Living Hope - Part 1: The God Who Weeps | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website ecb .asia or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. We are going to start

a new series of studies that will take us through

the rest of the month because as christians we

are entering this season of celebrating easter

and the events that led to the death and resurrection

of our lord jesus christ and this study is a

series of studies that we have entitled living

hope and you will get to hear from a few of us

pastors as well today we are going to open the

series and begin with the first study on John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11. Before we start, would you please

join me as I pray? As we were remembering, Lord,

the symbols of our salvation, we remember that

all of these events happened and we have them

written in your word. And as we begin to explore

the things that happened during those weeks,

would you open our eyes to see the things you

want us to understand and draw our hearts closer

to you. I ask that you will use me in the power

of your spirit and in your grace. In Jesus' name,

amen. Each one of the studies on living hope

has a very specific title based on an aspect

of who Jesus is. And I have entitled the one

for today, The God Who Weeps. When was the last

time you asked the question, does God weep? It's

a very interesting question because the way we

answer it determines the ways we think of who

God is and how he relates to us. And what is

interesting is that in the Bible, it describes

Jesus weeping two times. And because Jesus is

God incarnate, the answer is yeah. We know that

Jesus at least wept two different times. And

the two times where this happened reveal an aspect

of God's heart for his people when we who follow

Jesus experience suffering in our lives. And

the way we think of God in the midst of our suffering

will determine Whether we are going through our

suffering in a healthy way or in an unhealthy

way. That's why this study is so important. We

will discover by looking at John 11 that this

is the beginning of the end of Jesus' ministry.

These are the events that marked the beginning

of Jesus' time in going to Judea and Jerusalem

and facing his death. Trial, crucifixion, resurrection,

and then ascension. This chapter is the beginning

of that. Therefore, we are going to take a closer

look at the events that happened. And first,

I want to show you the area we are going to be

looking into. In an area that is close to Jerusalem,

about less than two miles or so from that area

of Jerusalem, There's going to be this town called

Bethany. Now Bethany is an ancient town that

is no longer called Bethany because it's in the

West Bank and it has an Arabic name that I do

not know how to pronounce. But the meaning of

it is the place of Lazarus. And you can visit

that place, you can visit that region, you can

even visit what is believed to be the tomb where

Lazarus was buried. All this area is a section

that is going to be the center of Jesus' last

days on earth. You can see here a deeper map

into the region. And the town Bethany, which

is right there on the bottom of the picture,

is where the events that we're going to read

in John chapter 11 took place. Jesus is going

John 11 · chapter mention

to meet. his friends during a time of grieving.

He's going to perform the last big public miracle

of the ones that he has been doing so far. He

is also going to do the seventh of the I Am's

in the book of John, where he's going to reveal

himself as the resurrection and the life. And

all of this is going to take place right there

in Bethany. But then he's going to leave that

place for a few days. going to a village in the

area. Then he's going to be invited back into

Bethany for a dinner in his honor with the friends

that are there, including Lazarus who resurrects

already. And after that time, he's going to start

his journey up to Jerusalem. He's going to get

to the top where the area of the Mount of Olives

is. And from that, he's going to look down and

he's going to see this view. And he's going to

see Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. And then

he is going to then go down into Jerusalem and

experience what we call the triumphal entry,

which is what is celebrated during Palm Sunday,

which is next week. This is the region and these

are the events. But it is during this time, if

you see those two red dots, that is the time

in which Jesus, And when you think about God

crying, this is the time in which it happens.

This is the area in which it happens. One in

Bethany and the second one in the Mount of Olives

as Jesus is looking down in Jerusalem. And we're

going to take a look at both studies because

the implication of that is very deep for our

own relationship with the Lord as we follow him.

So what we know in John chapter 11 is that as

John 11 · chapter mention

Jesus gets to that region of Bethany, in that

town there's a couple of friends that live there

that are very close to his heart. And now if

you are new to the Bible, if you don't have much

background about the events of Easter, let me

take a few moments just to explain the background

so that you are in the know. Jesus has these

friends, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, and they

are siblings. They are very close to each other,

and Jesus has visited them in the past. Sometimes

he stays with them. They are close friends. Well,

it happens that Martha and Mary start getting

concerned because they see their brother getting

sick, and now he's not getting better. And they

know that Jesus is their friend and he loves

them. He has stayed with them in the past. They

know that Jesus performs miracles. So they decide

to send a message to Jesus. Say, hey, your friend

Lazarus is sick. Meaning, can you please come

right away and heal him? Well, Jesus gets the

message. He's in a different town, a different

area. And to the surprise of everybody, He doesn't

leave right away. In fact, he waits two days.

It's like no urgency. It's just everything is

going to be okay, fine, you know. And he doesn't

show any urgency to go and see his friends and

help. And as he is with the apostles talking

about these things, he says, look, this illness

is going to have a purpose to bring glory to

God. Nobody knows what that understands except

Jesus and the Father at that time. But Mary and

Martha waiting for Jesus to show up and he doesn't

show up. And then from getting sick to getting

worse to dying. And now Lazarus is dead. Then

they bury him on this tomb which is carved in

the rock, this deep. place where they put the

body and they put a rock in front of the tomb

and now four days have passed since Lazarus has

died and now his body starts decomposing and

then starts smelling as well during that time

so this is the time in which Jesus decides to

show up And he's going to come to the outside

of the village of Bethany, and he's going to

meet his friends, Mary and Martha, right there

at the outskirts of the village. And we are told

right there in chapter 11, verse 18, Now Bethany

was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many

Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them.

In the loss of their brother. So this was a time

in which the community came together. They were

grieving together. They were comforting the sisters.

But many of them came from Jerusalem. Which is

significant. Because whatever happens now as

Jesus encounters them. Is going to spread out

to Jerusalem. People will start hearing about

it. Because many people that live in Jerusalem

came to help Martha and Mary during this time

of grief. And this is where the story starts

getting very personal and very human. Because

you have these two sisters that have been waiting

for Jesus to show up, and he decides to show

up a little bit too late. And as Jesus arrives

to Bethany, we are told that Martha heard that

Jesus was coming and she went out to meet him.

But Mary, no, she didn't show up. She decided,

I'm staying home. Which is interesting because

in the previous time where you see Jesus visiting

them, Mary was the one that wanted to be so close

to Jesus and Martha was so busy working and getting

everything done. We know that there was a level

of closeness, so this is surprising. But then

Martha decides to go and meet Jesus outside Bethany,

and this is what happens. The moment Martha arrives

to see Jesus, she says, Lord, if you had been

here, my brother would have not died. And now

you can immediately see what's in their minds.

They are not just grieving, but they feel deeply

disappointed that Jesus didn't come when they

asked for him. And because they are hurting and

they are disoriented, because this is not what

was supposed to be part of the script, you see.

It was supposed to go like this. Hey, Jesus,

we have a message for you. Your friend who you

love is sick and you come and heal him. Jesus

shows up, heals him. Everybody's happy and all

glory to God. That was the script. And Jesus,

you didn't follow it. If you would have been

here, my brother would not have died. And you

can see the pain and the disappointment in her

voice. And Jesus talks to her and then he's going

to reveal in a very deep way who he is. And we'll

go back to that later in the story. But then,

after Jesus talks to Martha, he is waiting for

Mary to show up and she doesn't show up. So then

Martha goes to the house and says, hey Mary,

Jesus is asking for you. I think it's time for

you to show up. And Mary says, okay, I'll go.

And then she goes to meet Jesus. But she's grieving.

She's sad. And she's also disappointed that Jesus

didn't show up to heal the brother. And then

it says there in verse 32, when Mary reached

the place where Jesus was and saw him, she couldn't

hold it in anymore. She was overcome by grief.

And she just falls at the feet of Jesus. And

as she weeps, as she sobs, she says, Lord, if

you had been here, my brother would not have

died. Why were you not here? We sent a message

for you. I thought you were going to come and

heal him and you didn't. Why didn't you show

up? If you did, this wouldn't have happened.

You could have prevented it. But you didn't.

Why didn't you show up? All of this is going

on in her mind. And the only thing that she could

just get out of her mouth in the midst of the

sobbing is Jesus. If you would have been here.

I do not know if you have experienced the death

of a loved one. But the sobbing and the grief

become so deep. But yes, you don't want to sit

down. You don't want to lie down. You just want

to collapse and sob. And weep. And as Jesus is

seeing all of this happen. He starts now absorbing

everything that is going around. And he starts

feeling things which are going to come out. In

that moment where Jesus is described as weeping.

We are told right there in the following verse.

That as Jesus is observing everything that is

going on. By the way there, thank you. Verse

33, when Jesus saw her weeping. And the Jews

who had come along with her also weeping. He

was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. And

this word of being troubled, this idea of being

deeply moved in spirit, is a specific Greek word

that is translated in other places as being angered.

And in fact, some translations will say that

here. Jesus felt deeply angered by what he was

seeing. Because it was wrong in every level.

First of all, death, which is the enemy, had

touched the home of these people that he loved.

And now he sees them suffering because of it.

Secondly, he sees the people that he loves judging

him and saying, He called for you. You didn't

show up. Why didn't you show up? You could have

prevented this. And you didn't. And they are

not seeing him. For who he truly is. And this

is important to understand. Because if you forget.

That death is the enemy. It's not just your enemy.

It's Jesus' enemy. And he came to the world.

Specifically. To defeat it. So that it will be

removed. And the power of death over our lives

will be completely removed. He came for that

purpose. And a few days from this event. He is

going to solve it. They do not know that yet.

They just are experiencing Jesus from that place

of feeling abandoned. So this feels wrong in

every level. And now Jesus looks at all of them

and he says, where have you laid him? Where is

Lazarus? Come and see, they replied. And they

are going to lead him where they have placed

Lazarus' body. And at that moment, Jesus wept.

This is the most significant verse in this story

because you do not expect. That Jesus, who knows

what's going to happen, who knows why they are

thinking this way, will feel so moved as to weep

in this moment. But the Greek word that is used

here to describe the weeping is literally saying,

and tears came out. He was shedding some tears.

This is not an emotional moment of weeping, like

sobbing like the sisters were. But there's these

tears that start coming out of his eyes. I remember

that something that surprised me when I was going

through the grieving in my own life journey.

When we were preparing everything. And the memorial

service for our daughter Sophia. During those

days. People started emailing us. Calling us.

Sending messages. Talking to us. And there were

many people. That cried with us. Some of them

we did not know. Some of them we knew. But the

moment they heard the news. That Pastor Pablo's

daughter Sophia. Had died. They cried. And that

surprised me. Because I was not expecting that

people. Even strangers. Will be moved. To share

our pain. And at that moment. Those tears. Told

me something. You see my pain. You don't even

know me. But you see my pain. You care. And now

as Jesus is seeing what's happening and tears

are coming out of the creator of the heaven and

earth, of God incarnate, the one who defeated

Satan and death, yet he sees all these things

happening and yet the tears come out. And those

tears can only come out of the heart of someone

who sees you. Who cares for you? And that's obvious

to some of the people that are around. So some

of them, after Jesus Christ, some of them that

are there say, see how he loved him? Yet all

the people look at him and they said, yeah, but

could not he? Who opened the eyes of the blind

man. Have kept this man from dying. Isn't this

Jesus. That's supposed to be his friend. Someone

that had power to prevent it. And he didn't.

And yes. Jesus is surrounded by people. That

are blaming him. For the tragedy. That happened.

And it's understandable. When you and I face

those moments, either in our past or in our future,

we will be confronted face to face with the reality

that we are sinners and mortal. We will have

the natural tendency to turn to God and say,

God, I don't get you. Why me? Why now? Why this?

Aren't you powerful to prevent this from happening?

Why did you let it happen? And that first initial

reaction of blaming God is the place where you

are going to take the first step in the wrong

direction. Because blaming God for our suffering

is not only something that has lack of theological,

biblical understanding. It's not based on real

understanding of truth. But also it's something

that is going to start misguiding you into the

direction that is going to take you more and

more away from God. And that is going to take

you not to a better place. These two things will

always come out. Of that attitude of blaming

God for our troubles. You're going to start shutting

down from God. And you're going to start becoming

distant from God. But let me tell you something.

Humans. To be a human. It's a very difficult

experience because the Bible says that even though

God created us in His image and likeness to be

in close relationship with Him, when we, first

humans, decided to not love God and disobey God,

at that moment, two things entered the world

that were not there before. Sin and death. Which

means that from that point on, we, humans, became

sinners. Sinners and mortal. Which means that

we sinful people make decisions that hurt others.

And other sinful people make decisions that hurt

me. And also, being mortal means that any of

us can get sick or die for any reason. At any

moment. In any place. And therefore to be a sinful

and mortal human is tough. Because inevitably

at one point or another we will be hit by this

reality and we will suffer. And if it's in that

place of suffering when you become disoriented

because your expectations of what God should

or shouldn't have done. when the expectations

of the script that you had created for your life

doesn't get fulfilled, in that moment of disorientation,

you have to remember the God who weeps. Because

the God who weeps sees you in your pain, and

he is not the responsible person for that pain.

Sin and death. came because humans introduced

it into the creation that he had created. So

what Jesus comes to do, the Bible says, is that

he came. To destroy the power of death. He came

to destroy the power of Satan. So those that

are living under that influence. Will no longer

have to be living under that influence forever.

Because he will destroy that power. To one day

restore all things. Including our mortal bodies.

Jesus is not to blame. Jesus is the solution,

not the problem. And that is something that Mary

and Martha will have to understand. And Jesus

is going to take them through this journey for

them to get out of that space. So the Bible says

that as Jesus then walked to where Lazarus had

been buried, he's going to speak. Out loud with

a voice of authority. And the word of God says

when he said this. Jesus called in a loud voice.

This is literally like a yelling. Like a very

strong voice. Jesus says Lazarus. Come out. Just

that. Authority. Like the world had not heard

in thousands of years. And just with those words.

Lazarus comes back to life. He comes out of the

tomb. And Jesus simply says. Take off the great

cloths. And let him go. You would expect that

at this moment, everybody now believe in Jesus

because of who he was. He showed his power. He

showed that he had authority over death. He showed

that the father heard him. He showed that he

cared for his people. He showed everything that

he needed to show. But you know what the Bible

says? Let's keep reading. When the friends that

were there in Bethany went back to Jerusalem,

everybody knew what was happening. Everybody

heard what Jesus had done. Verse 47 says, when

the leaders and some of these people got together,

they started saying, what are we accomplishing?

Here is this man performing many signs. Look

at what he just did with Lazarus. If we let him

go like this, everyone will believe in him. Can

you believe it? And then the Romans will come

and take away both our temple and our nation.

And now these guys, because of Jesus performing

this amazing miracle, now want to kill him. And

that's very telling about we humans. Put yourself

in the shoes of Jesus for a moment. Okay, so

you think I abandoned you because I didn't show

up when you called me? And now you feel that

I let you down because if I would have been here

on time, this would not have happened? So you're

upset with me? Disappointed? Okay. I didn't prevent

the illness from leading to death, but guess

what? I'm going to reverse things and I'm going

to bring Lazarus back to life. Come with me.

Lazarus out. Okay, here. Happy now? Good. But

wait. Now you want to kill me? Because I raised

him from the dead? I don't get you humans. It's

very hard to be a savior for you. There's no

win -win here. I show up and you want to kill

me. I don't show up and you blame me. Come on.

Make up your mind. You see that the problem really.

It's not the circumstances. The circumstances

can go this way or that way. The problem is that

we do not know Jesus for who he truly is. Because

when you know who he truly is, you will stop

the blame game and you will stop playing the

victim. That's why Jesus is going to take the

time to be very personal with both Mary and Martha.

And he's going to remind them, I am the solution

here, not the problem. And until you see me for

who I am, things are not going to go well between

us. So yes. There's a very different way of facing

our mortality and the suffering that comes with

it. There's a healthier way of facing our sorrows

when they come. And the way to face these sorrows

in a healthy way have to be determined by truth.

The first truth is that you need to turn to God,

not away from Him. You have to invite God into

your pain and sob in his presence and tell him

how disoriented you are and tell him how disappointed

you feel and tell him all the words that you

managed to say in the midst of the sobbing. You

need to turn to God because if you do not turn

to God, you will turn to something else. And

whatever that something else you turn to is not

God. And will not be able. To reach you in the

deepest part of your soul. And heal that wound

that you carry. Only God can do that. The book

of Psalms says that God is the one that heals

the broken hearted. And bandages our wounds.

Only God can do that. You have. To turn to God.

Not away from him. And that is what Martha did.

In the midst of the grieving. She just left home.

And went to Jesus' feet. And she opened her heart

to him. And she said what she was thinking. And

in that moment. While Mary had chosen to stay

away. Jesus is going to reveal himself to Martha.

In a new way that she had not encountered him

before. And this is what the Bible says. That

at that moment. Jesus looks at Martha. In the

midst of her pain. And has a very intimate. Tender

hearted conversation. Martha. I know. I know

you're feeling abandoned. That if I would have

come, this wouldn't have happened. I know that

you are thinking that I should have prevented

this and I didn't. I know. But do you know who

I am? I am The resurrection. Death will not be

the end of your story. I am life. Death will

never be the end of your story. The one who believes

in me will live even though they die. And whoever

lives by believing in me will never die. Do you

believe this, Martha? Do you understand who I

am? I see you. The question is, do you see me?

Because until you see me for who I am, you will

continue to misjudge me and think that I'm against

you. And Martha looks at Jesus and suddenly in

the midst of her pain, it's like this veil comes

off. And she can see Jesus no longer just as

the friend who performed miracles, this rabbi.

Now she sees him and she says, yes, Lord, I believe

that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who

is to come into this world. I believe. And for

the first time in the midst of the pain, as Jesus

encounters her there, she's able to have an encounter

with God. And now she's not only seen, but she

also sees. That's why you need to open your heart

to God and walk to Him, not away from Him, because

it's in that place. When God encounters you in

your pain, that he will reveal himself to you

in a whole new deeper way that you couldn't understand

before. I was listening to the story of Tim who

grew up as an immigrant in Canada, the son of

Russian refugees. And he's talking about his

story as an adult and he says, you know, it was

very hard to grow up in my home. Because now

looking back, we realize my father had PTSD.

He was an angry man. And when I say angry, very

angry. He would hit me all the time. He did things

that were considered like torture. And it became

so unbearable that when I was 11 years old, I

decided that I could not take it anymore and

I had to leave home. So I left home as an 11

-year -old, and as I was walking on the streets

looking for a place to go, I happened to meet

this guy that says, hey, I know some people.

Let me call, made a phone call, say, okay, yeah,

this lady said that they could open a place for

you to stay temporarily. I can take you to them.

So the 11 -year -old Tim says, sure, I'll go

with you. And as he goes with them, they never

get to the house of these ladies. Instead, they

get to his apartment. And at that moment, from

being in the hands of an angry father, now he's

in the hands of a pedophile. And that took Tim

into a hold -down spiral that marked many years

of his life. And now, as a 47 -year -old, He

confesses and he says, I always felt angry with

God because I felt that just he hand me over

a, he dealt me a bad hand. He wrote this script

and gave me this role. Why me? Could you have

placed me in a loving home? Could you have given

me a father that would love me and care for me?

Could you have? place someone that prevented

me from going into the hand of that stranger?

Could you have done a whole different story?

Why this story? And it was precisely because

that anger of blaming God for his suffering had

marked all his adult life is that he was in that

place of distance until God encountered him.

And on that day when God encountered him, it

happened to be a time in which he had started

following Jesus now. And in his church, there

was an event that was something about a ministry

with men that they called the Band of Brothers.

And as he went there, they started talking about

the father's wound. That there's a pain that

sometimes we carry that has a very specific shape.

And it's that shape of those of us who have felt

abandoned by our fathers. That paternal abandonment

is what is called the wound, the father's wound.

And that night, as Tim went back home, he says

that out of the blue, he could not explain it.

Just could tell what happened. He says, I was

suddenly surrounded like in a cocoon. By God's

love. And in that moment, God spoke to me. And

said, Tim, would you trust me with your pain?

Because at that moment, he realized that he believed

in God. But what was keeping him distant from

God is that he did not trust God with his story.

He did not trust God with his pain. And instead

of giving his pain to God and trust God's heart

for him. He was holding tight to his pain and

his wound. And this night God is inviting him

to trust him with the pain. And he does. For

the first time in 47 years of life. And then

the next thing that God told him was. Tim, I

want to be your father. Would you let me? And

at that moment, Tim says that everything became

reframed for him. He knew that God had been with

him all along and that God wanted to have that

place in his life that his father could never

fill. And it's in that moment, that night, that

Tim says, the wound, the father's wound that

I have been carrying was healed. Amazing things

will happen the moment you walk to God with your

pain and invite him into it. And the things that

God will reveal about your journey and your story

and about who he is in it. So I have to ask you,

who are you turning to? If you're not turning

to God, whatever you're turning to is not good

for your soul. And listen to me, it's not good

for your soul. Turn back to Jesus. Bring your

pain to him. The second truth is that we have

to open our hearts, not shut down. Because the

other tendency, when we start blaming God and

we walk away from Him, is that we start developing

this resentfulness and the pain and the emotions

that we have, we suppress. And when we start

shutting down, the problem is that those emotions

that we suppress and that disappointment that

is deep in there that we have never released,

this bitterness that we have towards God because

He has failed us, Now it's suppressed in there,

and when I shut down, that stays in there. But

the problem is, is that you cannot compartmentalize

it. It doesn't stay in there, neat, in a little

corner. Think of it like something that stinks.

Have you ever walked home, and you realize the

trash now is stinking? It's not just the kitchen

that stinks, is it? Every room starts sinking.

And when you have all these things suppressed

in your life, all these smells start coming out.

You become an angry person. You are easily just

angered. You become depressed. You become numb.

All of these different things are simply the

symptoms of you shutting down. And God doesn't

want you to shut down. He wants you to open up.

He wants you to open your heart to Him because

He is the Prince of Peace. And unless you come

to Him and open up with Him, you will not be

able to experience peace. Only the stink of the

bitterness and the resentfulness and all the

things that you have suppressed. And this is

where the second time that Jesus weeps comes

into place. Because you know, As Jesus now leaves

Bethany. He is going to spend a couple of days

in a village. Then he's invited back to Bethany

for a dinner in his honor. Where Lazarus, Martha

and Mary are there. And other friends to receive

Jesus. He eats with them. And now he's going

to go to Jerusalem. He is getting there to the

top of the Mount of Olives. And now he looks

at Jerusalem. And we are told that he weeps.

Did you know what is interesting is that about

a thousand years earlier, King David was in the

same region. He is right there in the Mount of

Olives and he weeps for Jerusalem as well. The

son of David weeping over Jerusalem. But we are

told in the book of Luke why Jesus wept. This

is what the word of God says. At that moment,

As he approached Jerusalem, and as he saw the

city, you can imagine the picture we saw earlier.

He's seeing the temple, he's seeing the city,

and it says he wept over it. This weeping, this

Greek word that is translated as weeping, is

not the same one as Lazarus' event. There he

just shed a few tears. Here is sobbing. Here

is like that. deep emotion that comes out he

is crying overwhelmed by all this emotion can

you imagine when you are in that space that you

are like trying to speak and and the words hardly

come out they are hard to understand because

you are weeping and you go and all this air that

comes imagine jesus now looking at jerusalem

and now he's overwhelmed by this weeping and

as the words come out of his mouth he starts

saying If you, even you, Jerusalem, if you had

only known on this day what would bring you peace.

But now it is hidden from your eyes. I am the

peace you need. And you could not see me. And

as I look at Jerusalem, I see what is going to

happen in your future. Only a few years now.

And he is going to describe the prophecy of what

is going to happen to Jerusalem in the year 70.

And he starts saying, the days will come upon

you. When your enemies will build an embarkment

against you and encircle you and hem you on every

side. They will dash you to the ground. you and

the children within your walls, they will not

leave one stone on another because you did not

recognize the time of God's coming to you. God

came to you and you did not see it. I was here

and you thought I was absent. And you shut down

your heart to the God who created you because

I didn't fit your expectations. And now that

you shut your heart to me. You will have no peace

but destruction. So now he's weeping. Because

he realizes. The outcome of the one. Who rejects

him. I was there with you all along. And you

didn't see me. And you still believe that I am

not he. Are you shutting down? If you say, Pastor

Paolo, I prefer not to talk about it. Then you're

shutting down. Because that is what shutting

down is. I don't want to talk about it. I don't

want to touch the topic. I'm so disappointed.

It's so painful. It's not even worth spending

any energy talking about it anymore. I already

know that God doesn't exist. Because if he existed,

he wouldn't allow what happened to me. If that

is where you are shutting down, remember the

God who weeps. Because the God who weeps It breaks

his heart to see you going deeper and deeper

in the depression that only he can heal. Because

you refuse to acknowledge the God who is visiting

you. And his name is Jesus. The final truth is

that you need to suffer with hope, not with defeat.

Because you feel abandoned by God. You blame

him now. You shut down. You have all these emotions.

And you go around life acting like the victim

of the circumstances. Poor me. I have been abandoned.

And that's how you suffer. You have forgotten

that this is not the end of your story. You have

forgotten that the resurrection and the life

will overcome everything ahead of you. You have

forgotten these things because they're not part

of the picture. And Jesus wanted his apostles

never to forget this. They have gone through

the experience of Lazarus. They had gone through

the weeping from the Mount of Olives. They had

gone through all of that. And now that Jesus

is with the apostles, a few days later, he gathers

them and he says to them, I have told you all

these things, guys, so that in me you may have,

what? Peace. In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart, I have overcome the world. You

will have to remember that. Because if you forget

that I have overcome, And you forget what's coming.

You will start believing that your past is determining

your future. And that's not true. I am determining

your destiny. And your destiny has my name written

in it. I am the resurrection and the life. Whomever

believes in me will not die. Jesus knows the

truth that being a human, we will suffer. He

guarantees it. In this world, you will have trouble.

You cannot get away from it. But when trouble

comes, don't blame. Don't think of yourself as

the victim. Instead, invite the Savior into the

pain. Open your heart to Him. And then encounter

the peace. That the Prince of Peace wants to

give you. If you invite him in it. So I have

to ask you. What is your attitude? Are you going

through your suffering and your disappointment.

With an attitude of victimhood. Or you have shifted.

To invite God into that space. And say God even

though I don't understand. Why these things happen.

Why was this part of my experience? I'm going

to invite you, Lord, to take this pain. Meet

me in it. Reframe it. So that this will be for

your glory. And that the purposes that you have

will be fulfilled. Help me walk to my future

with you ahead of me. Not with my past in front

of me. This is what healthy sorrow looks like.

So I want to conclude this study of the God who

weeps with simply mentioning the three convictions

of a person that has seen Jesus for whom he truly

is. A person that understands he is the resurrection

and the life. A person who is facing now their

struggles but with truth at the core. Conviction

number one, God is with me, not against me. Can

you say that aloud? Did you believe that? Believe

it because it's the truth. Second conviction,

this struggle is not the end of my story. One

more time. This struggle is not the end of my

story. Do you believe it? Believe it because

it's the truth. And finally, God will lead me

through it for his glory. Would you say it? God

will lead me through it for his glory. Do you

believe it? Believe it because it's truth. The

God who weeps wants to encounter you in your

pain, wants to reframe you in your disorientation,

and he wants to give you the peace that your

soul needs. Would you let him? Lord, your word

says that one day at your return, At the last

trumpet. At the voice of the archangel. The trumpet

shall sound. And the death in Christ will rise

first. And those of us who are still alive. We

will meet them. In the clouds to be with the

Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another.

With these words. The day will come. Where just

as you said. Lazarus, come out. You will say,

Pablo, come out. Death has no longer power over

you. Because I am the resurrection and the life.

And Lord, we will follow you. Finding the strength

and the power in your name until the end of our

days. Give us that strength. And today it is

in your name that we stand. In Christ alone.

In no other name under heaven. In Christ alone.

The only one that we turn to. In Christ alone.

The only one that is the prince of peace. In

Christ alone. We have our hope. And we stand

in one voice. And we proclaim this truth. In

Jesus name. If God is calling you to support

our ministries, you will find giving options

on our website. And remember to join us next

week. God bless you.