When It Rains... | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

There we go.

There we go.

Let's let's wake up and let's let's get into it, man.

I pray that you all are doing well.

If you're joining us online, checking out our podcast, wherever you may find us at, we're so grateful that you will create this space to come um and worship with us today.

Um I want to invite you to go ahead and join me in the in the book of Job.

That's where we're gonna be spending uh some time uh today.

Um while while we're turning there, I want to uh share a quick announcement and then we'll get into um today's message.

If you've been around for the past probably about, I guess, a month and a half, maybe two months, um you may have heard me mention in in different settings, platform, maybe in conversations, uh, that that Megan and I are gonna be going on a sabbatical um this summer.

And and what I realize is I'm gonna unpack this a little bit more in two weeks, but what I realize is that um there are some of us that one may not know what it is, or or two, uh may think that that's like code word for crisis, burnout, never to return.

Because let's be honest, we've we've seen people like, hey, I'm going on sabbatical.

Maybe you've heard that before, only to come back to leave.

Um, so I want to make sure that I'm abundantly clear that this is not that.

In fact, sabbatical and sabbath is a gift from God that is meant to allow us to enter a seasons of rest.

Think about an athlete.

I'm not saying that I'm that I'm an athlete, but I'll be balling up here.

Um, but but you know what happens in like athletes have off seasons, and in the off-seasons, you're not not working, you're just not in the game.

And so, what that's gonna be for Megna and I is opportunities for us um after 20 years of ministry to kind of get out of reacting to everything and actually proactively to get to a place where we're able to lead from a place of clarity and perspective.

And so that we're so pumped about that.

Again, we're gonna unpack that some more um in two weeks to give you a glimpse of it and how we all can enter into our own seasons of Sabbath and rest and how do we engage that.

So it's gonna be really powerful um for our Memorial Day weekend for us to engage that.

So stay tuned to that.

Um, what I also want to share with us is that I hope that you guys have been enjoying um our deconstructed series.

Um, we've been in this series for several weeks now.

We're gonna be concluding it um next week.

And there's a lot of um resources that are available to you, your family, and your community as we've been hitting on some weighty topics.

We've been hitting on church hurt and and and doubt and disappointment.

And today we're gonna be talking about suffering.

In addition to that, we had a mental health panel where we're talking about making sure that we have proper boundaries in place.

Like all these things are meant to be resources to really help and equip and strengthen us.

So I want to encourage you to make sure you check out anything if you've missed it.

But then also we plan on concluding the series with a QA um panel discussion, but we actually need your help and your support with the content.

So if you have any questions, maybe it's something that we brushed on, maybe something that we didn't talk about at all, we would love to hear from you.

So um there's a barcode that should come up on uh the overhead above me.

I would love for you guys to scan it.

Um, just submit some questions so we can kind of know how to navigate through the questions and make sure we do our best to equip and resource you in any way we can around this weighty um series and topic.

I believe it can really be life-giving and encouragement for every single one of us.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, who's ready to talk about suffering?

Come on, church, we're celebration.

Who's ready to talk about suffering?

I I know, I know, and I'll go ahead and give a disclaimer.

I know that this is not uh a topic that um we want to talk about, but it's one that we have to talk about.

Because as we've been in this deconstructed series, things that happen in our lives that can cause us to rethink everything.

I honestly think that this may be one of the first domino that knocks over a lot of things.

When we experience suffering, when we experience things that just don't make sense to us, that can kind of break our faith in such a way that it's hard for us to move forward through it.

So if we don't have a healthy biblical perspective on suffering, I think we can be paralyzed in it.

And so today we're gonna be looking at Job chapter one.

And if anyone is familiar with scriptures, I think that Job has earned the right um to be the poster child of suffering.

I believe there's a lot that we can learn from his life that I think that can encourage us and to strengthen our faith as we um identify how we can respond in our own seasons of suffering.

We're gonna read all of Job chapter one, um, but then also as a point of reference, I'll be referencing things that are discussed in chapter two as well.

So if you want to get full context, read Job 1 and Job 2 so you can kind of get caught up to speed with all the things that we'll be addressing um in today's message.

Starting at verse number one, um, I want you to kind of read along with me if you have it um in your hands, and if not, you can just see it um in the Bible in the sky.

But it says this starting at verse one there was a man named Job who lived in the land of Oz.

He was blameless, a man of complete integrity.

He feared God and stayed away from evil.

He had seven sons and three daughters.

He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys.

Um, he also was a man who had many servants.

He was in fact the richest person in the entire area.

Job's sons um would take terms preparing feasts in their home, and they would also invite their three sisters over to celebrate with them.

Um and when these celebrations ended, sometimes after several days, Job would purify his children.

He would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings for them.

Job said to himself, Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts, and this was his regular practice.

This is him being what we call the priest of his home, leading and praying for his family.

Verse number six Um One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord.

The accuser, Satan, came with them.

Where have you come from?

The Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered, The Lord, I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on.

Then the Lord asked Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job?

He's the finest man in all the earth.

He is blameless, a man of complete integrity.

He fears God and stays away from evil.

Satan replied, Yeah, but he has a good reason to fear God.

I mean, you've always put a wall of protection around him in his home and his property.

You have prospered him in everything that he does.

Look at how rich he is.

But if you reach out and touch everything he has, he will surely curse you to your face.

All right, test him, the Lord said to Satan.

So Satan left the presence of the Lord.

One day, Job's sons and daughters were feasting in the oldest brother's house.

A messenger arrived at Job's home with this news.

Your oxen were plowing with the donkeys and feeding them.

When the Sabians raided us, they stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands, and anyone, and I am the only one left who escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another messenger with this news came.

The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all of the shepherds.

I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news.

Three bands of Accaldian raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you.

And while he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news.

Your sons and daughters were feasting in your oldest brother's house, and their oldest brother's house suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides.

The house collapsed, and all of your children are dead.

I am the only one who escaped to tell you.

Job stood up, tore his robe in grief.

Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.

He said, I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave.

The Lord gave me what I have, and the Lord has taken it away from me.

Praise the name of the Lord.

Full transparency, I just don't know.

Even knowing all that I know, if I would have responded like this, I don't know if I have the strength to respond like this.

As I as we look out into a world that's just filled with so much pain and suffering, we can we can't help but to ask where where is God in all of it?

We can't help but to ask why are why are these things happening?

Why doesn't it seem like things are getting better?

I believe that it's moments like this where we come together as a community.

It's moments like this where we get a chance to engage God's word and we get a biblical view of how we are to navigate through seasons of suffering.

If you're taking notes, and I hope that you do this, because I think you can come back and hopefully get something out of it later.

I want you to write this message title down when it rains.

Let's pray and let's get into it.

Lord, we thank you for your goodness.

Even though we live in a fallen and broken world where just suffering is all around us, God, we still pause to reflect that you're present and that you're good.

So Lord, I decrease and ask that you increase because of my own strength.

I just don't have it in me to deliver this word.

So, Holy Spirit, you're welcome.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear you, and open hearts to receive what it is you want to speak.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

You know, perhaps many of us are familiar with uh the term when it rains, it pours.

Ultimately, what that statement is is meant to help us to grab a hold of is that it seems that whenever there is bad things, it seems to come with a compounded interest.

Like it's just like it it just it just builds, it just builds, it just builds.

And and we go through seasons where it just seems like it's it's a lot.

Like, you know, you may have car issues, and and that by itself may be good enough, but but then maybe you you you discovered a lump on your breast or some pain that you didn't anticipate.

And now you're also dealing with drama and dynamics at work.

You got some issues going on with your family, like it's just one thing after another after another after another.

There have been seasons in my life where I literally just feel like I can hear like DJ Khaled in my voice saying, Then there's another one.

Then there's another.

Like I just feel like there are moments where it just seems like there's just another thing after another.

You know, when I when I think about it, life has a way of just packing on the pain and to add insult to injury.

There are moments when we experience things and it it's beyond our ability to articulate or to define it.

Every Thursday as a staff, we gather together and we um and we pray over our church, we pray over our community, we pray over our city, uh, we pray over other churches, and we pray for each other as a staff, what's going on in each other's lives, and and when we look at these prayer requests, that there are things that we see that that you just you just can't make sense of.

When when I when I hear that someone in our community is a a young, healthy 31-year-old and they're stricken with cancer that that may take their lives like it just I don't have words for it.

When I when I see that another person in our community, uh a 35-year-old picture of health, just drops dead right in front of their family, it's like you just can't wrap your mind around it.

When in one moment it seems like everything is good, but then someone's marriage completely falls apart, and you're seeing them trying to assemble their identity after they've been connected with someone for half their lives, you you just don't have the words to quite articulate it.

When when another person loses their job, their livelihood, and and they went to school for this, they moved to the community for this, only to lose the very thing that they were pursuing.

It's it's so hard to to find the words to to make sense of it all.

And this doesn't even scratch the surface.

See, when when you think about suffering, the definition of suffering is enduring pain or affliction.

It it means adversity and to experience trouble.

I I think the I I like to look at suffering like this.

Suffering is pain in slow motion because it doesn't go away overnight.

It's one of those things that just has a tendency to just linger.

Like, so if you ever like, let me put it to you this way if anybody in here, anything like me, don't y'all judge me, but anybody ever can just sit down and like binge watch an entire season of a show in one sitting, that's your boy.

I I I do that unapologetically.

That's my Fridays, that's my Sabbath time, that's what I do.

But but if you notice, a lot of the newer shows that are coming out, like a whole season, maybe like six episodes, eight episodes, super quick.

You can get through that fairly quick.

But there's some other shows that I may watch where it may be like 22, 24 episodes.

And and if you're and if you're anything like me when you're used to seeing things that have shorter seasons, and then you watch something that has like a nonstop season, you're like, how long can you stretch this storyline out?

Wrap it up.

We get it.

Like, let's wrap this thing up so we can get on to the next season.

That's how suffering can feel sometimes.

How how long can we stretch this out?

How long can we continue to have one episode after another?

Can we wrap this up as quickly as possible?

When we ask ourselves, how do we get here?

There is a biblical and theological explanation for it.

You see, in Genesis chapter 1 through 3, it really does introduce how suffering came into the world.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Let me give you a quick recap.

Genesis chapter 1 says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Here's ultimately what that is: is that the world was filled with chaos, no form, just darkness.

But then God comes in and says, Let there be light.

And there was light.

And then if you read the rest of Genesis 1, you see that he begins to bring order out of the chaos.

It was once chaos, it was once dark.

God shows up, let there be light, he brings order.

But after he brings order to this beautiful world, he then brings man.

And what man does is that man brings chaos to God's order.

Think of it this way: God puts things in order, puts man inside of order, man brings chaos.

And what scripture tells us is that when man rebelled against God's way, that it introduced suffering and pain and anguish and ways that we are still feeling the effects of it.

Real talk, I've had many people say, like, hey man, I know that heaven's gonna be a place of peace, but when I see Adam and Eve in heaven, man, they're gonna have to run me that fade.

Like, it's like you could there's some things that we're going through that we're like, yo, like if y'all could have just chose the tree of life, we're not dealing with any of this stuff.

We're not dealing with any suffering, we're not dealing with any pain, we're not dealing with any of it.

But because of that, somehow that created a ripple effect that we still continue to experience to this day.

And while I just gave you a theological answer on how suffering has entered into a world and it's broken and we're filled with chaos and we're coexisting with it, it still doesn't, it doesn't give us peace.

It doesn't, it doesn't give us resolve.

In fact, what we understand is that even knowing these things, it's still hard to reconcile it because we were raised to believe in cause and effect.

Think about what we do in our household when we're raising our families.

What do we typically teach?

You do good things, you get rewarded.

You do bad things, there's going to be discipline.

That's that's a healthy structure that we do in every single house.

But you know what I remember?

I remember when my kids came home and the innocence left their eyes when when they realized for the first time I did something good and I didn't get good in return.

And you know what happens?

They say, that is not fair.

And now you're trying your best to reconcile because we've created a delicate ecosystem in our home that if you do good things, you're gonna get good things, but if you do bad things, there's gonna be discipline.

But now that I'm out in the world that's not protected by mom and dad anymore, what do I do when I'm nice to the friend and who still continues to reject me for no reason?

I thought I was doing the right thing, but I'm not getting the right thing in return.

We even can feel conflicted when we look at scripture because doesn't the Bible say that you reap what you sow?

So if I sow good things, then I'm going to reap that in my life.

What have I sowed to reap the suffering that I'm currently experiencing?

Those are the things that can begin to mess with our faith.

It begins to frustrate us in such a way that we begin to ask some very weighty questions.

Why is this happening?

What have I done to deserve this?

Why me?

What kind of God would allow this?

See, when suffering happens and it goes beyond our boundaries to reason with it or accept it, it can break our faith.

This is the kind of suffering that Job began to experience that left him bewildered.

Because let's look at Job's resume.

The Bible says that Job was a godly man, he was successful, he was a family man, he pursued after God, he prayed for his children, he was very generous, that he shunned evil, that Job lived a life that he really wanted to be the embodiment of righteousness.

In fact, the life that he lived seemed to put a spotlight on his back and an invitation for temptation.

Now, I I wish I had enough time to unpack what's happening here in heaven as this conversation is taking place.

But but I don't, but I do want to give you a reference if you're one of those people that loves to kind of like dig deeper into these rabbit holes.

If you go to Bibleproject.org, you'll see that there's a video on there on God's divine counsel that kind of speaks about God holding court, so to speak, and also the Satan.

Now, I know that's weighty, but what it does is it'll help you to understand the nuances and the characters that are all taking place right here.

I don't have the time to get into it, but I do want to speak about Satan's role for a moment.

What Satan's role is, is the Bible says that his name means to accuse the opponent.

Now, when we look at that word accuser, it's where we get the word category from.

So I want us to think about this for a moment.

That the role of Satan is to oppose the things of God and to put categories on God's people.

Let me break it down.

To oppose God and his people and to put labels on us, to put us into categories that would then qualify us to not be in a relationship with God.

To put it frankly, when the enemy opposes God's people, he then begins to put us into categories.

Look at that person, they've got a divorce category.

Look at that person, they're struggling with addiction category.

Look at that person, um, they've they fell into adultery category.

The enemy loves to oppose the people of God and to place categories on us that can prevent us from moving forward.

But but I'm encouraged at what the Bible tells me in Revelation chapter 12, verse number 11, when speaking about that same accuser, it says that he's defeated by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

I need you to hear the good news here today that when Jesus died on the cross, he puts you in a whole new category.

So the only category that matters right now is that I am redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

The only category that matters right now is that I am a blood-bought child of God.

The only category that matters right now is that I am delivered.

The only category that matters right now is that I'm seated in heavenly places, that there are moments when the enemy wants to remind you of your past, but you need to remind him of his future, that he is a defeated foe, and no matter what happens, the Bible declares that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, and that even if I make a mistake, the blood of Jesus redeems me, that even if I fall short, the blood of Jesus will lift me up, that even if I make a mistake, the power and grace of God is with me.

The enemy may try to put you into a category, but God has already put you on another level.

So even when we know these things, that the enemy's job is to go to and fro, seeking to put us into categories, we still have to deal with the reality of the suffering.

When we look at the life of Job, it brings us on a provocative journey where we see a good man endure hardship.

It gives us a glimpse into a person who's living a life but yet still experience setbacks, and how do we respond to it?

I want to give you three points that I think can help us.

I don't think it resolves conflict.

It doesn't help us to get around conflict, but it helps us to walk through it with a kingdom perspective.

Here's the first thing that we need to do when we're going through seasons of suffering.

Take inventory.

Take inventory.

You have to pause and take inventory.

I I was speaking with Pastor Eileen, um, who is a combat trained veteran.

Don't let her size fool you.

If you bump into her in the hallway, she'll put you down.

Um so so she's a combat-trained veteran.

I remember having a conversation with her, and I said, Hey, walk me through what happens whenever like there's a bomb that goes off.

Like what happens?

I mean, it's chaotic, and but I know that there's a strategy to even deal with unexpected chaos.

And so she gave me a bunch of military terms.

I was like, I need you to put the cookies on a lower shelf for me.

Like, water it down for me.

But what she simply said is you have to take inventory, and she kind of broke down a couple of things that typically happens.

You have to determine how close you are to the bomb when it goes off.

You have to evaluate your surroundings, get a sense of if the dangers are still there or is it people that are scattered, figure out how you're doing, figure out how you can help people and begin to move forward.

Ultimately, you have to take inventory before you can begin to move forward.

For for Job, a bomb just went off in his life.

He lost his family, he lost his resources, he even lost his health.

What the Bible tells us in Job chapter 2 is that he's attacked again in his physical body, and he He is just literally just covered with boils and ulcers, and he's just sitting outside, and he's broken and deflated and suffering.

Job 2 · chapter mention

And the scriptures say that all he could do is look around amongst the remnant of things that had been shattered around him, and he saw a piece of pottery and he picked it up and just began to scratch the areas of his body that was itching.

Like you anybody ever have like that spot on your back you're just trying to get to, and when you finally get to it, you're like, oh, thank you, Jesus.

It's amazing the things we thank God for.

Like just being able to scratch your back and just be like such a thing that gives us a little bit of relief.

Here's what I think we can miss sometimes when we look at that passage.

Everything had fallen apart in Job's life, but yet there was still something there that he could use to bring him some relief.

When we take inventory, it's our ability to pause and to reflect and to look around and say that even though I'm going through a very difficult season, what is in my life that can still bring me a little bit of relief even in this season of suffering?

I remember about a year ago, my cousin had reached out to me.

He really wanted to talk to me.

He was going through a health condition.

And so when he called me, I was out at dinner with some family and some friends, and I said, Hey man, like we we can't talk right now, but I'll call you tomorrow.

Not remembering that I was traveling the next day.

And so I'm in the airport and I was like, oh, should I call him back?

But I don't know.

I just have a pet peeve.

Like, I'm one of those guys, like, I don't like having like full, intense conversations in public.

I'm not judging anybody that does, but I'm kind of judging everyone that does.

Like, I'm feeling like when you're having like a really weighty conversation, like I'm like, man, like I don't want to be standing in line here and you argue with your spouse, like, do that outside.

So I'm thinking, do I really want to be in the airport going into like this deep, weighty conversation with my cousin?

So I text him, I said, Hey, uh, I'll call you once I land.

I called him, he missed my call.

So now we're going on like day three, where we hadn't had an opportunity to talk to each other.

He was in anguish, he desperately wanted to talk to me, and and it just didn't work out.

Meanwhile, every single day, one of his friends was like, Hey man, I want to invite you to come to my small group.

In his head, he's like, Man, I don't want to go to no small group, I don't want to be around anybody.

Like, I just want to talk to my cousin, I want him to pray for me, and and I can move on.

So we get to Monday now.

This all started like Thursday night.

We get to Monday now, we still hadn't found time to talk.

And so um he finally says, Okay, fine, I'll I'll go to the small group.

He goes to the small group, and while he's there, he shares what he's going through.

And when he shares what he's going through, the guys stop, they all come, they pray for him, and he felt good.

But at the end of the small group, there was a doctor that was there who was literally an expert at the very thing that he was currently walking through.

The doctor was able to diagnose what was going on, get him on the medicine that he actually needed.

And though he's not 100% healed, he actually is beginning to experience relief.

I often wonder what would have happened if I would have called him.

I'm great.

I'm a great prayer warrior, but I don't know if I would have been able to fix that situation.

But if he would have been so fixated on saying, I will only move forward if I talk to Keith, he would not have been in the room that he needed to be in to actually experience the relief.

I I wonder how often does God have remnants of things all around us that he is positioned to help bring us relief, but we end up looking past it because we've already figured out the solution that we've decided.

Maybe there are moments when we can take inventory where we can pause and look around and see.

I may not have everything that I wanted, but I still got a remnant that's going to be able to give me exactly what I need.

My mom used to tell me that a little is a lot when you got Jesus.

When I look at the miracle of the fish and the loaves, they could have fixated on the facts that we got 20,000 people here and we only have two fish and five loaves, and they could have lamented in that.

But what they did is they took the little that they had, they put it into the hands of Jesus, and they end up transforming and being more than enough.

I wonder if we can begin to look and see what are the little things that I have in my life that God is going to use to still bring relief.

Job is sitting there dealing with suffering, but while he looked around, he found something that was able to bring relief to his life.

When we're going through seasons of suffering, it's so important that we pause and take a moment to experience a little bit of taking inventory.

Here's the next thing that I believe that we need to do.

When we're going through seasons of suffering, we need to take inventory, but we also need to establish boundaries.

We need to establish boundaries, we need to be mindful of what's around us, who is around us.

The Bible says that as Job is sitting there suffering, that his wife can see that there's something in his life, that there's something about him that he still is holding on to his faith, that he's still holding on to his integrity.

So his wife looks at him and is like, bro, you still you still going to church?

You're you you still trusting God?

You're still going to the small group, you're still you're still giving.

Why are you doing this, Job?

You're walking through so many difficult seasons.

Why don't you just curse God and walk away?

Imagine hearing those words from the person that is supposed to draw you closer to God.

Isn't it interesting how sometimes the people closest to us can be the ones that pull us the furthest away from God?

Not only do we have Job's wife that begins to offer this critique, in essence, trying to pull him away from God, he also has his friends that show up who begin one by one to pontificate on how Job found himself in this situation, to pontificate and offer their opinions on everything.

What is it about people that we feel like we have to comment on everything?

Like we we have something to say about everything.

Like what is it about it?

Like, I firmly believe that there's some kind of magnet that whenever there's suffering, that people show up to tell us exactly what's wrong with us, what we should have done, and how we could have done things differently.

I think suffering invites fixers the same way that I think a carcass in the middle of a road invites vultures.

It seems to be a magnet, and everywhere you look, you just see people who show up and have to offer commentary.

I say this with you with the utmost grief in my heart.

Because as I stand on this platform at the time of this recording, for those who may listen to this later, we're not even 24 hours removed from a mass shooting that took place in Buffalo, New York.

Where at this time over 10 lives have been taken, um, three other critically wounded, and that may have changed by now.

But but when I when I think about that and I see that this was racially motivated, it breaks my heart that we live in a world where this is our reality.

And when I woke up this morning to get a glimpse of the news and to go onto social media really quick before I came here to see you guys, the bodies were still on the ground.

And there was comments on social media that said, don't let this distract you.

African Americans still kill each other more than I got them and did in Buffalo.

From a Christian.

What is it about us that we have lost the essence of what it means to be a true follower of Christ?

What has happened to us that when scriptures like Romans 12, 15, says, mourn with those who mourn?

What has happened to us as a community where we're so steeped in our political ideology that we rob people of their very natural essence of being made in the image of God?

I have failed to find any translation of scripture that says, Mourn with those who mourn as long as y'all belong to the same political party.

I haven't seen that passage yet.

And I read from the message translation.

What I do see is when we find ourselves in moments like this, that the call for Christ is for the followers of Christ to come alongside and to pray and to support and to mourn and sidestep all of that other nonsense.

The disciples did the exact same thing in the Gospel of John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

They came across a blind man and they sat there, much like Job's friends.

Lord, tell us who sinned that this man ended up in this position?

Because naturally, if he's blind, he must have done something, his parents did something.

So let's talk about that, Jesus.

Let's talk about how he ended up in this position.

If I could be quite frank, Jesus is like, shut your mouth, that has nothing to do with any of this.

My glory is going to be found in this.

Why are you focusing on that?

Why is it that we feel it's our responsibility to offer commentary on the suffering of other people?

Another friend of mine on social media wanted to go into a whole tirade about the abuse that other people have experienced.

And I remember calling him saying, like, bro, what are you doing?

He's like, No, this is what I'm saying.

I'm like, no, you shouldn't say anything.

He said, Well, no, like, you man, freedom of speech.

I'm like, yeah, but you know what else we have?

Our right to remain silent.

You should exercise that right a little bit more.

You have shown that you're more faithful to elephants and donkeys than you are to the lamb.

Why don't you just sit this one out?

Why why don't you just sit back and listen and learn from those who are suffering and those who are grieving instead of feeling like you have to offer some kind of narrative that's going to try to define everything that's going on?

What happens to Christ being enlivened our lives in such a way that we can just lament with people?

I don't need to diagnose your pain.

I flat out told him, I said, Man, stop bringing your privilege into other people's pain.

You don't get to walk into someone's suffering and tell them how they should respond to it.

You have to sit alongside them, pray with them, encourage them, and help invite Jesus into that situation.

Job hearing from his wife, he says, Woman, you sound ridiculous.

That is in essence him putting up a boundary, recognizing that he's hearing something that doesn't fit in with his beliefs, and he tells her to be quiet.

Listen to me, family.

When you're going through seasons of suffering, your spiritual immune system is so vulnerable.

We have to be careful about what we put ourselves around so that we don't allow that toxic stuff to get into our minds.

We don't allow that toxic stuff to get into our spirits.

You know what I do about once a quarter?

Man, I'd throw me a block party.

Some of y'all are slowly beginning to catch on.

I'll start scrolling through social media, I'll see something crazy, block, unfollow, mute it, don't want to hear it.

Block him, block her, block that, don't want to hear it.

I throw block parties, I love it.

Listen to me, someone needs to hear this.

It's okay to unfollow people.

It's okay to put boundaries around some things because here's what I know.

As a person who has the profound privilege of pastoring a diverse church that is filled with Democrats, Republicans, and every other spectrum you can imagine, I don't have the privilege of leaning one side or another.

So what I have to do is be responsible to speak kingdom language and preach the gospel in a way that can reach everybody.

And because I understand the pain and suffering that one person may feel that may have a certain belief system, and the pain and suffering that another person may feel, I can't allow the politics to put a bridge on me not being able to see the basic humanity in someone else because I'm trying to force my own political ideology.

We as followers of Christ have got to knock it off.

Grieve with those who grieve and sidestep all of that other nonsense.

Put boundaries up in your life.

If you need to unfollow somebody, unfollow some people because that stuff begins to infiltrate your spirit, you have absolute permission to do it.

Job began to put boundaries up in his life because he wanted to protect himself.

For some of us, we're vulnerable right now.

It may not be healthy for us to be around everybody and everything and to read everything, but if it's going to pollute our ability to move forward, pollute our view of God and pollute our view of other people we have to put up healthy boundaries.

Here's the third and final thing that I want us to be reminded of in moments of suffering.

Remember that God is good.

Remember the goodness of God through it all.

Job shares his frustration, his pain, and his suffering.

He's incredibly honest with God through every single bit of it.

And what the Bible says is that God shows up.

In fact, what scripture says is that he shows up in the whirlwind.

That means that even in the storm, even in the discomfort, even in the suffering, that God shows up.

When God shows up, he listens to Job's pain, but then he brings Job on a journey to show the goodness of God.

He begins to remind Job about who he is and what he's done and the perspective of life that he has.

He begins to unpack for Job that I have an eternal perspective.

He begins to remind Job that my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.

And there's certain things that you won't see on this side of heaven.

But when you get here, you'll understand every single bit of it.

God brings Job on this journey that reminds him that no matter what you're experiencing, I promise you, I am still good.

Exodus 34, verses 6 and 7, God describes himself this way.

Exodus 34:6

He says, I am compassionate, I am gracious, I am patient, I am faithful.

God is describing himself and saying, Man, I am so good.

Those descriptions are a reminder of the goodness of God, even when our situation isn't great.

I've learned in life that my situation doesn't determine the goodness of God.

His presence does.

That God is just as present in my suffering as he is in my success.

He's there.

He's with me when I get to promotion, he's with me when I lost the job.

He's with me when everything works out.

He's with me when everything falls apart.

In fact, our greatest revelations of God often come when we're faced with our deepest resentment and opposition.

The names of God reveal how good He is.

Jehovah Rohi means the Lord is my shepherd.

That means he's going to guide us when we're lost.

Jehovah Jireh means he's going to provide when I don't have enough.

Jehovah Rapha means he's going to heal me when I'm feeling affliction.

Jehovah Nisi means that he's my banner and he's going to fight when I'm dealing with opposition.

Jehovah Mkadesh means the Lord is going to sanctify me when I can't sanctify myself.

Jehovah Saloon is going to give me my peace when I can't experience peace and my own strength.

Jehovah Tiskanu means the Lord is my righteousness and he's going to allow me to get on the right path.

Jehovah Shema means that the Lord who is there.

What I want you to recognize is that when we're going through the moments when we're in the darkest, that God is our light.

That when we're lost, that God is going to direct us.

That when we're sick and God is going to heal.

That when we don't have enough, God is going to provide.

That when we got to fight battles, God is going to fight on our behalf.

It's in these moments that we're reminded of the goodness of God.

God is good.

All the time, and all the time, God is good.

We may not feel it.

We we have seasons where we don't see it.

There's there's moments where we can't reconcile our reality, but it doesn't change the fact of who God is.

I believe that we need to shift our posture from if to sense.

Meaning this a lot of times when we're going through hardship, we say this if God is good, why did this happen?

I want to ask you to change your language to saying, since God is good, what is he going to do now that it has happened?

Since he's good, I know that he's good.

He will never leave you or forsake you because God is good.

There's no weapon that's formed against you that's going to prosper because God is good.

That when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us because God is good, that it may not be good, but God is working all things together for the good.

The Bible tells us that Job got back everything that he lost, not because he deserved it, but he got it because God is good.

Job never cursed God and walked away because I think he had this understanding.

Getting rid of God doesn't get rid of my problems, it just ensures I walk through them without him.

When I think about Job and how God said, Look at Job, this man who is filled with righteousness, it's changed my perspective on suffering.

I've come to the conclusion that we are not cursed with suffering, we're trusted with it.

That God says, I'm gonna walk with you through this, and that somehow, through this and in this, my glory is going to be found.

Sadly, when we read the book of Job, we don't get the answer that we want, but we do get the response that we need.

I would love to say that Job explains suffering, and we can walk away with this total understanding of this is why these things happen, and I'm at peace.

Job doesn't give you that, but what Job does give you is a response from God, and the response is God's presence.

See, God's response to human suffering is Jesus.

He steps into our humanity, he takes all of our suffering, he he shoves it into the grave, he he leaves it there, he's raised again with a newness of life and makes that newness of life available to us, and then when we experience suffering, he walks with us through it.

You know, Jesus wept, and I believe that there's something to be said that we serve a God who weeps the same way that we did.

I like to believe that how could I trust a God to wipe my tears if he never cried?

Jesus walked through humanity and suffered in every way the same way that we do because he gets us, he comes alongside of us.

I've I've learned this valuable lesson that salvation isn't being rescued from suffering, that salvation is being rescued in it, that God will often show up in those dark moments to show you his goodness, and somehow it all works together for the good.

But what's important for us to be reminded of is that what we see we won't always have to deal with.

A time will come when we will suffer no more.

Revelation 21, verses 3 and 4 says, Then I heard a loud voice from the throne Look, God's dwelling with his humanity, and he will live with them, they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their guide.

Revelation 21:3

Verse number four He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, death will be no more, grief, crying, pain will be no more because the previous things are passed away.

It seems to me that life is the opening act for the main event that's going to take place in heaven, it's just the opening act.

Jesus came to give us an invitation to get to the main event, and our response to him is our RSVP.

That was a dope metaphor, if I must say so myself.

It's an invitation to make sure that we don't miss out on a moment when there will be no more suffering.

When it rains, it pours, but when Jesus reigns, we endure.

Second Timothy 2, 12 says, if we suffer with him, we will also reign with him.

God is just as present in our sufferings as he is in our success.

We have to take inventory, we have to establish boundaries, and we have to remember the goodness of God.

I I really wish that our world wasn't filled with the suffering that is filled with.

I wish I didn't have to at some point sit with every one of my three children and at some point explain to them, yes, you you um at some point in your life, you're gonna recognize that some people are gonna hate you just because of the color of your skin.

And seeing their brains trying to process through, what does that even mean?

I I wish I wish we didn't live in a world where that was a reality.

I I wish we didn't live in a world where instead of us moving forward, it seems like the things of the past keep chasing after us, and it doesn't seem like it's getting any better.

I wish that we we didn't have to deal with the pain and things that we see every single day, but but what encourages me is this that as long as the church is here, that we can still be a bright spot in the midst of the suffering, that as long as we are here, we have an opportunity to lament and to mourn and grieve with those who are grieving, that as long as we are here, that we have an opportunity to still presence Jesus in the midst of the suffering and allow people to know that you will not be in this forever.

We have an opportunity here to be the church that shines in the darkest moments and that adds flavor to the moments that are the least to the most bitter.

But we have a response, we have a responsibility.

We're gonna go back into to worship in in just a moment.

And and what I want to ask is a simple question.

As we prepare to go back into worship, maybe maybe you're in here right now, and and maybe you're maybe you're going through something, maybe you've gone through something, maybe someone you know is going through something, some version of suffering, disappointment, pain, doubt.

Just those seasons that we just wish that when we say in Jesus' name would just go away, but they don't.

Those times where we read scriptures and we hope that it will fix it, but it doesn't.

And how do we navigate through it?

So if that's you and you're in here and you're like, yes, Keith, I I I want prayer.

I want to presence God in the midst of my disappointment, in the midst of my suffering, in the midst of my pain, in the midst of whatever it is I'm walking through, would you be bold enough to lift your hand up on a count of three.

One, two, three.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you.

Amen.

Amen.

At this time, I want to ask everyone to stand on their feet.

And and as we prepare to worship, to really just kind of get alone with God for the next few moments, I want to do two things.

I want to one, um, let you guys know that our our prayer team is here and they would love to pray with you.

You can come to the size, but I I want to do something a little bit different.

If you're in here and you're one of the ones that lifted your hands up, I would love to invite you to come down and join me at this altar um right now.

I would love to pray with you.

And here's what we need to understand about the altar the altar is the meeting place with God.

And also I want to say this I I do have like a borderline photographic memory, so I saw every hand that go up.

So if you don't come down here, I'm gonna call you out when I see you outside.

Joking but not joking.

But here's what I want to do.

Honestly, if you put your hands up, or if you know that you're in need of prayer, just come down to this altar.

The altar is going to be open even if you didn't, as we come and draw close to God, believing that what scripture says, when we draw near to God, he draws near to us.

For the rest of us, as we enter into this moment, this powerful moment, maybe, maybe you're in a good season, maybe there's no burdens, and I celebrate that for you.

But this is an opportunity for us to operate in what the Bible calls lament, where we can express our prayers and be in this moment with everyone else who may be suffering.

You know what?

Contrary to popular belief, everything is not about us.

And it's okay to be aware of the suffering and things that are going on with other people and pray alongside of them.

With with everybody that's that's up here at this altar, I want to one commend you for your boldness in coming up here.

Two, God is with you.

I I I wish no matter what your burden is, I at the core of my being, I wish you didn't have to walk through it.

I I wish that we live in a world where whatever that burden is, that it just wasn't a reality.

I I still remember when I found out about my cousin dying in a car accident, calling my uncle up.

In my family, I'm the pastor, in my family, I'm the preacher.

I'm the in my family, I'm the one who prays for everybody.

And in hearing his grief, I had no words.

And I just remember as I talked with him, and I sat with him silently, I prayed with him.

He literally quoted this verse from Job.

He that I came into this world naked and I will leave it naked.

God has given me everything that I have.

The Lord gives, the Lord takes away.

But God is too good.

He lifted his hands up and he says, Lord, I trust you.

What I want to invite you to do is that even in the height of your deepest pain and disappointment, can you by faith just say, Lord, I don't understand this.

But I trust you.

Lord, this this is awful, but I trust you.

God, I don't know why we have to deal with this.

Church, will you pray with me as we pray and as we go into this moment of worship?

Lord, we we come before you acknowledging our pain, acknowledging our disappointment, acknowledging the suffering.

Maybe it's personal, maybe it's proximity, but when either way, it's real.

Father, I pray for every person that is struggling with infertility and they can't understand why.

Father, I pray for every marriage that they've tried and it still seems as if they can't find the joy that they once had.

Father, I pray for every person whose career is in shambles.

Father, I pray for our communities of people who are suffering because of hatred and and racism, Lord.

Father, I pray for the next generation that we can somehow break free of the bondage that the enemy is trying to label onto our world.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus, Father, for the sickness and the diagnosis that we've got that have not been filled with hope, but it only is a reminder of despair.

Father, I pray for those who are grieving, who have lost loved ones, and they're still trying to figure out a way to respond to it, Father.

Lord, we invite you in.

God, we recognize in our own strength that we can't do this, but we recognize that you are also good.

So, Father, I pray in the name of Jesus, from a posture of boldness, from a posture of expectation, God, that we know that you're going to bring relief in the name of Jesus.

Lord, I pray that we can open our eyes and begin to see what you have brought into our lives that can give us relief, God.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that you make it clear to us the areas that we need to remove ourselves from so that we can grieve in a healthy way and that we can have healthy boundaries that can protect our mental capacities, Father, in the name of Jesus, Father.

We stand under the blood and we bring our burdens at the foot of the cross, Father.

We don't dismiss them, but we recognize that they are real, but we also understand that you are good.

So in the name of Jesus, Father, we don't beg from a posture of defeat, but we cry out from a posture of victory.

We invite you in and we declare the words of David that says, Though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we have nothing to fear because we know that God is with us.

Lord, we know that you are with us.

So, God, reveal yourself even in the midst of our pain.

Reveal yourself even in the midst of our disappointment.

Reveal yourself even in these moments, God.

Your word declares that you are a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

God, I pray that as we leave these moments, that we can recognize your goodness, that we can feel your presence, we can be strengthened in the midst of all of it, God, that though we may suffer, we do not suffer alone.

That though we grieve, we don't grieve like those who don't have hope, God, that you are in control, that you are a God of justice, and that you're working all things together for the good.

So, God, we now declare healing.

We declare breakthrough.

I command that the diction breaks off of people in the name of Jesus.

God, I pray for healing.

I pray for restoration, I pray for increase in our resources, Father.

God, we invite you in and to be who you are even in the midst of our suffering.

We surrender and submit it all to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

Church, let's worship together to seal this in our hearts and see what God wants to do.

Thanks again for listening.

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