The Good In the Bad

Amen. Good, good music. If you have Bibles, I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 50.

Genesis 50 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 50. If you remember a long time ago, we were talking about Joseph. That

Genesis 50 · chapter mention

was back before vacation Bible school, before graduation, and before the preacher decided

to fall out. Slow down quite a bit. So, where were we? Well, let's get back at it. Joseph

had risen through a lot of hardship to govern Egypt, through a famine, and to manage what

became the breadbasket of the world. And when the brothers that sold him into slavery came

to Egypt for help, they unknowingly faced him. And when he revealed himself to them, he then

took in the family. He cared for them, just like his beloved daddy would want. However,

when dad died, and all that's left are the sorry brothers that sold him into slavery, the

plot thickens. Genesis chapter 50, beginning in verse 15, it says this, when Joseph's brothers

Genesis 50 · chapter mention

saw that their father was dead, they said, it may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us

back for all the evil that we did to him. So they sent a message to Joseph saying, your father

gave this command before he died, say to Joseph, please forgive the transgression of your brothers

and their sin because they did evil to you. And now please forgive the transgression of the

servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came

and fell down before him and said, behold, we are your servants. But Joseph said to them, do not fear.

For am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good

to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear.

I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

What an amazing godly answer Joseph gave them. It goes above and beyond and makes him a real hero.

I mean, listen, if going from prison after being falsely accused to managing the food distribution

successfully for really all the known world, if that don't make you a hero, and it does, by the way,

I'll tell you what else does. His response to his brothers. Remember, these are the sorry brothers

that sold him into slavery, and now they are scared to death of him. They had in their mind that he had

saved their lives and restored them because he loved his dad. And now dad just died, and they probably

wet their tunics again, bowed their knees, and said, please make us slaves. And the part that's not

written or said is instead of killing us. And they didn't say that because they didn't want to give

them those ideas. And he looks at them and says, I'm not God. I'm not here to judge you. You tried to do

evil against me, but God used that to save many lives, including yours.

I wonder how many times Joseph ever asked the hardest question before he ever heard the answer.

Hardest question anybody ever has asked me is why. It's the toughest question I've ever been asked,

and I've been asked that many times. And before you ask me your why,

I will tell you, I may not give you, I probably won't give you a definitive answer.

Because there are some things in life that we just don't know. I can give you some hints.

Let me explain. Young inquisitive minds like to know, and if they're not allowed to do something,

they're going to ask you why. Why can't I do that? And after several whys, at least with my girls,

after several whys, it always ended up because I said so. That was about the way it ended. Not

the best parenting, but that's the way it goes. But you take them to the zoo and an animal does

something that you don't know how to explain to them. Instead of taking it in and just enjoying

the moment, the child says why. Well, I don't know why monkeys catch their excrement and throw it.

I'm not sure. He's probably a dude, you know. I mean, don't ask, but just take it in

and don't ever do it. But then there's also harder questions. Why questions that we face?

When you see a loved one suffer? When one is snuffed out too early? Why? I prayed, I've asked

God to intervene, and I don't see his intervention. It's not what I anticipated. Why?

Why? In April of 2011, the rural Mississippi County that we lived in got hit in a devastating

EF3 tornado. And 12 hours later, after that tornado came through, another tornado came through

and crossed the path of the previous tornado. The counties north and south of us got hit a lot,

but this one had kind of bullseyeed upon us. 200 homes were damaged. Dozens were destroyed.

50 affected homes had no insurance at all. Three were killed in that rural small county. Six were killed

in the area around that county that we claimed as our own. Smithville, Mississippi, about 30 miles

from us got wiped off the map. And that got a lot of attention. So a lot of crews and a lot of volunteers

were going to Smithville. One of those tornadoes, after coming through, hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama,

and knocked out part of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That got a lot of attention. A lot of crews went there.

Disaster relief units flooded to those areas because of the news media. Chickasaw County didn't get a lot

of attention. It wasn't until Smithville and Tuscaloosa and those type areas were saturated with folks

that they began to trickle back. Or maybe somebody knew somebody in our area and their church came.

Volunteers made their way to us when other areas got full. And a couple of local pastors

leaders led the command center for cleanup from the front seats of their car, directed volunteers to

strategic spots to work. And I was one of those two preachers. I was a, I met a man one day whose brother

died. I had heard there was damage in that area and I rode down that road and the brother would, there was a

mobile home that was there and the brother was in the back of that mobile home. And the survivor was in

the front room. He said the wind and the storms were coming and then he felt a stillness in the air.

And then he said, I could feel my house just begin to twist just a little bit and hear it.

And he said, the next thing I knew, I was standing in the front yard

and my home was gone.

It was across the road, probably 75 feet, just in shambles.

And his brother

was in that mess.

He died in the rubble.

I know a milkman who was

going down the road in his milk truck,

drove right through the middle of the tornado,

picked up that truck and it

threw him across a field

and into thankfully

a muddy field and he sank

in the mud, broke many bones

in his body.

He always walked with a limp

after that, but he lived on.

Amazingly after

that. Then there was

the lady down the street

that the storm

they said had just

twisted her when they found her.

Why?

There were a lot of why

questions when I went door to door

and asked how we could help.

Why does a tornado

come and take innocent lives?

Why does a

why does God allow a person

to lose their house

and their home

and the next one

right next to it

may be sorry folk

next door?

Their home don't even look scathed.

Why my brother

and not me?

How do you deal with that?

It's the hardest questions.

Why do my loved one

make such sinful decisions?

Why do I have to deal

with such laws?

Why do I feel like

life is so unfair?

I've heard the whys.

I have my own whys.

And when I look deeper

at my whys,

I begin to find

an answer

about other people's whys.

Sometimes I have whys

about things in Scripture.

That's what sermons come from.

One that I came across

that gets me

is in 2 Samuel 23, verse 20.

2 Samuel 23:20

And it says,

and Benaiah,

the son of Jehuda,

was a valiant man

of Kabziel,

a doer

of great deeds.

He struck down

two arrows of Moab.

He also went down

and struck down

a lion in a pit

on a day

when snow

had fallen.

Okay, well,

maybe that's not

earth-shattering,

brain-twisting passages.

I don't know.

But you wasn't

in the snowy pit

with him,

were you?

Because the difference

in major and minor events

are who's involved in it.

And if I'm involved in it,

it gets pretty major

for me.

Now, if I heard

of someone in a pit

with a lion,

not a big deal.

I might even turn

the channel.

But if I'm in a pit

with a lion

on a snowy day

and I make it out alive,

I'm speaking

at Wild Game Fest

all over the nation

riding around

on a big old bus.

It's a major deal.

But why in Scripture?

Well, that passage

in Scripture

is there

because it was

a significant happening

in his life

and it would have

seemed really bad.

However,

when he walked

out of that pit

with a few scratches

and realized

what he had conquered,

it made him stronger

to face

much more in life

because this man

did mighty things

for God.

He was a priest,

but he was not

the kind of priest

that you would think of

when you think of a priest.

He was a worship leader.

He was an intercessor.

He was a man of God.

He was honorable

in his walk,

but also in the strength

as a protector.

He's the one

that escorted Solomon

during his coronation parade.

He was a hero killer.

He killed a man

that stood

seven and a half feet tall

that carried

a Goliath-sized spear.

Benaiah,

with a staff in his hand,

snatched the spear

out of the man's hand

and killed him with it.

Not only that,

but he commanded

David's 30 mighty men

and he was a mighty man

and he did many mighty things

and one of them

was that he killed a lion

on a snowy day

in a pit.

Now, I understand

that most people

would run from a lion,

but if you do,

it'll do you no good

because a lion

can run 35 miles per hour.

I know because

I outran one one day.

When they don't want to run,

they can leap 30 feet

in a single bound.

They eat manwich for lunch.

But Danaiah faced it

and he killed it.

You never know

what you'll have to face

and you're bothered

and disturbed

and even mad

about what you have to face.

However,

it's the things

that we have to face

that make us ready

for whatever it is

God's preparing us for.

It's the things

that we face

that make us stronger

in him.

It's the things

that we face

that help us to grow.

Benaiah was a lot more

than a lion killer,

but his lion

killing strength

strengthened him

for other things

that God had in store for him.

So why do bad things

happen to good people?

Preparation.

Sometimes

it happens

to prepare us

for more

that he has in store.

Let me tell you

about a horrible

natural disaster

that overwhelms

anything and everything

that we've ever experienced

or that we've heard about

concerning weather-related tragedies.

A long, long time ago

there was a flood,

a huge flood,

so catastrophic

that the whole earth

flooded.

Not just part of it,

all of it.

Only one

extended family

survived.

And the only animals

that survived

were the ones

that boarded

onto that boat

or those

that lived

in the sea.

It was a,

those that lived

in the sea.

It was a complete

cleansing

of the land.

And it had never

happened before.

It has never

happened since.

It will not

happen again.

It's guaranteed

by the greatest

meteorologist

that has ever

lived.

As a matter of fact,

this meteorologist

is the one

that developed

meteorology

and created

the sun

and the moon

and the stars

and placed

them

in orbit.

Why in the world

would a loving God

destroy the whole earth

as it was known

and preserve

one family

and many pairs

of animals

to replenish it?

To cleanse it?

It says it over

and over again

in Genesis chapter 6

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

that he wanted

to cleanse

the earth

of evil

and lead

all living

to turn their eyes

to him.

So why do bad

things happen

to good people?

Because even good

people are guilty.

As a matter of fact,

it could be argued

there ain't any good people.

Even wonderful people

are not perfect.

And those events

prepare us

for what's to come.

But there's another

reason why

bad things happen

and that's reflection.

Bad things

happen to cause us

to reflect upon

our lives

and upon God

and to turn our eyes

to him.

And when we do that,

cleansing can come

that way.

I mean,

if that's hard

for you to understand,

you're not the first one.

Let me reiterate.

Joseph's brothers

had a hard time

with it.

They had sold

their younger,

more favored brother

into slavery

and then made him

out for dead.

They had went

about their way

until a famine came

and in their hunger,

they went to the only place

that they could find relief

and that was Egypt.

There they found

the governor of Egypt

who held the world's economies

in his silos.

And little did they know

that the governor

was their long-souled brother

who had prospered

and succeeded

either in spite

of their action

or because of their action.

And once he confronted them,

he also comforted them.

He also provided for them.

And then their mutual father died

and they knew

they were in trouble.

Notice what happens

in our passage.

The brothers got together

and thought,

maybe he did the good

that he did for us

for the sake of daddy.

Now what do we do?

And they grew very afraid

and they sent a message

to him.

But it's not what they said,

it's what he said

and I'll reiterate.

It says,

but Joseph said to them,

do not fear

for I am,

am I in the place of God?

As for you,

you meant evil against me

but God meant it for good.

To bring it about

that many people

should be kept alive

as they are today.

How in the world

could God have meant

such a thing for good?

I mean,

Joseph said

without his

God-given insight

and preparation

for this famine,

many more would have died

due to the famine.

God allowed

the dreams

that he had,

God allowed

the slavery

that he endured,

God allowed

the prison

that he endured,

God allowed

even the forgetfulness

because if you don't remember,

they left him

in prison

for two years

because his friends

forgot about him.

Didn't tell

what his abilities were.

And that two years

in prison

actually

was spiritually

strategic

because when he came out,

the timing

of the famine

was upon them.

It was all

in God's plan

but it sure

didn't feel like it

when he was

in the dungeon.

However,

by doing that,

in that amount

of time,

Joseph showed up

at the proper place,

at the proper time

to feed the known world.

Why do bad things

happen to good people?

Scripture tells us,

as I've mentioned already,

that we're not good.

Don't take offense

to that.

We're all

in the same boat.

We've done wrong

and that separates us

from God.

Outside of Christ,

we'd have no hope

of reunion with God.

But because of

what Christ did for us

and demonstrated

his own love for us

that while we were

yet sinners,

while he knew

everything about us

and everything

we had done,

yet he was willing

to give his life

for us to have

the opportunity

to come back

to the Lord.

So why do bad

things happen?

I'll tell you why.

Salvation.

Earthquakes

and tsunamis,

they're bad things,

aren't they?

You've seen the devastation

that happens with that.

Bad things come

from them,

but does anything

good come from them?

Yes.

Of course it does.

Peter Ward

and Donald Brownlee

explain in their book

Rare Earth

how earthquakes

and the ensuing tsunamis

are necessary.

There is an anthopic

principle at work.

In other words,

we need them to live.

Let me explain

as best I can

and I am

science illiterate.

earthquakes

and tsunamis

are the consequence

of plate tectonics.

That's the giant plates

of rock and earth

that move below

the surface

of the earth.

And earth is unique

in having such plates.

And without them,

there would be no large

mountain ranges

or continents.

Without the movement

of them,

which causes

these disasters,

the earth's land

would be submerged

to the depth

of several thousand feet.

Fish could live here,

we could not.

Plate tectonics

regulate our climate.

They prevent scorching

and freezing temperatures.

As a matter of fact,

the movement

of these plates

are necessary

for us to live.

So why did God

build it

where earthquakes

are necessary?

Or why didn't he build it

where they wasn't necessary?

Ward is an eminent

paleontologist

and Brownlee

is a college

professor astronomer.

And they say

that some creatures

could live here

without earthquakes

but not Homo sapiens.

And if you forgot,

that's us,

by the way.

Our planet

requires oxygen

and we need

a warming sun

and we need water.

Now,

I will warn you

that sun can cause

a sunstroke

and water

can cause drowning.

However,

both give life

and both

are necessary

for us to live.

So why do bad things

happen

to good people?

It may surprise you

so that we can live.

Salvation.

That's why.

The worst thing,

the most unjust event,

the most horrible

happening in all of history

could easily cause one

to beg the question,

why?

Why?

Why?

Why does God's son

leave his home in heaven

to come into

a very humble means

and live his life

as a servant

for many?

Why did the people

he came to

mostly reject him,

falsely accuse him

and fail to acknowledge

that he was the only

perfect person

to ever live?

Why did they become

so adamant

about being against him

that they arrested him,

that they falsely accused him,

that they beat him

nearly to death

only to hang him

on the cross

of the cruelest death

known to man,

crucifixion

of the Roman Empire

on a Roman cross?

Why did they strip him?

Why did they demean him

by gambling for his clothes?

Why did they mock him

as he died?

Why did they throw

his corpse

into a borrowed tomb

without any celebration

of life?

Why did the worst thing

happen

to the very best person

for the same reason

we have earthquakes

so that we can live?

Salvation.

I don't think it's ironic

that the earthquake

quaked

as he died.

The worst thing

happened

so that the greatest

thing could happen

because three days later

he rose

proclaiming his life

as he had previously

done with his mouth.

In John 11, 25

he said,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me

though he die

yet shall he live.

Why do bad things happen?

Well, there's a variety

of reasons

but the primary one

is so that we can live.

Salvation

or as Joseph put it,

what others

meant for evil

and what others

take as evil,

God meant

for good.

So why do bad things

happen

to prepare us,

to lead us,

to reflect,

which leads

to salvation.

Romans 8, 28

says this,

and we know

that for those

who love God

all things

work together

for good

for those

who are called

according

to his purpose.

So why do bad

things happen?

Because God

said so.

That's why.

Let that be enough

because God's

at work.

God's at work

in the good.

God's at work

in the bad.

Praise the Lord

and bless

his holy name.

What is it today

that you need

to entrust to him?

It might be

your life.

I'm so glad

you're in the house

of God this morning.

I'm so glad

you heard

the story

of what Christ

has done for you.

I believe

it's a divine

appointment.

And if you're

here this morning

and you've never

surrendered your life

to the Lord

Jesus Christ,

I want you to know

that he'll meet

you where you are

and if you'll

just admit

of your need

of him

and ask him

to save you

and change you,

your life

will forever

be changed.

Today's the day

of salvation.

Whosoever will

may come

to him.

Maybe you're here

this morning

and you've done

that but you've

only acknowledged

that privately.

You've never

acknowledged that

publicly.

And Jesus

says if you're

ashamed of me

before others

I'll be ashamed

of you before

my Father.

What that means

is it's not real

if you're ashamed

of it.

So in reality

if you've never

publicly acknowledged

the salvation

that God's given

you, I encourage

you to come.

Jesus by his

commission, by his

example told us

to follow that

with baptism.

We'd love to

guide you in that

process.

We're not doing

it this morning.

We'll set that up

in the future

but you obey God

as he speaks

to your heart and

life.

Maybe you're