Is God really 'Almighty'?

Suffering. Is God really almighty?

It was January 2006.

I was 18 and had been selected as the New South Wales Youth Ambassador for World Vision Australia.

Now, as part of this year of volunteering, I took up, during my undergraduate degree,

I travelled to the very newly independent nation of Timor-Leste.

Now, prior to going, I really knew nothing about Timor-Leste.

I mean, what would an 18-year-old boy really think about?

He'd never heard of the term.

I recall I had to look it up, this country, on a map, just to confirm where in the world was it.

And to my surprise, it was only a very short distance from Australia's northernmost city, Darwin.

Now, the reason for myself and five others going was to reveal the story of Timor and its current suffering

to a nation of teenagers and children more interested in the next PlayStation.

Timor's history is one of profound suffering.

Hundreds of years of colonial rule by the Portuguese, World War II invasion by the Japanese,

and 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation.

During the Indonesian occupation that started nine days after the Portuguese rolled out in 1975,

as many as a quarter of the population, or 250,000 people,

had died from violence, famine, or diseases over the next two and a half decades.

After a famous UN administered successful independence vote in September 1999,

the country was torched to the ground.

Some of you may remember this, by pro-Indonesian militia.

Some 1,400 people died in a few weeks,

and 80% of the country's infrastructure was destroyed.

When we arrived just over five years later,

the then youngest nation in the world was in the midst of a severe hunger crisis.

The rate of malnutrition was the highest in Southeast Asia.

The maternal mortality rate was the highest in the world.

And here was a now free nation,

covered in a cloak of silent suffering,

every hungry season,

where people would have literally nothing to eat for months and months.

And all of this, just one hour flight from Darwin.

This photo will stay with me for a very long time.

It was taken in the district of Aliu,

just about an hour south of Dili, the capital.

We had just met a mother named Isabel,

and met some of her children.

They were a poor family

that lived on maize and cassava.

There was no electricity in their community.

And she told us the story

of how three of her own children had died

because of hunger.

One was just eight months

and had not died long ago.

This was the grave site

behind their house

and their three children

under a small set of stones.

This was me

at that moment,

hit by the silence

of suffering.

We learned that the village was unusual

in that it had a Protestant church.

The majority of Timor is

Catholic.

And the mother, Isabel, said,

and I remember her saying this,

that life is short

and that the children

who had died

were happy

with their Father in heaven.

This morning,

I want us to come before the Lord

in the recognition

that things in our world

are not right.

They're not just.

And yet,

the Lord is here

with us

in it.

He knows Isabel's suffering.

He knows our suffering.

And He is inviting

our community

in Chatswood

to resist

what suffering

and evil does

and to remind ourselves

that God stands

in solidarity with us.

Not only that,

but He takes responsibility

for the evil

and suffering

in the world

as creation awaits

its complete

transformation

and redemption.

As we open ourselves up

this morning,

our hearts

and the word today,

I want us,

I want to remind us

that in the context

of suffering

and the sovereignty

of God,

there are these great words

from Paul.

For now we see

only a reflection

as in a mirror.

Then we shall see

face to face.

Now I know

in part,

then I shall know

fully,

even as I am

fully known

from 1 Corinthians 13.

So can we just

take this moment

to pray

as we explore

God's Word,

which is our only

source of light

and truth.

Heavenly Father,

King of Kings,

we thank you,

Lord,

that you are present

this morning with us

in all of our griefs,

in all of our heartbreaks,

in all of our sufferings.

Lord,

help us to see

your light,

your truth

in the darkness,

and may we bring you

unending glory.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

So,

as you know,

we're going through

the Apostles' Creed,

and particularly

the first sentence,

which talks about

Father Almighty

creator of heaven

and earth.

So firstly,

who is Father Almighty?

These two powerful

words together,

words to describe God,

that He is both

our heavenly Father,

the one we refer,

that Jesus refers to

as Abba,

Abba Father,

reflecting that sense

of being known

personally by your Father,

as well as,

on the other hand,

Almighty.

Almighty,

something you would

normally attribute

to a king.

Often,

perhaps in Australia,

a sporting icon

is the closest reference

to Almighty.

In Melbourne,

where Kate and I

spent six years,

there is only one person

in sporting terms,

at least,

who meets the criteria

of the Almighty,

Almighty.

And his name is

Sir Gary Ablett.

Now,

I may imagine

that you're not all

AFL aficionados,

but this man

was known

and referred to

widely

as God.

He was called

God,

because he could do

all things.

Apparently,

things that no other

person could do,

like mark a ball

on top of the shoulders

of someone else.

I mean,

who can do that?

But apart from Gary,

I would suspect

very few people

get such a title

in Australia.

In Australia,

at least,

they would be humiliated

pretty quickly

by those around them,

like brought down

to size.

You are not

Almighty.

Let's remind

ourselves of that.

So,

what are we

to make

of God's

Almighty character?

In what way

does this go together

with him

as our Heavenly Father

who loves his children?

And to help us

consider this,

we're looking at Psalm 33.

So,

please,

I encourage you,

take your sheets out

or find a Bible

and open Psalm 33.

The first thing

to notice about this psalm

is that it celebrates

the Lord

as Redeemer,

Creator,

Judge,

and Savior,

all in one psalm.

It is a song

that is a reflection

of the whole history

of God's people,

in particular,

his sovereignty

in and through history

in delivering

on his promises.

It looks back

into the covenantal history,

the agreement

or the covenant

between God

and his people,

Israel,

and declares

in verse 4,

for the word

of the Lord

is right

and true.

He is faithful

in all

he does.

The psalm

reveals these

three key things

that illuminate

him as Father

Almighty.

The first,

the unmatchable

power of his word.

Verse 6,

by the word

of the Lord,

by the breath

of his mouth.

He need only

speak

and it is.

This echoes

for us,

surely,

Jesus,

who in the gospel

of Luke,

Luke 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

speaks and calms

the storm

in the presence

of his terrified

disciples.

All he has to do

is speak.

There is such power.

number 2.2,

he sees and knows

all people.

He has formed

the hearts

of all

on the earth.

Verse 13

to 15,

from heaven

the Lord looks

down and sees

all mankind.

From his dwelling

place he watches

all who live

on earth.

He forms

the hearts

of all

who considers

everything

they do.

There is no one

in the world

the Lord

does not know.

In the whole

world,

in whole

of human history,

in that sense,

we see another

reflection of

his mighty power.

No one

falls out

of his

understanding.

And point 3,

finally,

no king,

not even

the greatest

powers or

armies on

earth,

is outside

the reach

or power

of the Lord.

Verse 16,

no king

is saved

by the size

of his army,

no warrior

escapes by

his great

strength.

In the

context of

when this

was written,

a king

had all

power,

you could

imagine.

And the

psalmist

is saying,

even God

has greater

power.

power.

No world

superpower in

all human

history matches

the strength

of God.

He is the

king of kings.

And so,

we hold in

one hand that

he is

father almighty,

and when we

learn he is

also creator

of all.

He is the

creator of

the heavens

and the

earth,

of galaxies,

of the

hundreds of

billions of

galaxies,

and also of

nanoparticles.

verse 6

and 7.

By the

word of

the Lord

were the

heavens made,

their starry

host by

the breath

of his

mouth.

He gathers

the waters

of the

seas into

jars.

He puts

the deep

into

storehouses.

To him,

all of the

waters of

the sea

are as if

they would

fall into

a simple

jar,

or the

deep of

the ocean

into a

simple

garage.

a

storehouse.

The

psalmist is

declaring the

divine ownership

of the

whole earth,

the whole

universe,

to God.

But God

did not just

create the

heavens and

the earth

and then

stand to

one side

and say,

okay,

done.

He sustains

it.

Every moment

of every

day,

as we gather

at this

very time,

the Lord

is sustaining

creation.

Christopher

Wright

helpfully

puts it

like this.

He says,

creation then

is distinct

from God

its creator,

but it

also is

totally

dependent

upon God.

Creation

is not

independent

or co-eternal,

rather,

God is

actively and

unceasingly

sustaining its

existence and

its functions

at macro

and micro

levels.

It's just

the sheer

power and

might of

God as

creator.

So this

is the

sovereign

Lord of

the universe.

This is what

we mean when

we understand

his sovereignty,

creator of

galaxies,

who knows

the hearts

of everyone

who walked

on the

earth.

And what's

most profound

to me is

that this

creator of

galaxies,

he loves

you.

You know,

let's just

sit on that.

The creator

of the

universe

loves

you.

He loves

you.

I want

everyone to

say that.

He loves

me.

Amen.

It's no

small thing.

It is a

gift of

love revealed

most perfectly

in the

person of

Jesus.

And all

we have

to do

is accept

his love.

And what

you find,

and what

you will

find,

is that

when you

accept that

love,

your love

for him

will be

greater than

you can

possibly

imagine.

So let's

turn now

to suffering,

which we've

been talking

about a

little bit

already.

The question

I want us

to consider

is,

how do we

live in

the reality

of an

almighty

God

in the

midst

of

suffering

and a

broken

world?

You see,

when we

truly face

the tragic

reality of

suffering and

evil in

our world,

our answer

for everything

culture

that we

live in

and inhabit

screams the

question,

why?

Why does

God allow

this?

This

suffering?

This

evil?

Something that

really hit me

this week,

and in fact it

was as we

were sitting

here last

Sunday,

and I was

preparing,

the Lord was

preparing this

word,

this sermon

for this

Sunday,

I was

reflecting,

and I'm

sure many

of you

have,

on the

terrible

deaths of

four children

by a

drunk

29-year-old

driver in

Western

Sydney.

This is

truly a

weighty

matter.

I was

grieving this

all last

week.

I lamented.

I said,

how Lord,

these children,

I saw my

children in

these children,

I saw

myself in

the father,

I saw

Kate in

the mother.

Can I

encourage you,

if you

haven't had a

chance to

watch the

video of

Leela,

the mother,

speaking after

the incident,

inspired by

her Lebanese

Orthodox faith

in Jesus,

she speaks

as a mother

who knows

the resurrection

of Jesus

is her only

hope in

the face

of profound

suffering and

grief.

Some of you

may be aware

that I serve

at International

Justice Mission

Australia.

IJM is an

organization that

considers itself

first and

before anything

a community

of Christian

spiritual

formation.

That is the

primary thing

that we are

as a body.

But we

are also the

largest

anti-slavery

organization in

the world.

And it's

founder Gary

Haugen writes

on the subject

an extremely

helpful book

and I

encourage you

if you would

like to

read,

I've got

one,

I'm happy

to share

it,

good news

about

injustice.

He writes

about being

the lead

UN investigator

to the

Rwandan

genocide

in 1994

that saw

almost 1

million people

killed in

100 days

in state

sponsored

genocide

and crimes

against

humanity.

Gary

himself

waded

through

thousands

of bodies

to identify

how they

were killed

so that

someday

their families

might receive

justice.

And he

reflects on

the typical

question,

quote,

why does

God allow

so much

injustice

in the

world as

it was

many times

put to

him?

He

responds,

I believe

I've heard

most of

the neat

answers to

these

questions,

a set of

answers which

in Christian

circles often

explode in

a discussion

like an

emergency

ejection

seat,

rescuing

relieved

passages

from a

crush

from a

crash and

burn

confrontation

with

unpleasant

mysteries.

Frankly,

the pat

answers

don't

work

and the

insensitivity

that I

have seen

in myself

and in

others as

we have

addressed

others'

pain has

bordered at

times on

cruelty.

Let's be

honest,

this is

hard.

As Irving

Greenberg,

a writer of

the Holocaust,

has said,

no statement,

theological or

otherwise,

should be

made that

would not

be credible

in the

presence of

burning

children.

That is

very heavy.

And maybe

for you,

you've had

your own

personal

experience of

this,

this level

of suffering

and not

being able

to know

what to

say,

how to

explain

what is

happening.

I have

my own

personal

experience,

family

memory,

where

sometimes no

simple

statement will

suffice.

For me,

I bring

forward my

grandfather I

never met.

Here's a

photo of me

and my

father from

November last

year,

standing at

his grave

site.

He was a

judge in

the highest

court in

Ghana,

my father's

homeland,

and on

June 30,

1982,

in the

context of

political

corruption

and a

coup,

my father

witnessed

his own

father's,

my

grandfather's

abduction

out the

front of

his house.

The next

day he

found out

that his

father had

been shot,

he had

been

assassinated

alongside

two other

judges and

a retired

army general,

all in the

pursuit of

power.

Last

November,

my father

and all

my aunties

and uncles,

we visited

his grave

site and

it was the

first time

the family

had

gone and

returned to

that place

of grief

and suffering

in 37

years.

I realised

even for

myself,

having never

met him,

I carried

this weight

of his

suffering my

whole lifetime

and I had

not given

it over

to the

Lord.

And I

want to

invite us

this moment

just now,

here and

now,

to bring

to mind

perhaps your

own

weighty

suffering

in your

family,

in your

history.

And I

want to

ask you

the question,

will you

do that?

Will you

take that

moment just

now,

in your

heart,

bring it

to mind?

moment.

The Psalms

reveal a

pattern of

believers,

a pattern

for believers

of not

hiding this

suffering that

is heavy on

your heart

now,

not hiding

that suffering

away,

but bringing

it forward,

open-handed

and saying,

Lord,

here I am.

I place

this at

the foot

of the

cross

before you.

And friends,

I want us

to hear

this,

this,

this,

that we

are bringing

forward,

is God's

weight.

I had

to pray,

Lord,

I am

handing this

suffering of

my grandfather

and putting

it at the

foot of

the cross.

because it

is too

much for

me to

carry.

So let

him take

it.

He has

let us

share a

little bit

of his

heart,

his own

pain.

He knows

it, but

he also has

a passion

for healing

and for

justice.

And God

carries the

weight of

the world

suffering more

than we

could ever

understand.

And so

the next

question

sometimes

goes is,

are we

asking the

right

question?

What does

God do

in response

to evil?

You see,

so often

I see,

I would

like us

to think

about

whether we

can put

down the

why question

and consider

this from a

different angle.

The why

question does

not take

the view

of the

many

specific

actions

in history

of God

in response

to evil,

particularly

the life,

death,

and resurrection

of Jesus

Christ.

You see,

we are

completely

at risk

of ignoring

the all

powerful

actions

of God

throughout

his word

when we

ask,

why does

God

allow evil

and suffering

rather than

what does

God do

in response

to evil?

evil?

The question

we need

to consider

is what

does suffering

or further

evil,

what does

it do

to you?

What does

it do

to us?

And what

it almost

instantly

does is

that it

causes us

to lose

our hope

in the

true,

living,

and active

God.

For this

message,

I spent

some time

reading this

terrific book,

Raging

with Compassion,

pastoral

responses to

the problem

of evil

by a man

named John

Swinton.

I found

it to be

extremely

helpful.

And he

says,

quote,

above all

else,

what evil

does is

to separate

human beings

from their

primary source

of hope,

God.

The problem

of evil

is its

propensity

to tear

human beings

asunder

from their

identity

and purpose

as creatures

made in the

image of God

and loved

by God

beyond all

things.

beyond all

things.

Remember,

friends,

that it

is,

as we

say in

our series

title,

We Believe,

the Apostles'

Creed reminds

us that we

are not

alone.

Yes,

we live in

the presence

of evil

and suffering,

but this

place belongs

to God.

God.

This

creation

is sustained

by him

and will

ultimately

be redeemed

by him.

A man

who experienced

severe suffering

once said,

I consider

that our

present sufferings

are not worth

comparing with

the glory

that will be

revealed in

us,

for the creation

waits in eager

expectation for

the children of

God to be

revealed.

For the creation

was subjected

to frustration,

not by its

own choice,

but by the

will of the

one who

subjected it,

in hope that

the creation

itself will be

liberated from

its bondage to

decay and

brought into

the freedom and

glory of the

children of God.

The Apostle

Paul wrote

this.

You see,

Paul reminds

us that

through Christ

the creation

is being

redeemed.

John Swinton

adds,

all suffering

and death

has been

atoned for

and indeed

conquered in

the sacrifice

of Christ

in spite of

the continuing

presence of

evil and

suffering.

So, my

brothers and

sisters, we

can be assured

that God

sits in

solidarity with

us and his

presence is

with us in

the midst of

suffering.

We have this

living and

real hope

of what is

to come

because of

the risen

Jesus.

Jesus.

And not

only do

we now

have the

joy of

receiving the

free gift of

Jesus in

the midst of

our and our

neighbours'

suffering,

but we can

be assured

that the

Lord is at

work making

the world

right.

He is at

work today

making the

world right.

Turning to

perhaps one of

the boldest

statements in

the Old

Testament falls

within Psalm

33, this

morning's

reading.

Did you see

it?

In verse

5?

The Lord

loves righteousness

and justice.

The earth is

full of his

unfailing love.

In the

original context,

the people

hearing this

knew all

too well

injustice and

suffering.

It was their

daily experience.

And yet,

this is a

declaration that

in a world

where the

Lord is

almighty,

all-powerful,

he actively

loves pursuing

making things

right.

You see,

in the context

of brokenness

and evil

actions of

men and

women in

the world,

we see God

working today

to bring all

things in

alignment with

his perfect

will.

And we

also learn

something about

God's heart.

We actually

discover something

about God's

heart.

Christopher

Wright says

again about

Psalm 33

Psalms 33:5

verse 5

revealing,

The justice

of God

is the

justice

of the

God

who sees

and hears

the cry

of the

weak and

oppressed,

cares about

them,

and takes

action on

their behalf.

At IJM,

over the last

22 years,

we have seen

God doing

this.

50,000

people rescued

from violence

and slavery,

millions more

protected by

strengthened

justice

systems,

all through

the power

of God

revealed in

his children

who see

another kingdom,

a kingdom

of light,

truth,

and justice.

But brothers

and sisters,

can I stress

again this

point?

Answering the

question,

is God

really

almighty,

is not an

intellectual

exercise.

the challenge

is, how

can we,

as the

community

here,

live faithfully

despite the

presence of

evil?

How can

we, as a

community of

believers from

all nations,

who gather in

this place now

called Chatswood,

create a

community within

which the

impacts of

evil and

suffering can

be absorbed,

resisted,

and transformed

as we await

for Christ's

return?

So, we

could spend

months in

this topic,

but we have a

short time,

and I don't

want to,

I don't,

I don't want

to, I

don't want

to, I

suppose,

go too

quickly,

too fast.

What we've

explored today

is a heavy

subject,

a heavy and

weighty matter,

but the

following

suggestions

come from

a place

that I

pray will

build and

restore and

strengthen our

hope, and

most importantly,

our love for

the Lord.

And I say

the love,

your love for

the Lord,

because in

the last few

years, in

the joy of the

ministry that I've

been able to

serve in at

IJM, I can

absolutely say

that my love

for the Lord

has skyrocketed

in the midst

of daily

readings of

people being

trafficked,

forced labour,

online sexual

exploitation of

children, and

yet my love

for the Lord

and what he

is doing,

and what he

has done,

and what he

will do,

has grown,

and grown,

and grown.

But always

in the

community of

spiritual

formation.

So in the

midst of

resisting evil,

our ability

to love God

and continue

finding ways

to love God

will be our

primary mode

of resistance.

In growing

in love for

God, we can

move to the

following Christian

practices, and

there's just a

couple of

suggestions that

I've got here,

and what I

mean is how

are our hearts

being formed?

How are your

hearts being

transformed,

modelled, and

shaped by the

Holy Spirit in

the midst of

this suffering?

So again,

borrowing from

Swinton, he

has a couple

of practices

which I think

have been

particularly

helpful, and

I've got a

small table

on the screen.

You may be

able to read

it, it's a

bit small,

hopefully you

can see some

of it.

The first

one is

listening to

silence.

Have you

ever been in

the presence of

someone suffering?

And can

you,

you sit

and listen?

Can you

be with

them in

the silence?

Something that

often goes

unnoticed is

the silence of

Jesus, his

experience on

and leading up

to the cross.

Have you

noticed that

in Mark's

gospel?

Go home

today and

read the

last few

chapters,

because you

see Jesus'

ordeal lasted

roughly six

hours, and

yet in that

whole time,

we only

have seven

sentences that

we hear from

him.

When he

speaks,

though, his

words are

powerful and

compassionate.

There's

something in

that silence,

the weight of

the suffering,

and friends,

we must learn

the practice of

listening to

silences.

Jesus.

As we

listen to the

silence of

Jesus, we

recognize that

the sufferer's

experience of

distance from

God is not

necessarily a

mark of

faithlessness.

Rather, it is

an experience

closely identified

with the

experience of

Christ on

the cross.

And that's

okay, to

be in that

place, to

pray in

that place.

Speaking of

prayer, the

next point,

lament.

Not often

practiced in

the modern

church, but

throughout the

Psalms, lament

has a purpose

and an end

point beyond

the simple

expression of

pain to

God and

saying, God

is so painful,

it's more

than that.

It's actually

an act of

reconciliation

with and a

deeper love

of God.

As

Christians, when

we lament,

we locate

and interpret

our sufferings

within the

narrative of

the life,

death, and

resurrection of

Jesus.

Lament gives

voice to

suffering and

provides a

faithful language

through which

we can bring

our pain before

God.

Look at

Psalm 75,

look at

Psalm 79,

look at

Psalm 88,

Psalm 13,

it's all

there,

allowing us

to speak

to God

out of

our pain.

Point

three,

forgiveness.

The German

pastor Bonhoeffer

explains that

suffering is a

mode of

sharing in,

that forgiveness

is a mode of

sharing in the

suffering of

Christ.

Forgiving

sins is the

Christian,

is the

Christ

suffering

required of

his disciples.

It is

required of

all Christians.

All Christians

are to

forgive.

And forgiveness

is perhaps one

of the most

radical gifts

God calls

us to

as we

struggle to

resist the

evil and

suffering around

us.

And I've

seen this in

the cases of

IJM where

a perpetrator

of sexual

violence to

a child,

where that

person has

been somehow

miraculously

transformed in

the process of

the trial and

has sought

forgiveness.

They're about

to be sent

to jail for

20 years.

How do I

even deal

with that?

It's too

heavy, it's

too hard.

But yet,

God works

even in

those most

despised

sometimes.

Point

for number

four,

thoughtfulness.

Friends,

often reflect,

let us pray,

as Paul says

in Romans

12, that

we be

transformed by

the renewing

of your

mind.

In a

world where

thoughtlessness

allows for

so much

evil and

suffering,

to carry

on just

unhindered,

without

thinking,

no one

even

thinking,

how can

we allow

the Holy

Spirit to

form and

transform our

values and

our thoughts?

The phone

is a classic

experience of

this.

It just

leads to

thoughtlessness.

forgiveness.

The Word

of God

inspires the

renewing of

our minds.

Point

number five,

the church

is called to

share everything

we have with

the stranger,

because everything

that we have is

not our own.

Hospitality.

One of the

greatest gifts,

if you ever

experience someone's

hospitality and

they give you

hospitality,

it is a gift

from God.

It's so amazing

to experience that.

And it's

because it's

not theirs,

it's God's.

Everything is a

gift.

Life,

creation,

children,

it's all a