WEBVTT 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:07.040 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.259 Sermons. This week we are wrapping up our sermon 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:13.279 series called The Bible Doesn't Say That, where 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:15.439 we're looking at some of those sayings that sound 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.219 really spiritual but aren't actually scriptural. 00:00:18.780 --> 00:00:20.699 Now, have you ever had a conversation with a 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:24.160 toddler? They really like to ask why. Why is 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:27.019 the sky blue? Why is this happening? Why is that? 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:30.559 But the truth is we don't really outgrow that 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.829 trait. We all kind of like to know why. And that's 00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:35.609 why we've come up with this phrase, everything 00:00:35.609 --> 00:00:38.909 happens for a reason. But is that phrase really 00:00:38.909 --> 00:00:42.009 in the Bible? And does it actually bring us comfort 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:44.509 when we can't understand things that are happening 00:00:44.509 --> 00:00:47.289 in the world? Rob's going to unpack this saying 00:00:47.289 --> 00:00:49.850 for us and show us the biblical truth behind 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:53.609 this phrase, as well as how God is really with 00:00:53.609 --> 00:00:56.009 us, even when we can't understand what's happening. 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:04.599 Today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:10.420 13, verses 1 to 5. About this time, Jesus was 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:13.140 informed that Pilate had murdered some people 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:16.019 from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:20.540 at the table. Do you think those Galileans were 00:01:20.540 --> 00:01:22.500 worse sinners than all the other people from 00:01:22.500 --> 00:01:26.920 Galilee? Jesus asked. Is that why they suffered? 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:31.090 Not at all. And you will perish too unless you 00:01:31.090 --> 00:01:35.170 repent of your sins and turn to God. And what 00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:38.430 about the 18 people who died when the tower in 00:01:38.430 --> 00:01:41.670 Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners 00:01:41.670 --> 00:01:46.269 in Jerusalem? No. And I tell you again that unless 00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:50.890 you repent, you will perish too. This is the 00:01:50.890 --> 00:01:53.269 word of the Lord. We're going to look at a phrase 00:01:53.269 --> 00:01:55.969 that you've probably said, I've said, I'm sure 00:01:55.969 --> 00:01:58.549 you've heard. Why don't we say it all together? 00:01:58.549 --> 00:02:02.590 Let's say it. Everything happens for a reason. 00:02:02.609 --> 00:02:05.310 Now, maybe someone said this to you when you 00:02:05.310 --> 00:02:08.409 were going through a very, very tough time. Maybe 00:02:08.409 --> 00:02:11.110 you said it to someone who was really going through 00:02:11.110 --> 00:02:13.629 it. And maybe it was partly because you didn't 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:17.270 really know what to say in that moment. And you 00:02:17.270 --> 00:02:20.750 meant it. to be something comforting for them. 00:02:20.889 --> 00:02:22.830 But as we're going to find out today, it's maybe 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:26.849 not as helpful and not as biblical as we might 00:02:26.849 --> 00:02:30.389 think. In fact, I would say this phrase can sometimes 00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:33.069 do way more harm than good. And that many people 00:02:33.069 --> 00:02:35.189 have actually walked away from the faith, walked 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:38.469 away from God, walked away from the church because 00:02:38.469 --> 00:02:43.129 they believed that everything happens for a reason. 00:02:43.550 --> 00:02:46.889 I want to say this is a big... and complex topic. 00:02:47.729 --> 00:02:50.310 It could easily take six hours of a lecture to 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:51.650 kind of get to the bottom of this. Let's see 00:02:51.650 --> 00:02:53.949 what we can cover in 20 or 25 minutes together. 00:02:54.129 --> 00:02:56.189 There are some teaching notes, some sermon notes 00:02:56.189 --> 00:02:58.370 that we've handed out. Hopefully that'll help 00:02:58.370 --> 00:03:01.490 you follow along. But let's ask first this question. 00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:04.050 What do we even mean when we go around saying 00:03:04.050 --> 00:03:07.889 everything happens for a reason? Now, the one 00:03:07.889 --> 00:03:09.629 thing I think we should clear up right away that 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:12.370 we're not meaning We don't mean this whole thing 00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:15.469 of cause and effect. We don't mean that, oh, 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:18.629 why did I burn my hand? Oh, it's because I touched 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:21.250 a hot stove. That's just simple physics. This 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:23.830 was the cause. This was the effect. This was 00:03:23.830 --> 00:03:27.009 the action. This was the reaction. That's not 00:03:27.009 --> 00:03:31.110 the way we normally use this phrase. No, when 00:03:31.110 --> 00:03:34.169 we use this phrase, we're often using it in a 00:03:34.169 --> 00:03:38.539 much more theological sense. That's what we mean 00:03:38.539 --> 00:03:41.020 when we say everything happens for a reason. 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:43.879 We mean that whatever it is you're going through, 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.979 no matter how painful that might be or how confusing 00:03:46.979 --> 00:03:50.719 that might be for you, it must be part of some 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:55.860 hidden plan. It must be divinely scripted. God 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:59.360 must have his reason for allowing it even if 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.039 you can't see it. So whether you lost your job, 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.800 whether you were diagnosed with cancer, Whether 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.280 you just had your heart broken, don't worry. 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.939 Everything happens for a reason. Now, most of 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:17.500 us would never come out and say it quite like 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:19.680 that. We wouldn't say, yes, God planned for your 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.439 child to get sick. Or we wouldn't say God caused 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.160 that accident to happen for a higher purpose. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:29.860 But that is what is implied. In this, everything 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:32.879 happens for a reason. And we say this, but we 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.399 also say other phrases that kind of mean this. 00:04:35.579 --> 00:04:37.800 For example, we might say, it was meant to be. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.459 It must have been their time. It was part of 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:44.800 the plan. Oh, don't worry, God has his reasons. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:49.519 Or perhaps the worst one. Oh, I guess God just 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:55.569 needed another angel in heaven. Here's a definition 00:04:55.569 --> 00:04:57.829 I made up of what I think we mean when we say 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:00.610 everything happens for a reason. What we mean 00:05:00.610 --> 00:05:04.649 is that all events, good or bad, are part of 00:05:04.649 --> 00:05:08.009 God's specific plan. And they happen because 00:05:08.009 --> 00:05:12.550 God wills it. Or God causes them to happen, even 00:05:12.550 --> 00:05:15.670 if we can't understand why. And now that is a 00:05:15.670 --> 00:05:19.189 very strong claim, as you can see. And it causes 00:05:19.189 --> 00:05:22.069 all sorts of questions to pop up in our heads. 00:05:22.129 --> 00:05:25.149 People have been talking about this for eons. 00:05:25.990 --> 00:05:30.029 Let me just put my finger on three theological 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:34.350 problems that this statement creates. Okay, here's 00:05:34.350 --> 00:05:38.250 the first one. If everything that happens is 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:41.290 part of God's plan, then nothing is my fault. 00:05:41.769 --> 00:05:46.089 I can't be held responsible, right? Because whatever 00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:50.389 I did, God must have needed me to do, right? 00:05:50.529 --> 00:05:54.170 Because it was God's plan, right? So if I cheated 00:05:54.170 --> 00:05:57.589 on my taxes, for example, that must have been 00:05:57.589 --> 00:06:00.709 part of God's plan for me to have a little extra 00:06:00.709 --> 00:06:03.290 this year. Because everything happens for a reason. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:06.959 Or what if I lost my temper and I really, really 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:08.980 hurt someone? Well, you know what? Maybe God 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:13.220 wanted to use that outburst to teach them a lesson. 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:15.500 Everything happens for a reason. The devil didn't 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:19.560 make me do it. Actually, God made me do it. Someone 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.040 is texting and driving at the same time and they 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:27.740 hit someone. It wasn't the driver's fault. It 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:31.639 was part of God's plan. Everything happens. For 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:33.939 a reason. So we don't need to take responsibility. 00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:37.779 We don't need to repent. Everything happens because 00:06:37.779 --> 00:06:42.839 God wanted it to happen. The second problem that 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:45.800 comes up with this is related. And that is that 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:47.819 if everything happens for a reason, then not 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:49.639 only is it not my fault, but that actually makes 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:53.439 everything God's fault. God's to blame for every 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:56.379 horrible and unthinkable thing that ever happens. 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.790 I mean, just watch the news. If everything happens 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:00.529 for a reason, then everything you see, every 00:07:00.529 --> 00:07:03.410 tragedy, every headline, that's something God 00:07:03.410 --> 00:07:05.430 wanted to happen. You know, a couple weeks ago, 00:07:05.449 --> 00:07:10.170 we all saw that horrible Air India, Flight 171, 00:07:10.250 --> 00:07:15.089 crashes just shortly after takeoff. 240 people 00:07:15.089 --> 00:07:19.569 lost their lives in a moment. Are we supposed 00:07:19.569 --> 00:07:23.189 to believe it was just their time? Right? That 00:07:23.189 --> 00:07:27.879 maybe this was part of some hidden plan? You 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:29.620 know, there's no need to go looking for the black 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:32.040 box, right? Because we know why this happened. 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:35.300 It was God's plan, right? That's why it happened. 00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:37.339 God planned it. And the same as with every war 00:07:37.339 --> 00:07:40.019 and every act of abuse, every natural disaster, 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:44.500 God is to blame. Somehow it's part of God's will, 00:07:44.660 --> 00:07:49.019 his hidden and mysterious will. The third problem 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:52.160 we run into with this way of thinking is what 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:54.779 you might call fatalism. And that is, listen, 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:59.100 if everything is pre -scripted, Why bother, right? 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:03.079 Nothing matters, right? So why work to improve 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:05.980 your marriage? Why go to therapy? Why volunteer 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:08.560 at a barbecue or coffee hour this summer here 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.500 at Trinity, right? Why even pray, right? Everything's 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:15.000 already been decided. Everything's already been 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:17.660 sorted out. So, hey, by the way, don't bother 00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:20.100 voting in the next election because God's already 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:23.900 planned who's going to win that election. right? 00:08:23.900 --> 00:08:26.540 Don't bother eating healthy because, hey, when 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:29.199 your time comes, your time comes, right? You 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.600 know, the Blue Jays, for example, two days ago, 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.120 they beat the Red Sox 9 -0. Yesterday, they lost 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.899 15 -1. They're playing again today at 1 .30. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:40.940 Who's going to win? God knows. God has already 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:42.259 figured out who's going to win. In fact, there's 00:08:42.259 --> 00:08:45.200 no point of them even practicing. There's no 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.740 point of them even trying, right? What's the 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:49.740 point? Because whoever's going to win is going 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:51.879 to win, and whoever's going to lose is going 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.029 to lose. So, You see all these problems that 00:08:54.029 --> 00:08:56.830 come up, right? If everything happens for a reason, 00:08:56.889 --> 00:09:00.029 that sounds comforting, but it leads to the sense 00:09:00.029 --> 00:09:02.730 of irresponsibility. Nothing is my fault. Leads 00:09:02.730 --> 00:09:04.909 to this thing of accusation that everything is 00:09:04.909 --> 00:09:07.090 God's fault. He's to blame. And to the sense 00:09:07.090 --> 00:09:09.250 of fatalism. Well, gosh, if everything happens 00:09:09.250 --> 00:09:14.710 for a reason, then nothing really matters. Now, 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:17.210 I want to talk theology for a little moment because 00:09:17.210 --> 00:09:19.929 there's some... Key theological ideas that come 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:23.250 into play when we think about everything happening 00:09:23.250 --> 00:09:25.529 for a reason. I mean, Justin, our resident theological 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:27.529 expert, could do a way better job at this than 00:09:27.529 --> 00:09:29.289 me. But let's just, you may have heard these 00:09:29.289 --> 00:09:30.950 words, but they're really important words in 00:09:30.950 --> 00:09:32.950 this conversation. The first one is sovereignty. 00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:36.649 Sovereignty means God is the sovereign. God is 00:09:36.649 --> 00:09:38.909 king. God is in charge. And nothing, therefore, 00:09:39.029 --> 00:09:41.649 happens unless God says it happens because he 00:09:41.649 --> 00:09:45.629 is the highest authority in the land. The second 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:48.090 word would be providence. You probably heard 00:09:48.090 --> 00:09:50.049 someone say, oh, that was so providential. You 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:52.669 can see in the word providence is that word provide. 00:09:52.750 --> 00:09:56.750 It's this sense that God takes care of everything, 00:09:57.190 --> 00:09:59.850 right? Everything's been arranged a certain way, 00:10:00.029 --> 00:10:04.029 but does that mean that God directs every detail? 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:07.080 We have to ask that question because there's 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:09.639 other theological ideas like free will, and the 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:11.659 essence of free will is that human beings have 00:10:11.659 --> 00:10:14.000 been given the ability to choose things, and 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.279 that our choices actually matter. But how do 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.320 we balance, say, our free will with God's sovereignty? 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:23.080 Do we really have free will? Are we just puppets, 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:24.919 and we think we have free will, but we really 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.299 don't have free will? Or this idea of dominion. 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:31.320 In Genesis chapter 1, when God created humankind, 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:36.740 he gave them dominion. authority to rule and 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:40.580 make decisions, real decisions to care for. We're 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:43.580 not supposed to be just bystanders. We are supposed 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:47.980 to play a role in what happens here on earth. 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.480 So I don't know. Is it all up to God? Is it up 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.179 to us? Is it some combination of the two? If 00:10:54.179 --> 00:10:56.730 you're going to talk about this, You've got to 00:10:56.730 --> 00:11:00.129 talk about a fellow by the name of John Calvin. 00:11:00.350 --> 00:11:02.629 You guys probably heard of John Calvin, 16th 00:11:02.629 --> 00:11:06.590 century. He was this brilliant thinker and reformer. 00:11:06.789 --> 00:11:09.509 And do you know that he wrote one of the most 00:11:09.509 --> 00:11:13.470 important books on Christian theology? It was 00:11:13.470 --> 00:11:16.129 called Calvin's Institutes on Christian Religion. 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:19.549 Do you know he was, I have a copy of it. It's 00:11:19.549 --> 00:11:23.149 two volumes. And do you know that he wrote this 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:26.330 when he was 27 years old? I mean, gosh, what 00:11:26.330 --> 00:11:29.590 were you doing when you were 27? This is amazing. 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:33.590 But John Calvin was actually pretty extreme in 00:11:33.590 --> 00:11:37.470 his belief that God governed and controlled all 00:11:37.470 --> 00:11:40.429 things. I just put a couple sticky notes in here 00:11:40.429 --> 00:11:41.710 because I wanted to read to you a couple things 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:45.549 that John Calvin said, which is quite interesting. 00:11:45.690 --> 00:11:49.019 He says, suppose a man... falls among thieves 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:52.740 or wild beasts or is shipwrecked at sea by a 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:56.860 sudden gale or is killed by a falling house or 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:00.100 a tree. He says, anyone who's been taught by 00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:03.940 Christ's lips will know that all events are governed 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:07.799 by God's secret plan. Okay. And then this is, 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:10.820 I like this one. He says that he says that no 00:12:10.820 --> 00:12:14.539 wind, even the wind, even the breeze ever arises 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:19.330 or increases except by God's express command, 00:12:19.629 --> 00:12:22.690 right? So we know today it's 30 degrees out there. 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:25.429 It's going to feel like 36. And we know about 00:12:25.429 --> 00:12:27.929 weather patterns and jet streams and cold fronts 00:12:27.929 --> 00:12:29.450 and warm fronts. But John Calvin would say, no, 00:12:29.470 --> 00:12:33.529 no, no. God, God. God dictated that that was 00:12:33.529 --> 00:12:36.070 going to be the weather today. God made it that 00:12:36.070 --> 00:12:38.549 way. Or fertility. He talks in here about fertility. 00:12:38.769 --> 00:12:41.370 If you can have a child or can't have a child, 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:44.210 God is the one who either opens or closes that 00:12:44.210 --> 00:12:46.850 womb. Now that is kind of a biblical idea. But 00:12:46.850 --> 00:12:50.049 again, we know about things that affect fertility. 00:12:50.169 --> 00:12:53.029 If you go for fertility treatment, does that 00:12:53.029 --> 00:12:55.850 mean you're actually going against God's plan? 00:12:56.190 --> 00:12:59.409 God's will? Calvin even goes so far to say that 00:12:59.409 --> 00:13:01.990 the thoughts in your mind, God put those thoughts 00:13:01.990 --> 00:13:04.429 in your mind. You didn't actually think them. 00:13:04.529 --> 00:13:07.629 He did that. And that, by the way, leads to one 00:13:07.629 --> 00:13:09.529 of his most controversial ideas, which is this 00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:11.450 idea of predestination. How many people here 00:13:11.450 --> 00:13:14.389 have heard of predestination? Yes, I see a lot 00:13:14.389 --> 00:13:16.570 of hands. Predestination, of course, is this 00:13:16.570 --> 00:13:20.700 idea. that before the world was made, God had 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:23.580 already decided which of you would be, quote, 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:27.120 saved, and which of you would, quote, be damned, 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:31.179 okay, to eternal torment or separation from God. 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:34.720 If you were one of the, quote, elect, then don't 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:38.039 worry. You would not be able to resist God's 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:41.059 grace. You would just be drawn to God. But if 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:43.940 you were one of the non -elect, and that could 00:13:43.940 --> 00:13:47.080 be some of you, could be some of you, then doesn't 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:49.720 matter how hard you try or how much you love 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:53.000 God, no amount of desire is going to save you 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:58.460 because God pre -planned everyone's eternal Now, 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:00.059 by the way, we don't talk a lot like that here 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:03.340 at Trinity, like that. But my point is, this 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:06.500 is where it goes. And it kind of leads to these 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:08.419 two kind of big categories. Again, theological 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:10.419 words, kind of apologize for that today. But 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:13.679 one category is what's called theological determinism. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:16.820 Everything that happens, good or bad, your life, 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:19.639 your choices, your eternal destiny is fixed by 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:24.039 God's eternal decree. So, and lots of people 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:26.740 still believe this today, and that is okay. I'm 00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:28.700 not actually judging them. There's actually some 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:31.240 case to be made for it. So you can feel free 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.960 to disagree. Others reject theological determinism, 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:36.720 and they swing all the way to the other side 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:38.379 of the spectrum, and they believe in something 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:41.440 called deism, which holds that, yes, God created 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:43.960 the world. He kind of wound it up and got it 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:47.120 going, but now God has stepped back, and he gave 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:50.419 us free will, and he's just watching now. He 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.379 does not intervene. He doesn't speak. He doesn't 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:56.559 act. He doesn't respond. He doesn't do anything. 00:14:57.179 --> 00:15:00.909 He causes nothing. So on the one hand, you got 00:15:00.909 --> 00:15:02.570 this extreme. It says God causes everything. 00:15:02.730 --> 00:15:04.049 On the other hand, you got this other extreme. 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:08.289 It says God causes nothing. For most of us, neither 00:15:08.289 --> 00:15:11.429 of these views are satisfying. Because on the 00:15:11.429 --> 00:15:15.029 one hand, I think we reject this idea of determinism 00:15:15.029 --> 00:15:17.889 because we believe that actually our decisions 00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:21.509 do matter. And Jesus acted like his decisions 00:15:21.509 --> 00:15:24.110 mattered. The early church went around and they 00:15:24.110 --> 00:15:25.990 believed that they were actually doing something 00:15:25.990 --> 00:15:27.629 that mattered, that the choices they were making 00:15:27.629 --> 00:15:30.009 mattered. They prayed like it made a difference. 00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:32.509 They acted like it made a difference. They didn't 00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:35.409 act just like spectators in this divinely scripted 00:15:35.409 --> 00:15:37.870 drama. And on the other hand, I think Christians 00:15:37.870 --> 00:15:40.470 definitely reject this idea of deism because 00:15:40.470 --> 00:15:43.169 we believe in a God who does actually intervene 00:15:43.169 --> 00:15:46.870 in the world, who acts. and speaks and heals 00:15:46.870 --> 00:15:50.830 and intervened most of all by sending Jesus to 00:15:50.830 --> 00:15:52.990 live among us and show us how to live and then 00:15:52.990 --> 00:15:56.809 he died and rose again for us, right? We believe 00:15:56.809 --> 00:15:59.529 actually that God intervenes in all these ways 00:15:59.529 --> 00:16:02.649 and more. So guys, where do we go from here? 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:05.950 Where do we go from here? Jesus, save us from 00:16:05.950 --> 00:16:09.929 our theology, right? Here's the good news. He 00:16:09.929 --> 00:16:12.450 actually does that, I think, because between 00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:15.690 these two options, I think there's another way. 00:16:16.490 --> 00:16:19.210 Rather than everything happens for a reason, 00:16:19.309 --> 00:16:23.590 what if God is both actively involved in our 00:16:23.590 --> 00:16:26.990 world and yet not causing everything to happen? 00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:31.169 Kind of a middle road. Yay, Anglicans, via media, 00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:35.629 the middle way, right? So in Luke chapter 13, 00:16:35.889 --> 00:16:38.330 we find this really fascinating moment that comes 00:16:38.330 --> 00:16:41.230 up. A bunch of people come up to Jesus and they're 00:16:41.230 --> 00:16:45.710 trying to makes sense of a tragic event that 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:47.950 has puzzled them. This is not the best translation. 00:16:48.070 --> 00:16:50.570 The one that reader read was way better. But 00:16:50.570 --> 00:16:53.309 it says, there were some present at that time 00:16:53.309 --> 00:16:58.070 who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood 00:16:58.070 --> 00:17:01.330 Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. In other 00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:03.710 words, Jesus, did you hear? Jesus, did you hear 00:17:03.710 --> 00:17:07.789 that Pilate went into the temple and he murdered 00:17:07.789 --> 00:17:12.009 people while they were making sacrifices? Horrible 00:17:12.009 --> 00:17:17.029 story. But apparently, beneath this report was 00:17:17.029 --> 00:17:19.089 a question. And the question was, why did this 00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:23.390 happen? Was this part of God's plan? Now, Jesus 00:17:23.390 --> 00:17:24.789 replies, and he says, well, what do you think? 00:17:24.829 --> 00:17:27.670 Do you think that all these Galileans, that they 00:17:27.670 --> 00:17:30.309 were somehow worse sinners than all the other 00:17:30.309 --> 00:17:33.210 Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell 00:17:33.210 --> 00:17:38.430 you, no. Now, Jesus did not answer, everything 00:17:38.430 --> 00:17:42.390 happens for a reason. or that, you know, God 00:17:42.390 --> 00:17:44.609 has his reasons for this. No, and just to double 00:17:44.609 --> 00:17:48.150 down, then Jesus brings up this other tragedy 00:17:48.150 --> 00:17:51.289 that happened, that apparently, you know, there 00:17:51.289 --> 00:17:53.349 was a tower that fell over in this town called 00:17:53.349 --> 00:17:57.390 Siloam, and 18 people died. And now I guess God 00:17:57.390 --> 00:18:00.390 needed some more angels in heaven, or it was 00:18:00.390 --> 00:18:02.089 meant to be, or it was just their time, part 00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:05.069 of God's divine plan. No, Jesus again says, no, 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:09.960 I tell you, no. People's suffering was not part 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:14.019 of some divine judgment or some divine destiny. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:16.980 It was a tragedy. And the reason we kind of know 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:19.380 that is because Jesus' conclusion to all this 00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:22.059 is not everything happens for a reason. His conclusion 00:18:22.059 --> 00:18:26.500 is, wake up! Unless you repent, you too could 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:28.420 perish. Now, this sounds harsh. It sounds like 00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:30.839 Jesus is saying, you know, you better repent 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:32.460 or I'll make something bad happen to you. But 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:33.920 that's not what he's saying. What he's actually 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:37.470 saying here is, life is fragile. Time is short. 00:18:37.630 --> 00:18:40.730 Things happen. Random things happen. It could 00:18:40.730 --> 00:18:43.150 happen to you. So don't wait around twiddling 00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:47.769 your thumbs. Turn to God now. ASAP. Turn to God. 00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:50.150 It's not that Jesus says everything happens for 00:18:50.150 --> 00:18:52.309 a reason. In fact, he seems to be pushing back 00:18:52.309 --> 00:18:55.390 against this kind of thinking. He says, don't 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:58.069 assume you know why suffering happens. Or even 00:18:58.069 --> 00:19:02.430 better, don't use other people's pain as proof 00:19:02.430 --> 00:19:08.240 of God's plan. I still felt like this morning 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.299 I hadn't made this case as clear, so I threw 00:19:10.299 --> 00:19:12.019 a couple extra quotes in. But do you know once 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:16.000 Jesus said, God causes the sun to rise on evil 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:17.819 people and good people, and he causes the rain 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:19.980 to fall on righteous people and unrighteous. 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:23.099 There isn't some master plan for the weather, 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:27.519 right? God just gives it out to everyone. Or 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.359 how about this one? This is really interesting. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:33.750 Jesus once said, oh, Jerusalem. How often I wanted 00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:36.150 to gather your children together, but you were 00:19:36.150 --> 00:19:38.990 not willing. Now look at this. Jesus doesn't 00:19:38.990 --> 00:19:42.990 get his way here, right? People seem to be able 00:19:42.990 --> 00:19:48.089 to resist God's plans for them. And over and 00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:50.430 over again in the gospel, you see this. Jesus 00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:52.089 doesn't say, oh, this happened for a reason. 00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:55.049 No, he enters into that painful moment. He weeps 00:19:55.049 --> 00:19:57.549 with those who weep. He heals. He feeds people. 00:19:57.690 --> 00:20:00.190 He comforts people. He tries to restore people. 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:04.259 Jesus was not a determinist. Coldly asserting 00:20:04.259 --> 00:20:06.440 that every disaster was part of a script. And 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:09.420 he wasn't a deist, standing away from all the 00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:11.599 suffering of the world, uninvolved. No, he shows 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:15.339 us this third way. He shows us a God who is with 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:21.140 us in our suffering, but working to redeem that 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:24.359 suffering. He's not the God who causes it, but 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:29.660 he is a God who can use it. So if everything 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:34.559 happens for a reason, isn't the best answer. 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:36.819 If we want something better than this cold cliche, 00:20:37.099 --> 00:20:39.160 then here's some good news. The Bible, I think, 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:41.240 offers us something better than fatalism and 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:44.259 false comfort. It's this. God doesn't cause all 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:48.279 things, but is present in all things. Right? 00:20:48.380 --> 00:20:52.359 And God doesn't plan our pain, but he never wastes 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.759 our pain. And God doesn't work behind the scenes 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:01.680 to harm us, but he works within this mess to 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:06.059 redeem us. Four things that kind of come out 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:09.000 of there. And this is the first one. God can 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.000 bring good out of anything. That's what we read 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.299 in Romans 8 .28. Not that all things are good 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:18.299 or that God causes all things, but in all things, 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:23.500 God works for the good for those who love him. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:27.680 Not everything that happens is God's will, but 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:31.119 nothing is beyond God's redemption. Okay? That, 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.829 I think, is very true. And it's a middle way 00:21:33.829 --> 00:21:39.109 through this. Secondly, not everything is God's 00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:42.069 will, but nothing is outside of God's reach. 00:21:42.130 --> 00:21:44.730 Now that first statement is challenging. Not 00:21:44.730 --> 00:21:47.130 everything is God's will. God doesn't always 00:21:47.130 --> 00:21:50.170 get his way, right? Because of human freedom, 00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:53.970 because of our sin, because of evil. And get 00:21:53.970 --> 00:21:55.710 this, the Bible tells us we are not the only 00:21:55.710 --> 00:21:58.230 free agents roaming around this world. There 00:21:58.230 --> 00:22:02.420 are evil. beings that also have power to exercise 00:22:02.420 --> 00:22:06.500 on this earth. So yeah, God doesn't always get 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:08.619 his way, but there's not a single place you can 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:13.500 go where God can't enter in and go there with 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:16.539 you. That's why Psalm 34 says, the Lord is close 00:22:16.539 --> 00:22:19.319 to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:23.339 crushed in spirit. Here's the third one. God 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:26.460 doesn't cause all suffering, but he meets us 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:30.549 in it. Jesus didn't sit around at a distance 00:22:30.549 --> 00:22:33.970 trying to explain people's pain. He stepped into 00:22:33.970 --> 00:22:38.150 it. He touched lepers. He wept at Lazarus' tomb. 00:22:38.250 --> 00:22:41.009 He bled on the cross. In fact, the cross is really 00:22:41.009 --> 00:22:44.089 the final word about suffering. He says, I am 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:46.450 not the one causing this suffering. I am the 00:22:46.450 --> 00:22:51.670 one curing it and carrying it. And here's just 00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:55.549 the last thing I would say. Some things do happen 00:22:55.549 --> 00:22:58.859 for a reason. But not everything happens for 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:01.160 a reason, right? I think the Bible supports this 00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:04.099 idea that, yeah, sometimes God does guide us 00:23:04.099 --> 00:23:06.980 to the right person. He does take us to the right 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:09.339 place, the right moment. Sometimes things line 00:23:09.339 --> 00:23:11.400 up in a way that you say, oh, this could not 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:14.759 be coincidence, right? That was God. Some of 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:16.660 you today could tell me stories of, you went 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:19.279 through a great and terrible tragedy, and in 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:23.900 retrospect, oh, it did seem that there was a 00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:29.019 reason. But just because some things happen for 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:32.779 a reason sometimes does not mean that everything 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:39.640 happens for a reason. If you're out there today 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:46.119 and you're going through it right now, maybe 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:49.640 someone meant well and they said to you, oh, 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:51.539 everything happens for a reason. I just want 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:55.519 to say again, you're not being punished. You 00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:00.160 are not part of God's cruel master plan. We live 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:01.759 in this world. It's a beautiful world, but it 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:05.079 is also a broken world. And we live in this world 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:07.880 where towers come crashing down, where planes 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:12.359 fall out of the sky, and bad things happen for 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:15.839 no good reason at all. But here's the promise. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.799 God is with you. Right now, God is with you in 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:21.700 the mess. And though you may not get the reason, 00:24:22.479 --> 00:24:25.819 You will always get the resurrection in the end. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.259 Now, if you can tell that to yourself, then let's 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:33.500 end with this. What do we tell other people in 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:35.779 their time of need? You probably stood next to 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:37.859 someone at a funeral. I've done a lot of funerals 00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:39.220 in the last few weeks. It feels like it's three 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:41.839 or four over the last month. And you're sitting 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:43.559 across from them, and they're grieving, and you 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:46.259 don't know what to say, and maybe it slips out. 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:48.279 You know, everything happens for a reason. But 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.759 what are some alternative things we can say to 00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:53.750 people? who are going through tough times without 00:24:53.750 --> 00:24:56.109 causing confusion. Well, here's one thing. You 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:58.730 could say this. Hey, I don't fully understand 00:24:58.730 --> 00:25:02.250 what you're going through, but I'm here to listen. 00:25:03.369 --> 00:25:07.329 You don't need to have perfect words. Just showing 00:25:07.329 --> 00:25:11.750 up honestly with your presence will do more than 00:25:11.750 --> 00:25:14.029 you know. And so a phrase like this, it honors 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:17.190 their pain without trying to explain it away. 00:25:18.150 --> 00:25:22.559 Or you could just say this. What can I do to 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:26.119 help? Instead of offering advice or theology, 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:31.019 just offer practical love. Move from explaining 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:34.920 it to action. That's what people need most in 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:37.180 times of difficulty. Or you could say this, like 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:42.079 Jesus said, you didn't cause this. You don't 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:45.019 deserve this. That's a simple thing to say. When 00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:46.660 people are hurting, they often blame themselves. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:50.779 And this reminds them that pain is not... always 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:52.980 a punishment. Or the last thing you could say 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:58.359 is actually nothing. Sometimes the most powerful 00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:02.680 ministry we can have is just being there with 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:06.440 a hand on a shoulder, a quiet prayer, and a willingness 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:10.720 just to sit in silence. The world doesn't need 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:16.039 more spiritual cliches. It needs people who reflect. 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:19.000 the presence of Christ, who are willing to weep 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:21.099 with those who weep and sit with the questions 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:25.160 and point gently and faithfully and hopefully 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:29.339 toward the God who redeems those things that 00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:33.420 we cannot explain. So does everything happen 00:26:33.420 --> 00:26:38.559 for a reason? I don't think so, no. Not everything 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:41.819 that happens is God's will. Not every tragedy 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:44.480 is divinely scripted and not every heartbreak 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:50.099 is heaven sent. God doesn't cause everything 00:26:50.099 --> 00:26:53.559 that happens, but God is with us in everything 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:56.799 that happens. So let's let go of the cliches 00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:59.619 and let's cling to Jesus himself. Let's let go 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:03.319 of the easy answers and hold on to the enduring 00:27:03.319 --> 00:27:10.440 hope of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen. 00:27:14.379 --> 00:27:18.400 This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church Streetsville 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:20.839 on June 29th, 2025.