 05:04 The harvest is the end of the world, 05:06 that reapers are the angels 05:08 and the tares represent all things that offend 05:11 and them which do iniquity. 05:13 Now with that information we can understand 05:15 what Jesus was actually saying in this parable. 05:19 And He said that an enemy, that is the devil, 05:21 was the one responsible for sowing the tares. 05:24 And again, what did the tares represent? 05:27 All things that offend and them which do iniquity. 05:31 Now let me ask you a question. 05:33 Would this all things that offend include, say, genocide 05:37 or how about child abuse or rape? 05:40 Would they be included in this "all things?" 05:42 Of course, it includes all of the suffering 05:45 and death and pain in this world. 05:48 All things that offend. 05:50 And who is responsible for it? 05:51 According to the teachings of Jesus Himself, the devil. 05:55 And so the first point I want you to notice 05:57 is that God is not the one causing these things. 06:01 And Jesus is very clear 06:02 that the responsibility rests upon Satan. 06:06 Well, you say, I already knew that God's not causing it, 06:10 but why does He allow it? 06:12 Well, let's go back to the parable. 06:14 We're told in verses 28, 29 06:16 that when his servants came and asked him 06:18 if they should go and gather up the tares, 06:21 he told them to wait. 06:23 In other words, he would allow the tares 06:26 to continue growing for a time. 06:28 Now notice, this is the question. 06:30 Why does God allow these things to continue 06:34 and what was the reason Jesus gave? 06:37 "No, lest while you gather up the tares 06:39 you also uproot the wheat with them. 06:42 Let both grow together until the harvest." 06:47 So the reason the tares weren't dealt with 06:49 when they first sprang up 06:50 was because some of the wheat 06:52 may have been pulled up with them. 06:54 You see, in their early stages of growth, 06:56 the two plants look virtually identical. 06:59 It's only as you allow them to mature 07:02 that you can begin to clearly distinguish between the two. 07:05 And so what was Jesus saying? 07:08 Sin, that thing that offends, 07:10 must be allowed for a time to prosper, to grow to maturity, 07:15 that its true nature, its true ugliness, 07:18 and all of its terrible results can be clearly seen. 07:23 But why is it important for us 07:24 to be able to so clearly see the results of sin? 07:28 Andrea is standing by with that important insight. 07:32 Well, Levi, I think the best way to understand 07:35 why it's important that we see the results of sin 07:38 is to go back to the beginning and look at the origin of sin. 07:41 How it entered the universe 07:43 and what was actually at stake because of it. 07:46 Often, when we think of where sin began, 07:49 we think of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve 07:51 disobeying God and partaking of the forbidden fruit. 07:54 But this is actually not where sin originated. 07:57 As we touched on in our previous study, 07:59 sin actually originated in heaven 08:02 with one of the angels. 08:04 We read about this in Ezekiel Chapter 28. 08:07 In this chapter, the writer uses a wicked earthly king, 08:10 that is, the King of Tyre as a figure to describe 08:13 this being in heaven that would eventually become 08:16 who we know as Satan or the devil. 08:19 Now maybe you've wondered, 08:20 "Why would God create the devil?" 08:23 Well, the question is, did He create a devil? 08:27 I want you to notice a few important things 08:29 here in Ezekiel 28. 08:31 And describing this being, verse 12 says 08:33 that he was not only perfect 08:35 but that he was the seal of perfection. 08:38 That is to say, 08:39 he was the crowning act of God's creation. 08:42 It also says that he was full of wisdom 08:45 and perfect in beauty. 08:47 And verse 15 says that he was perfect in all his ways 08:50 from the day that he was created. 08:53 Now I don't know about you, 08:55 but to me, this doesn't quite sound like the devil 08:58 we're used to hearing about. 09:00 Well, that's because it's not. 09:02 This was the prefect sinless being 09:04 that God originally created 09:06 before he became corrupted by sin. 09:09 And in fact, it appears that this angel 09:12 may have been more closely connected to God and His throne 09:15 than were any of the other created beings. 09:18 This is evident by what is said in verse 14. 09:21 "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth..." 09:25 And what does that mean? 09:27 Well, if you study the Old Testament sanctuary 09:29 that God had Moses build in the wilderness, 09:32 you'll find that on either side of the mercy seat 09:34 which represented God's throne in heaven, there were cherubim 09:38 which held their wings above the place 09:40 where God's presence was to dwell. 09:44 So a covering cherub was the one who stood closes to God's throne 09:48 and would arch his wings over the place where God sat. 09:52 And this was the former position of this angel 09:54 described in Ezekiel 28. 09:57 The former position of the one who we now call, Satan. 10:02 You know, it really makes you wonder. 10:04 What was it that cause one so highly exalted 10:08 and favored by God to fall so far away? Stephen? 10:14 Well, Andrea, that's a good question. 10:16 And it's actually the same question 10:17 asked in Isaiah Chapter 14. 10:20 "How art thou fallen from heaven, 10:22 O Lucifer, son of the morning? 10:24 How art thou cut down to the ground, 10:26 which didst weaken the nations?" 10:28 How could sin enter into a perfect and sinless universe? 10:32 How could such a bright and holy being 10:34 as this exalted angel named Lucifer 10:36 become the most bitter enemy of God? 10:39 It's something called the mystery of sin. 10:43 It's a hard thing to understand, 10:45 but Ezekiel tells us that it was ultimately 10:47 due to the seeds of pride that began to grow inside of him. 10:51 Pride for the very beauty and splendor 10:53 that God intended to be a blessing. 10:56 Isaiah 14:13, 14 tells us that this pride eventually 11:00 let him to desire the very throne of God Himself. 11:04 I want you to notice all of the references to ascending 11:06 or going up that we find in these verses. 11:10 "For thou hast said in thine heart, 11:12 I will ascend into heaven, 11:13 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, 11:17 I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, 11:20 in the sides of the north, 11:21 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, 11:24 I will be like the most High." 11:28 He wanted to go up, to ascend, 11:30 to be above all other heavenly beings 11:32 and even above God Himself. 11:35 He wanted to be like the most High, 11:38 not in character, but in position. 11:41 By his desire to take God's position, 11:43 he was essentially saying that 11:45 he could do a better job of running things 11:47 than could God Himself. 11:49 That God's ways and God's holy law, 11:51 that law of love and liberty 11:54 which is the very foundation of His government 11:56 were somehow faulty, 11:58 that he had a better way of doing things. 12:00 So who was right and who was wrong? 12:03 Who were the other heavenly beings to believe? 12:05 And how were they supposed to discern 12:07 between what was truth and what was a lie 12:09 when all they had ever known was truth? 12:12 So God had a critical decision to make. 12:15 How would He deal with this rebellion, 12:17 this sin that had entered into His perfect universe? 12:21 If He were to immediately rid the universe 12:23 of this rebellious angel without allowing him 12:26 the opportunity to prove his case, 12:28 there could for ever remain questions 12:30 in the minds of all the other created beings. 12:33 Questions about who was actually right 12:35 and who was wrong and about His justice 12:37 and fairness in dealing with Lucifer. 12:39 And even if they still chose to serve Him, 12:42 it will be based, at least in part, 12:44 upon fear of punishment 12:46 rather than pure and genuine love. 12:49 So He chose to allow this being the opportunity 12:51 to carry out his principles, to test his form of government. 12:55 And by experience 12:56 show where the result of this rebellion or sin 12:59 would eventually lead. 13:01 Thus, the evidence would be given. 13:03 The questions answered and all of creation 13:06 could then of their own free will 13:08 choose whether or not they would still love 13:10 and obediently serve their creator. 13:14 In 1 Corinthians 4:5, 13:16 Paul tells us to "judge nothing before the time, 13:20 until the Lord come, 13:22 who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, 13:26 and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts." 13:30 From what we've studied so far, 13:32 it seems that this is exactly the principle God works on. 13:36 And the same principle that Jesus taught 13:38 in the parable of the wheat and the tares. 13:41 God doesn't want His creatures to serve Him out of blind fear, 13:45 but out of true heartfelt love. 13:49 Love that is motivated by His goodness, 13:52 kindness, and fairness toward all His creation. 13:57 "We love Him, because He first loved us." 14:01 Not because we're afraid that He'll 14:03 zap us out of the existence if we don't. 14:06 It really all centers on the freedom of choice 14:09 that God has entrusted to each one of us. 14:12 You can't force someone to love you 14:14 by simply yelling loud enough or threatening 14:17 to hurt them if they don't. 14:19 If you would gain true love from someone, 14:21 it can only be because they want to love you. 14:25 They choose to love you. 14:27 So God chose to allow this rebellion to run its course. 14:32 He chose not to do away with Lucifer 14:34 and this infectious disease called sin 14:37 until the issues were made clear. 14:40 And we're told in Revelation Chapter 12 14:43 that the sad result of this uprising 14:45 was that Lucifer actually persuaded 14:48 an entire third of all the angels in heaven 14:51 to side with him and eventually 14:54 be cast out of heaven. 14:56 So now the two sides have been clearly chosen. 14:59 It was Michael, another name for Jesus, 15:02 and His angels versus Satan, 15:04 also called the Dragon or the Serpent, and his angels. 15:08 The two sets of principles for these two kingdoms 15:11 were also clearly established. 15:14 God and His holy law which is based on the principle of love 15:19 versus Satan and his law which is based on the principles 15:23 of selfishness and self exaltation. 15:27 Coveting a position that did not belong to him, 15:30 as it says in Isaiah 14:14. 15:33 "I will be like the most High." 15:37 Now that Satan's kingdom had been solidly established, 15:41 can you guess where he turned in order to 15:43 test his new and "better form of government?" 15:47 Right here to planet earth. 15:50 That's exactly right, Charles. 15:51 The Bible tells the story beginning in Genesis Chapter 1. 15:55 God had created a brand new and beautiful planet 15:57 that was full of life and happiness. 15:59 And He created Adam and Eve 16:01 as the first inhabitants of this planet. 16:02 The father and mother as it were, 16:04 of the whole human race. 16:06 He even made them their own special garden to live in 16:08 and tend to which was called the Garden of Eden. 16:11 In creating this new planet, God never intended 16:14 for there to be sin or suffering or pain here. 16:17 In fact, His original plan for this world, 16:20 the original state in which He created it is repeated 16:23 several times in the first chapter of Genesis. 16:26 It tells us that everything God made was good, 16:28 and in fact, very good according to verse 31. 16:31 This was God's original plan for this world. 16:34 He didn't create it with the suffering 16:35 and tragedy that we see now. 16:37 And He doesn't enjoy seeing these things take place. 16:40 Certainly Jesus proved this by the life He lived 16:42 while here on earth. 16:44 And describing some of the things 16:45 Jesus did, Matthew 11:5 says, 16:48 "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, 16:52 the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, 16:55 the dead are raised up, and the poor 16:57 have the gospel preached to them." 16:59 And it wasn't just Jesus that hated seeing humans suffer 17:02 because He says in John 14:10 that it was the Father 17:05 doing His works through Him. 17:08 So God never intended man to suffer, 17:10 He doesn't enjoy seeing us subjected to pain. 17:13 His original intent for the human race 17:15 was for us to simply love Him and live forever, 17:18 enjoying the beautiful world He had created for us. 17:21 But something happened that would drastically change that. 17:25 It sure did. 17:26 Let's go back to the story of this controversy 17:28 between Christ and Satan that had been going on in heaven. 17:32 Genesis Chapter 3 tells us that this fallen angel 17:35 now came to pay a visit to Adam and Eve 17:37 in the form of a serpent. 17:43 And what was his intension 17:44 in visiting this newly created pair? 17:46 He aimed to gain them and the whole human family 17:49 which they represented as subjects of His kingdom, 17:53 thus establishing the arena in which he could set up 17:56 his new form of government. 17:59 But how could he accomplish this? 18:01 Romans 6:16 says, 18:03 "To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, 18:07 his servants ye are to whom ye obey, 18:09 whether of sin unto death, 18:12 or of obedience unto righteousness." 18:15 By leading them to obey the principles of his kingdom 18:18 while disobeying the principles of God's kingdom, 18:21 he would gain them as his servants, as his subjects. 18:25 So under the guise of a serpent, he came to the garden 18:28 to do this deadly work of deception. 18:31 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field 18:35 which the Lord God had made. 18:37 And he said unto the woman, 18:39 'Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat 18:41 of every tree of the garden?' 18:44 And the woman said unto the serpent, 18:46 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 18:48 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst 18:51 of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, 18:55 neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'" 18:58 God had given them one test of obedience, 19:01 one proverbial cookie jar they were not allowed to open. 19:05 And said that if they were to disobey, 19:07 death would enter into the world. Why? 19:10 Because disobedience to God on any point 19:13 regardless of how small it may appear, is sin. 19:17 And the wages of sin according to Romans 6:23 is death. 19:21 But I want you to notice how the serpent 19:23 responds to the woman. 19:25 Here's where he introduces to her mind 19:27 the principles of his kingdom. 19:29 The same principles of pride and self exaltation 19:32 that had motivated his own rebellion against God. 19:35 Here's where we find him, as it were, inviting Eve 19:38 to become a part of his kingdom. 19:41 Notice what he says. 19:43 "And the serpent said unto the woman, 19:45 'Ye shall not surely die, 19:47 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, 19:50 then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, 19:54 knowing good and evil.'" 19:57 Sadly, verse 6 tells us that, "When the woman saw 20:00 that the tree was good for food, 20:02 and that it was pleasant to the eyes, 20:04 and a tree to be desired to make one wise, 20:07 she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, 20:10 and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." 20:15 Thus, they forfeited their citizenship 20:17 of the heavenly kingdom. 20:19 They delivered the whole human race 20:21 into the hands of the enemy and into the slavery of sin, 20:25 to be the legal subjects of the kingdom that Satan had now 20:28 successfully established. 20:30 But that's not the end of the story. 20:34 And praise God that it's not, Andrea. 20:36 Only nine verses later, God gives a first promise 20:40 of one who would come and defeat this serpent, 20:43 taking back what had been lost and making a way 20:46 for human beings to again be a part of God's kingdom. 20:50 In fulfillment of this promise, Jesus came to this earth 20:54 and through His sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross 20:58 provided everything needed for us to again 21:01 have the eternal and happy life that He intended. 21:05 Jesus, the God of all creation was willing to humble Himself 21:10 to an almost infinite degree and becoming part of His 21:13 own creation and allowing Himself to be beaten, 21:17 spat upon and crucified are the very ones He came to save. 21:22 At the cross, the contrast between these two kingdoms 21:26 was more clearly seen than ever before or since. 21:31 The one based on principles of such selfishness and hatred 21:35 as would cause the creature 21:37 to take the very life of its own creator. 21:41 And the other of such humility and love as would allow 21:45 His own creation to take His life in order to save them. 21:50 If to the on looking universe the results of sin 21:52 had not yet been made clear enough by all of the suffering 21:56 and degradation it had wrought, it was certainly made 21:59 clear enough at the cross. 22:02 This rebellion had essentially placed 22:04 God's own character on trial. 22:06 This sin that had entered into God's perfect universe 22:10 and had been allowed to grow and mature 22:13 had now shown its true colors. 22:16 So this begs the question. 22:17 If the results of sin were made clear enough at the cross 22:21 then why didn't God just end the controversy there? 22:24 Why is He still allowing it to continue? 22:28 And speaking of the promise that Jesus 22:30 made to come back and take His people home 22:32 and end this controversy with sin, 2 Peter 3:9 says 22:37 that "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 22:40 as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, 22:45 not willing that any should perish, 22:47 but that all should come to repentance." 22:51 So why is He still waiting? 22:53 He is waiting for you because He loves you 22:56 and He wants to save every last person 22:58 that He can before He makes an end of sin. 23:02 The Bible is clear that very soon Satan and his angels 23:05 and all who choose to follow in their ways will be destroyed. 23:10 Sin will be no more. 23:11 This earth will again be free from the curse 23:14 and will then be recreated back to its original beauty. 23:18 And best of all, God himself will then move His capital 23:22 to this very planet and live here forever in perfect peace 23:27 and happiness with His people. 23:30 The controversy will be ended. 23:32 Every question will have been answered and God's character 23:35 will have been vindicated before all of His creation. 23:39 Consequently, we're told in Nahum 1:9 23:42 that "Affliction shall not rise up a second time." 23:46 It'll be a better and safer universe 23:49 than before sin entered. 23:50 And His desire is for you to be there. 23:55 The Bible is an amazing book 23:58 written by many different authors 24:00 yet containing one cohesive storyline. 24:03 From beginning to end, it tells the story of this great conflict 24:07 with sin and contains all the instructions 24:10 you and I need in order to safely make it through. 24:15 This is very clear when you look at 24:17 how the Bible is actually laid out. 24:20 The first two chapters in the Bible, 24:22 Genesis 1 and 2 describe creation 24:25 and the happy existence of mankind 24:27 in a perfect and sinless world, 24:30 being in perfect communion with its creator. 24:34 And then the third chapter of Genesis 24:36 describes the entrance of sin into the world 24:40 and the beginning of all the sorrows it would cause. 24:43 These three chapters begin the story of the Bible. 24:47 And notice how the Bible ends. 24:50 The third chapter from the end of the Bible, Revelation 20, 24:54 describes the eradication of sin and sinners. 24:58 And the last two chapters of Revelation, 21 and 22 25:02 describe the recreation of the earth and mankind again 25:06 living the happy and sinless existence with its creator. 25:12 Everything in between is the story 25:14 of this great battle that's taking place over you and me. 25:19 And this is the framework into which every teaching of Jesus 25:23 and His word will fit. 25:26 But how about that big question? 25:29 Why do bad things happen to good people? 25:32 How does this study help us answer that question? 25:36 Here's how. 25:37 First, think about this. 25:39 Though God does often intervene to stop human suffering, 25:43 if in every instance He stopped every murder, 25:46 every disease, every war, every famine, 25:49 every bad thing that could ever take place in this world, 25:53 could the results of sin ever be clearly seen? 25:57 Think about that. 25:59 The answer is no. 26:02 And why must He allow the results of sin to be seen? 26:05 So that all of His on looking creation can clearly see 26:10 where the results of rebellion will lead. 26:13 And thus, choose to love and serve God 26:15 of their own free will. 26:18 It all comes down to this one great eternal truth, 26:23 that God is love and He desires true love from His creation. 26:29 So what about you, friend? 26:31 What side will you be on? 27:34 Being in the middle-east 27:36 and preparing this new teaching tool 27:38 will forever be a highlight in my life. 27:40 I agree, Levi. 27:42 It was a lot of work. 27:44 But what a joy to be where Jesus was, 27:46 digging into the teachings that have made 27:48 the world a better place to live. 27:50 But what did you mean when you said, "Teaching tool?" 27:54 Well, Andrea, "Thunder in the Holy Land" 27:56 was designed from the ground up to be a Bible study 27:59 where the local pastor gets inserted into the video 28:02 as the host, replacing Charles. 28:05 What a great idea. 28:07 And now the local pastor and the church members 28:09 can be a team working together. 28:12 And our viewers can get all of the details 28:14 at our website, QLP.tv |
Revised 2014-12-17