1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,200 Well good morning church. As Pastor Jim said my name is Andy Schultz. I serve Faith Church 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:11,200 as the executive administrator which basically means all the exciting ministry work that 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:17,240 people go into the field for. I don't do any of that. I just do all the other stuff. But 4 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:21,580 it's a pleasure, it's an honor to be here. I'm thankful for Pastor Jim, for the leaders 5 00:00:21,580 --> 00:00:26,440 here at Munster Church and just allowing me to be here today. I'm so thankful to give 6 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:33,400 him a break and it is so good to be in the house of the Lord today. It is a somewhat 7 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,880 nice day. I almost said it was a beautiful day but I had to catch myself before I said 8 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:43,880 it. It's good. We need a little rain once in a while. But it is good to preach the Word 9 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:49,280 of God. So even though my job doesn't always bring me to the pulpit at Faith Church, I 10 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,320 really value preaching the Word of God. It is truly the rule of life that we can follow 11 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,560 to give us hope and hope for salvation. Amen, church. 12 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,560 A few weeks ago, my daughters actually, I have two girls. My family, we live here in 13 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,880 Munster. My wife Gina, my daughter is Kinley who is 11 and Emrin or Emmy who is 9. My daughters 14 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:13,920 were at their yearly pediatrician checkup recently. And the pediatrician comes into 15 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:20,280 the room and she sees Emmy, my 9-year-old. She says, oh, we remember Emmy. We remember 16 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,120 Emmy. Which is kind of a strange thing to say, right? When your kid comes in every single 17 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:28,240 year and when she has the flu and all that stuff. Why is she so memorable? Because when 18 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:36,720 she was 6 weeks old in 2015, she was at home, I remember my wife Gina, heard her cry in 19 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,960 like a weird way. Now to me, all crying from babies sounds exactly the same. Like, yeah, 20 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:45,280 it's crying. Let's just feed her. Let's figure out what she needs. But Gina is like, no, 21 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,440 there's something different about this cry. Something is wrong here. And I'm not sure 22 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:53,280 if I believed it at the time, but I'm like, you know what? I trust you. But she knew this 23 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:59,160 baby well enough after 6 weeks of life to say something is off here. So into the pediatrician 24 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,960 she went and the pediatrician said, you know what? Let's just as a precaution get her checked 25 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,920 out, send her over to community hospital. And she was in there for a couple days and 26 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,800 kind of walked out of there with not a lot of answers. Just we're not really sure what 27 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,440 this was, but it seemed like the crying had subsided a little bit. So they were comfortable 28 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:18,640 enough to send us home. But then just a couple of days later, it started up again. And it 29 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:23,520 seemed even worse this time. And 6 week old Emmy had a fever. Now any of you that work 30 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:28,800 in the medical field know that when a child of that age has a fever, that's an immediate 31 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,600 trip to the emergency room. And so back to community hospital we went and the doctors 32 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:39,600 seemed pretty concerned there. And so they asked us about doing a spinal tap on our 6 33 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:44,760 week old baby because their concern was that she had bacterial meningitis, an infection 34 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:51,000 of the brain and of the spine. And sure enough after that test it was true. She had group 35 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:56,400 B strep bacterial meningitis. And so it was a very dangerous situation for our 6 week 36 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,600 old daughter. And so they pumped her full of antibiotics for days and days. I believe 37 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,400 we spent, is it 10 days we spent in the hospital? Is that right? Yeah, I was looking at my wife 38 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,720 there. We spent 10 days total between the two trips in the hospital with baby Emmy. 39 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:15,000 And I remember very, very specifically a doctor saying to us, it's a good thing you brought 40 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:22,800 her in when you did. And I don't know if we were just naive. I don't know if we just weren't 41 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:30,760 ready to hear something like that or we thought we were immune to bad stuff at that age. What 42 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,200 does that mean? We're lucky that we brought her in. It was a good thing we brought her 43 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:41,120 in and the gravity of the situation started to really set in because in Emmy's crying, 44 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:46,760 she was suffering greatly. The pain from the brain and the spine must have been so incredibly 45 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:54,240 intense that it literally changed the way that she cried out. It changed her whole demeanor. 46 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,760 This is so intense I can't bear it. And it changed her voice in such a way that my wife 47 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:06,080 said something is not right. And we as parents in the hospital, we suffered. The big questions, 48 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:11,000 what's happening here? What is this all about? Why Lord? I mean, we thought we had this healthy 49 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,920 baby. This is stuff that they should figure out right away. Why did it six weeks after? 50 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:19,600 Why is this happening now? But it did. And there's good news to this story. There's a 51 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,960 happy ending to it that I keep looking back at my family because my nine-year-old daughter 52 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:31,240 is here and she's healthy and happy and amazing and artistic and sings and is full of life 53 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:38,080 and has a smile that is so big that it would change your day. Now, not all stories have 54 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:45,400 that kind of a happy ending, do they? Some just don't. They don't have the same sort 55 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:49,560 of fairy tale ending. So I've been reflecting a little bit this week on suffering because 56 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:56,200 I'm going to preach in a moment from Psalm 22 because that episode in my life seemed 57 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:02,520 hopeless and there have been others. I remember back in 2012, I lost my first job as an adult 58 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,680 was I used to teach middle school band and I lost that job. I lost that job because they 59 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:12,240 cut the district that I taught in the Lake Central District, they cut a bunch of money 60 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,480 from their budget and I was one of the 42 teachers that they let go that year. And that 61 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:23,480 job meant everything to me. It was my identity and I lost it. And I remember thinking, Lord, 62 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:28,120 why did you have me move to this area? I'm not even from Northwest Indiana. Why did you 63 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:34,480 have me come here to take this job and buy a house and start to have kids and a family 64 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:43,160 here just to take it all away? I remember it was, it was incredible suffering. We wrestled 65 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:48,560 with the future and financial uncertainty. I wrestled with my calling and my purpose 66 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:53,600 in life. Well, you're looking up here at me now and you see that things have changed, 67 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:59,160 that there was something providential in that, that losing that job started a chain of events 68 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:04,720 and here I am today, administrate which is likely where God wants me now. But it took 69 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:09,720 some suffering to get there. Gina and I both have suffered with medical conditions. You 70 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:14,400 know, we're 40 years old. I'm starting to learn that, that you can't really take a whole 71 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:19,760 lot for granted anymore. That there's new pains, new aches, new conditions, new, I go 72 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:24,240 to the doctor more than I've ever gone before. And some of you are saying it's nothing, dude. 73 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:31,000 You're only 40. Just wait. And you're right. And I don't want to be any part of that. I 74 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,680 don't, I get it. But yeah, I'm starting to, we're like, you know, we're just stepping 75 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,340 in to that phase of our lives, right? But there's suffering, there's, there's suffering 76 00:06:38,340 --> 00:06:44,000 in this life. We've, as a family, we've endured broken relationships in our family or with 77 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:50,040 friends. We've endured financial uncertainty, not just from job loss, but just wondering, 78 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,840 Lord, what are you doing? How are you going to provide for this family? I don't know if 79 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:58,980 you know this, but education and ministry, the two jobs that I've had are not exactly 80 00:06:58,980 --> 00:07:11,640 high paying fields. What are you doing, Lord? Why? Why would you call me to this stuff? 81 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:20,320 And I think that for some of you here today, suffering has hit you really hard. Maybe it's 82 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:28,200 in the past. It's a story that you tell around the table, or maybe suffering is hitting you 83 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:38,640 right now. And you're asking these questions. Why? Why Lord? Why have we endured loss as 84 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:46,720 a family? Why do I have to go to another funeral? Why do I have to go back for another appointment 85 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,520 because that medication didn't work and the next one didn't work and all that in this 86 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:57,960 order and here I am still in pain. Why Lord am I being called by creditors needing me 87 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:04,840 to pay bills that I don't have any money to pay? Why Lord do I have relationships in my 88 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:10,980 family that are broken, that don't seem to have any good happy ending attached to them 89 00:08:10,980 --> 00:08:23,080 right now? Why? What plagues you? Tragic loss, illness for you, mental illness, struggles 90 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:32,360 for you or someone in your family. Maybe it's financial insecurity. You have likely suffered 91 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:37,480 at some point in your life. If you right now would not report that you're suffering, I 92 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:47,560 can almost guarantee you, you will suffer at some point, in some way in this life. So 93 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:53,040 here we are in the summer of Psalms. It's summer. It's happy time and we're deep in 94 00:08:53,040 --> 00:09:00,480 the hole of lament in Psalm 22. Now we call this a lament because scholars have identified 95 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:06,360 it as a lament. A lament is essentially suffering and pointing it out to God. But it's beautiful 96 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,880 because it's from our word. It's from God's word. It's scripture. It guides us in these 97 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:16,080 incredibly dark moments and it reminds us that we're not alone in it. That others have 98 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,880 suffered historically, that others around you in this room are suffering now and guess 99 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:29,120 what? Others will suffer in the future. There's shared suffering here. Now Psalm 22 is credited 100 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:35,600 to David who was this great king of Israel. In fact, the people around Jesus in the first 101 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:41,680 century would have looked back and really thought that was the heyday for us. We want 102 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:47,520 to get back to that. Like when we had that great guy, David in charge. David was the 103 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:53,600 great king. You know David is in David versus Goliath. David is in the man after God's 104 00:09:53,600 --> 00:10:04,480 own heart. David who is in the lineage of Jesus our Lord and Savior. That David suffered. 105 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:09,960 Now 30 to 40 percent of Psalms scholars would classify as laments, which is really interesting 106 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:15,280 because I think culture and sometimes even within the church, we can start to believe 107 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:21,320 lies about suffering. We can really start to believe that suffering is insignificant. 108 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:27,240 That suffering is just a speed bump. Getting in the way of real life. If I could just get 109 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:35,260 through this, then I'll be back on track. There's bad Christian teaching out there friends 110 00:10:35,260 --> 00:10:45,920 that says that our suffering is taken away when we have more faith. That's a lie. And 111 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:51,360 then there's sort of a macho approach. Suffering, that's not real. You just got to have a good 112 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:58,000 mindset. Get yourself through it. You'll be fine. You're a wimp if you don't. Is that 113 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:04,640 real? Because God's word doesn't direct me and you're going to see that very clearly. 114 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:10,660 You're not alone in this and friends you are not hopeless. You are not hopeless. Read with 115 00:11:10,660 --> 00:11:14,120 me here from, we're going to go through Psalm 22 now. We'll kind of step through it and 116 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,560 when we do, we're going to find, we're going to ask ourselves two questions. How do we 117 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:26,080 find God in suffering? And how did God find us in our suffering? And so this is kind of 118 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:31,660 my big takeaway. I like to summarize the whole thing into one sentence and I would say this. 119 00:11:31,660 --> 00:11:42,280 We find God in suffering because God found us in Christ's suffering. So I'm going to 120 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,120 give you four ways we're going to find God in suffering and I think this is really important. 121 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:52,000 We're going to get it from the text. So here we go. Number one, cry out to God. Pretty 122 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:59,640 simply. As my daughter, Emmy, did, she literally cried out as a helpless six week old baby. 123 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:06,320 It changed who she was. Read this from Psalm 22 verses one and two. It says, my God, my 124 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:13,240 God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words 125 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:23,560 of groaning? My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer by night. Yet I have no rest. 126 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:29,000 Crying out to God. And by the way, if some of those words, my God, my God, why have you 127 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,680 forsaken me or abandoned me? By the way, depending on the translation, if those sound familiar, 128 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:37,880 it's because not only were they written here by David in Psalm 22, they were spoken by 129 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:45,120 Jesus on the cross, Matthew 27 verse 46, about three in the afternoon. Jesus cried out with 130 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:52,200 a loud voice. Eli, Eli, Lema, Sevaktani. That is my God, my God, why have you abandoned 131 00:12:52,200 --> 00:13:02,840 me? Even Jesus cried out in his suffering. And even Jesus asked the big questions, even 132 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:09,640 though he knew the big answers, he still asked the big question of his father in his suffering. 133 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,920 So it's suffering is for David and suffering is for Jesus. Guess who else suffering is 134 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:23,920 for? You and me. That's right. So we cannot pretend suffering isn't real. And we can't 135 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:33,080 pretend it's not difficult. It is okay to ask big questions in your suffering. And using 136 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:40,480 my God here in the language of verse one is important because when we feel forsaken and 137 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:45,820 David is giving us this guide that we look to God, it's not feel forsaken, therefore 138 00:13:45,820 --> 00:13:51,520 turn away from God. But rather it's I don't know what's happening. So I have only one 139 00:13:51,520 --> 00:14:01,680 place to look. God, why have you forsaken me? That's what it feels like. But I know 140 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:09,760 you're my God. I know that you are. Do we sometimes turn away from God and use secular 141 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:17,520 wisdom for a much holier problem? Do we try to say things like, oh, you know, it's no 142 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:23,520 big deal. The universe must be really upset with me. You know, karma is getting me back. 143 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,760 I don't know if anyone here is saying that. But the world is saying that, right? Those 144 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,960 are things out there. I'm only suffering because of something else and some this and 145 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,580 chain of events and try to explain it away with some form of logic that doesn't really 146 00:14:34,580 --> 00:14:42,040 actually line up with the God's word. But are we also caught in that? Do we sometimes 147 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:48,680 forget that we have a great God above who we just saying, right? You give and you take 148 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:59,200 away. We love the give part. Yeah, God, give me more. No, no, no, take it away. But our 149 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:07,160 God and his infinite wisdom has providence in his sovereignty. He overlooks his people 150 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:14,400 and he knows what is good for us. And we cry out to him looking for his guidance. We can't 151 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:19,960 just explain it away. We have to turn to him. So number one, cry to God. Number two, remember 152 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:27,360 God. It's important here. Psalm 22 verses three through five, it says, but you are holy 153 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:33,800 enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you. They trusted and you rescued 154 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:40,360 them. They cried to you and were set free. They trusted in you and were not disgraced. 155 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:46,960 See, David's circumstances didn't overwhelm his knowledge of God's work of salvation because 156 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,000 historically in David knew this to the time he was able to look back as we talked about 157 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,920 from Exodus and through numbers and through Deuteronomy and then obviously into Joshua 158 00:15:54,920 --> 00:16:00,200 and on that God's people suffered in many different ways. They suffered in slavery in 159 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:08,280 Egypt. They suffered in starvation and thirst in the wilderness. They suffered in battles. 160 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:13,760 They suffered due to their own sin. But the Lord and David knew this, the Lord offered 161 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:19,000 a way out in saving grace and David knows it. He knows it. He's relying upon it. He's 162 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:27,080 remembering what God has done. Do you rely on the history of God's people to be your 163 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:38,000 guiding light in suffering? Do we have this long game perspective of God's eternal faithfulness 164 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:44,400 that he has shown his people from the beginning of time until now? Or do we feel forsaken 165 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:51,680 and are short-sighted and forget about this God that has written the story of humanity? 166 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:57,160 David remembered God. Do we have stories of faith in our lives that we can point to that 167 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:04,280 guide us? Stories from previous generations that can guide you? Maybe points to the closeness 168 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:08,520 of God. Are there times when you remember God was close and you can reflect upon those 169 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:15,600 even when it seems dark? Do we have stories of the past? I can tell you right now, when 170 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:24,080 I was young, if my parents didn't suffer through financial hardship but then rely on the Lord 171 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,840 and then see the Lord do an amazing work, if I didn't have that story growing up as 172 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:32,880 a child, I don't know what I would think today when I was suffering financially. Because 173 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:38,240 I was able to look back at my own past and go, well God, you were faithful to that generation. 174 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:44,680 Will you be faithful to this one? So I have my own history that I can look upon. And we 175 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:49,920 have this great thousands of pages history right here in our hands to see God's faithfulness 176 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:56,220 that we can remember him as David did. And now those narratives, they can shape my understanding 177 00:17:56,220 --> 00:18:00,640 of what God is doing. But the thing is the lament doesn't turn bright now. It doesn't 178 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,800 go, okay, well I remembered God that you did all these great things. And so awesome. End 179 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:08,480 of story because if you're following along your Bible, I've only read one to three or 180 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:14,080 five verses so far and there's 31 of them. So this takes a much darker turn. Look at 181 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:21,400 verse six. David starts to think like Job here. He says, but I am a worm and not a man. 182 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:28,160 Scorned by mankind and despised by people. Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer 183 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:33,360 and shake their heads. And then Jesus, we can parallel everything that David says here 184 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:40,280 to Jesus as well because Jesus who quoted Psalm 22 has very Psalm 22 like things happening 185 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:47,160 to him simultaneously. Matthew 27 verse 39 says those who passed by were yelling insults 186 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:57,400 at him, shaking their heads. David is mocked. It says in Psalm 22 verse eight, he relies 187 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:02,280 on the Lord. They said, let him save him. Let the Lord rescue him since he takes pleasure 188 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:11,480 in him. They're mocking him. And then Jesus is mocked in Matthew 27 verse 43. He trusts 189 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:17,160 in God. Let God rescue him now. If he takes pleasure in him, for he said, I am the son 190 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:25,640 of God. Some parallels here. David is mocked for his faith in his God. Jesus is mocked 191 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,920 for it too. And there's a good chance that you in this culture can be mocked for your 192 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:39,880 faith in God. What's good for David? Good for Jesus. It's good for us. To remember God 193 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:44,400 means to remember that suffering has been a part of the history of God's people. And 194 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:52,320 so has salvation for that suffering been a part of the story for David, for Jesus, for 195 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:58,160 you. David's just reiterating how bad the situation is though. Here I go back to Psalm 196 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:05,640 22 verse 12. Many bulls surround me. Strong ones of Bashan encircle me. They open their 197 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:14,400 mouths against me. Lions mauling and roaring. I am poured out like water and all my bones 198 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:25,120 are disjointed. My heart is like wax melting within me. Some interesting imagery there. 199 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:30,280 Is that really what David was experiencing? We don't really know. We don't tie this particular 200 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:35,200 Psalm to a particular event in David's life. Scholars haven't been able to make a specific 201 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:40,560 connection. We know that he suffered in a lot of different ways. But boy, I tell you 202 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:46,040 what, my heart is like wax. My bones are out of joint. I'm poured out like water. That 203 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:53,640 sounds a lot like Jesus. Because crucifixion for Jesus is incredibly cruel. And this imagery 204 00:20:53,640 --> 00:21:00,800 that David uses sounds a lot like the cruelty of crucifixion. To be physically poured out. 205 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:08,600 To have hammers and nails driven through your arms to physically break you. Is there significance 206 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:14,040 in Jesus quoting the first part of Psalm 22 that we might look at the rest of Psalm 22 207 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,080 to understand the greater story of what's happening in his crucifixion and then ultimately 208 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:29,000 his resurrection? But it gets worse for David. Verse 15, he says, my strength is dried up 209 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:35,800 like baked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death. 210 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:41,520 For dogs have surrounded me. A gang of evildoers has closed in on me. They pierced my hands 211 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:49,800 and my feet. I can count all my bones. People look and stare at me. They divided my garments 212 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:58,920 among themselves and they cast lots for my clothing. And go to the crucifixion account. 213 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:06,640 Matthew 27 verse 35, after crucifying they divided his clothes by casting lots. It's 214 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:19,880 almost as if David's writing was looking forward to Jesus in suffering. Scholars believe 215 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:25,520 if Jesus quoting one verse of Psalm 22 was to point us to the whole thing then therefore 216 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:30,440 we can look at this whole Psalm and find ourselves in this suffering. How many of you have felt 217 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:40,040 like this? Dried up, lost, broken, hurt, no idea how you're going to get out of it. And 218 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:46,280 yet there's our Lord that we can remember. We don't get to just remember the Old Testament. 219 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:51,400 We get the whole New Testament reality to remember as well. We get the whole story of 220 00:22:51,400 --> 00:23:03,040 the Christ. The resurrection included in that. New life. The Holy Spirit. We get a whole 221 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:10,240 new set of tools that David didn't have access to. To remind us to remember God. Now if you're 222 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,120 following along you may have noticed I skipped a couple of verses. I'm going to go back to 223 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:19,800 verse 9 now. It says it was you who brought me out of the womb making me secure at my 224 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:25,320 mother's breast. I was given over to you at birth. You have been my God from my mother's 225 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:34,620 womb. Don't be far from me because distress is near and there's no one to help. So we 226 00:23:34,620 --> 00:23:45,080 are reminded here of a clue to keep going to God. To keep going. To be persistent. Keep 227 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:51,960 looking toward the Lord rather than giving up when suffering intensifies. This is a confession 228 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:58,000 that we are helpless to do anything for ourselves but rather to look to Jesus our great high 229 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:04,480 priest and the Holy Spirit to minister to us when things are helpless. Friends I want 230 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:10,240 to encourage you to pray and then when that doesn't work pray again. And when that doesn't 231 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:20,760 work pray again. And when and you get it. God is faithful in his timing. David didn't 232 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:34,580 say this is uncomfortable. End of Psalm. Keeps going back. Back. Back. Lord. Lord. Lord. 233 00:24:34,580 --> 00:24:41,640 Verse 19. But you oh Lord don't be far away. My strength come quickly to help me. Rescue 234 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:47,080 my life from the sword. My only life from the power of these dogs. Save me from the 235 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:54,640 lion's mouth. From the horns of wild oxen. You have answered me or in the text there 236 00:24:54,640 --> 00:25:03,160 you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen. So David chooses to live as if 237 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:08,840 the deliverance has already happened even as he waits for it to happen. He is so convinced 238 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:13,880 that God is going to do something great. He's so convinced that God is up to something. 239 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:22,480 That he is willing to declare victory in the waiting. He does so because he knows who his 240 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:28,440 God is. And so I want to invite you number four. And not just keep going to God but to 241 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:38,560 praise God. To praise God in the suffering which I know seems backwards and weird. But 242 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:45,480 praise him knowing he is faithful. Verse 22. I will proclaim your name to my brothers and 243 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:53,320 sisters. I will praise you in the assembly. Or it says congregation in another translation. 244 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:58,940 Look at this from Hebrews chapter two. Verse ten it says for in bringing many sons and 245 00:25:58,940 --> 00:26:04,600 daughters to glory it was entirely appropriate that God for whom and through whom all things 246 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:12,960 exist should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who 247 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:18,300 sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one father. That is why Jesus is not 248 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:23,580 ashamed to call them brothers and sisters saying I will proclaim your name to my brothers 249 00:26:23,580 --> 00:26:32,760 and sisters. I will sing hymns to you in the congregation. Or I will sing praise. And another 250 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:43,800 allusion back to Psalm 22. And church know this we are with Christ in suffering. We are 251 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:50,400 with him in his suffering. We're worthy of suffering. Let me say that again. We are worthy 252 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:58,240 of suffering. Worthy of it. Because Christ deems us worthy enough to be with him in his 253 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:06,080 suffering. We are worthy of suffering. Jesus includes us with him and that is worthy of 254 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:11,360 praise. God takes care of his children in our times of suffering by allowing us to be 255 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:20,200 shaped by our suffering. It's a gift to endure to teach us perseverance to grow. We suffer 256 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:26,160 with confidence knowing that we are sharing with Jesus in it. And even more of a big deal 257 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:32,800 is this that God cares for his children so much that he allowed his son to suffer to 258 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:40,280 die to shed blood that you may walk out of here sinless. Removed right? It doesn't mean 259 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:45,160 we won't sinning in tomorrow. It just means that we can confess and be cleansed. Which 260 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:51,960 is the greatest news of all. That there is no physical suffering. There is no situational 261 00:27:51,960 --> 00:28:02,280 suffering that will take that away from us. That we have a great healer through Christ 262 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:07,160 who wants to redeem this great story of redemption back to God the Father is done in and through 263 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:11,880 Christ in and through his suffering and you are given perseverance in and through your 264 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:18,200 suffering. We're part of a much greater story and when we suffer and try to fix it on our 265 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:28,080 own we are only seeking our own glory. But when our suffering drives us to him it is 266 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:33,240 a confession that our only way in life is freedom through Christ in the forgiveness 267 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:41,840 of our sins and a glimpse toward eternal life that we will share with Christ as well. We 268 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:53,900 share in suffering with Christ. We also get to share in resurrection. Romans chapter 6. 269 00:28:53,900 --> 00:28:59,000 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was 270 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:04,600 raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we too may walk in newness of life. For 271 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:09,680 if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death we will certainly also be in 272 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:19,600 the likeness of his resurrection. That is resurrection hope. Sharing in his resurrection 273 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:25,720 means that nothing that happens to our earthly bodies, nothing can affect our eternal freedom 274 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:31,360 in the forgiveness of sins and ultimately a new body in the new creation, the new heavens, 275 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:38,360 the new earth. Being resurrected with Christ means there is nothing in this world to fear. 276 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:46,320 It's easy to say but it's hard to live out but we have nothing to fear. But for that 277 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:53,720 confidence I want to praise God that he has given me life and breath but also purpose 278 00:29:53,720 --> 00:30:04,920 and direction and hope. Hope in my suffering in this broken, very very broken place. Verse 279 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,400 23 of Psalm 22. We'll close out the Psalm here in the next couple chunks here. You will 280 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:15,360 fear the Lord. You who fear the Lord praise him. All you descendants of Jacob honor him. 281 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:20,520 All you descendants of Israel revere him for he has not despised or abhorred the torment 282 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:26,040 of the oppressed. He did not hide his face from him but listened when he cried to him 283 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:31,680 for help. I will give praise in the great assembly because of you. I will fulfill my 284 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:38,040 vows before those who fear you. The humble will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek 285 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:45,200 the Lord will praise him. May your hearts live forever. This is not trying to find a 286 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:51,320 silver lining in the suffering. It's a confession that we serve a God that is bigger than my 287 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:59,440 suffering. When we cry out, when we remember God and when we praise him in the face of 288 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,880 our suffering knowing God is eternal and our bodies are not then we are looking to him 289 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:10,520 and saying God you are everything including my suffering therefore I know where to go 290 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:20,920 with it. I praise you right now no matter where I am at. Verse 27. All the ends of the 291 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,720 earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will bow down 292 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:32,360 before you for kingship belongs to the Lord. He rules the nations. All who prosper on earth 293 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:37,680 will eat and bow down and those who go down to the dust will kneel before him. Even the 294 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:43,440 one who cannot preserve his life. Their descendants will serve him. The next generation will be 295 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:49,900 told about the Lord. They will come and declare his righteousness to a people yet to be born. 296 00:31:49,900 --> 00:31:59,460 They will declare what he has done. Do you have a story of suffering? Do you have a story 297 00:31:59,460 --> 00:32:07,440 of God's faithfulness? I want to invite you to tell it so that the next generation will 298 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:18,240 hear it and know of our God. And don't spare any details. Don't whitewash a story and say 299 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:25,240 yeah it was kind of bad but we you know no live in it give the details say it was horrible. 300 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:35,720 I remember how we felt in that hospital room but God was with us. Even when we felt hopeless 301 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:44,800 even when we thought we had no chance God was with us. Spare no detail to the next generation 302 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:49,000 to let them know the faithfulness of God. So who are you talking about your suffering 303 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:55,880 with? Are you crying out to God in your suffering? Are you persistently praying and being drawn 304 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,320 to God in that suffering? That's what makes suffering so special is it draws us right 305 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:05,240 to him. And I remember very specifically being in that hospital room and someone came up 306 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:12,800 to my wife and said I can't believe you're so calm right now because man she was calm 307 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:19,000 in like this supernatural way that made no sense. But when someone says that to you I 308 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,760 can't believe you're so calm basically what they're saying is I can't believe that faith 309 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:29,400 thing that you do is real. Isn't that what they're really saying? I can't believe that's 310 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:38,280 a real thing that you actually believe that you're so calm right now. You're a baby. No 311 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:49,320 God is faithful. That preaches in a very hectic chaotic world to have the confidence and say 312 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:56,460 God is doing something. I may not get it. I may not understand it. I may not like it 313 00:33:56,460 --> 00:34:02,840 but God is doing something and in that he is growing his people to continue to be more 314 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:27,040 and more like Jesus.