Stiles, Gerald: Studies In Song Of Solomon 05 ~ Tribulation

If you only knew of my true musical talents. When I was in the sixth grade, I wanted to be in the school glee club. They always had a hundred students in that glee club. It's quite a large school. And the year I went out for it in the sixth grade, there were only one hundred of us that tried out, and they decided to have ninety nine. I'll let you guess who did not make it. I remember that same year I had a teacher who made some of us stay after school until we could sing a particular s- uh, song on key. And she got hungry before I got to sing it on key, and at five thirty she let me go, and I never succeeded. And my wife says I've made progress since then, but not much. I'd like you to turn with me to the New Testament, to the Gospel of John, chapter sixteen. We want to begin there with two verses. We're going to be in a number of scriptures this morning, but we're going to be coming back to this particular chapter and different verses in this chapter repeatedly. John chapter sixteen, And I want you to read with me verses thirty two and thirty three. Indeed, the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave me alone. And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Shall we look to the Lord once again in a word of prayer? Our blessed and our glorious God, it is truly with thankful hearts that we come to you this morning. Thankful because we know your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has made himself known to us. We are gathered together this morning, confident that he is in our midst, that the Holy Spirit is here. And we come to you and we ask, oh Father, that the Holy Spirit would indeed be our teacher this morning, that we might understand the things we're going to read, not simply with our heads, but with our hearts. We ask that each one of us might sense that we are having an encounter with you this morning, and that we might leave this place rejoicing in the great provision you have made for us as we travel through our lifetime here. We commit this time to you in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Over the last year and a half, as I've traveled from place to place and as I've interacted with folks in our assembly, I have been impressed with the reality of the statement recorded here in John chapter sixteen: in the world you will have tribulation. Less than two months ago, when I was ministering in New Jersey, I stayed in the home of a man who poured his heart out to me, weeping. His daughter, whom he had sent to a Christian college, had just joined the Riverside Church in New York City, a awful liberal church. Church that's so liberal that they have booths downstairs for the abortion rights people and the pro-homosexual people. You can sign up for their organizations in between the meetings. And while I was up there, I spent some time with another brother, an elder in the assembly, who poured his heart out to me and shared with me the grief of having a daughter whom he doesn't even know where she is today, off in the things of the world. And I spoke in another assembly while I was up there, and the elders asked me to minister and speak to a particular family whose daughter was with child and not married, who were grieving tremendously. I came home from that ministry, and I had the experience of doing a funeral of a young man who had been shot in the face and murdered brutally. And I spent many an hour with mom and dad in that. And everywhere I go, I find similar type of experiences and people asking the question, why? And then this question always comes out. Where do you go when it hurts? Where do you go when it hurts? And I want to be perfectly honest with you this morning. The last two years, I've gone through some of the deepest hurts I've ever experienced in my lifetime. I've experienced hurt so bad that I could not breathe. So bad that I cried until tears would not come. Hurts so bad that I've prostrated myself on the ground and pounded the ground and said, God, I need you like I've never needed you before. And I want to share with you this morning some of the blessed truths from God's word that he has ministered to me. This will be no academic exercise for you. I'm going to be speaking to you from the heart, as well as from the word of God. I want you to think with me for a moment, back through time, and I want you to go with me to the opening chapter in your mind, in chapters in the book of Genesis, and I want you to consider with me this morning two individuals. You know their names quite well, Adam and Eve. Can you imagine for one moment the grief and the sorrow these people felt as they looked down upon a son who was dead. Not only did they lose a son on a particular day, but it was their other son who had murdered the son that was dead. Can you imagine the grief, the pain, and the sorrow? Travel through time with me, will you, for a moment, and reach the time of Noah. Noah was a godly man. And can you imagine living in the time in which Noah lived, when things were so bad that God said, I can't take it anymore. That's bad. And he said, I'm going to send a flood. Can you imagine with me the hurt and the sorrow that Noah must have felt? I want you to think with me as we travel through time. I want you to come with me to the time of Jacob. In Genesis chapter thirty three. the end of the chapter, Jacob has come from Patan Aram to just outside the city of Shechem, and he put a big sign up, and the sign translated was this, God is the God of Israel. My, it must have been an exciting day for Jacob. He was going to live in such a way before the pagans that they would understand who God is. But chapter thirty four begins with a scene in which Jacob's daughter Dinah begins to flirt with the world, goes into Shechem and feels funny being one of a kind. She wants to be one of a crowd. And Shechem was an evil city. Why, a man was considered a man in Shechem by the number of young girls he could violate, and the adults would applaud. And Jacob's daughter Dinah was violated by Shechem. And there's an awful, awfully sad verse in that thirty fourth chapter of Genesis. When Jacob got word that Shechem had violated his daughter Dinah, to our knowledge, his only daughter Dinah, the darling of his eye, it says he could not speak. I've been there. Dear friends, I've been there. And I know exactly the hurt and the sorrow that man of God felt. And things went from bad to worse. His sons were so angry that they went into the city of Shechem. They fooled the men, told the men that they could not have anything to do with them unless they were circumcised. And all the men got circumcised, and while they were in pain, the sons of Jacob went in and slew every man. So much for the sign. God is the God of Jacob. The testimony was ruined. And we come to the end of Genesis chapter thirty four, and Jacob is sorrowing upon sorrow, and he says, you've made me odious in the sight of the people that I wanted to minister to. Can you feel some of the hurt, some of the pain? And then travel with me to David. And my, the Psalms are full of hurt. I want you to keep your finger in John chapter sixteen and turn with me to the book of Psalms for a moment. Turn with me to Psalm sixty nine. Listen to these words, beginning with verse one, And I want you to feel with David. Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I have come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail while I wait for my God. Look at verse twenty. Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. Can you feel the hurt and the pain of David? I won't take the time to read some other scriptures concerning David. But turn to the New Testament in your mind, and I want you to zero in on a particular day in the life of the Apostle Peter, who, after denying the Lord, came to the realization of what he had done, and the scriptures re- record these words, Peter wept bitterly. Can you feel the hurt and the pain? And in your mind, I want you to zero in to the book of Romans for a moment, and the Apostle Paul, who could look out upon God's chosen people, his people after the flesh, and from the heart truly say, my h- heart is in con- in a state of continual heaviness and sorrow. And then will you consider for a moment these words, perhaps the most awesome in all of the scripture? Jesus wept. Truly, in the world you shall have tribulation, and I share that with you tonight because sometimes, when we are going through times of tribulation, we think we're unique, but we're not. This is indeed a veil of tears. We live in a society, in a world that has rejected the Son of God. We live in the consequence of the reality of the entrance of sin in this world. By one man's sin, death entered the world and passed upon all men. You might be sitting here this morning thinking, I've never experienced any of that kind of hurt. May I call your attention to the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes? It's close to Song of Solomon. In the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, it says, remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth before the evil days come. Maybe they haven't gotten here yet, but they're going to. They're going to. Some of you know exactly what it means as recorded in the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, because there's a graphic description of what takes place when older age comes upon us, and the lamps grow dim, and the grinders cease. And you know all of what's in there. The body begins to break down, and it's frustrating, isn't it? Had the joy since I've been here of going out with some of the dear men of this fellowship on the golf course, and I heard over and over again, good shot for an old man. You know what they were telling me? They remembered a time long ago when the body was able to perform differently than it performs today. Sometimes we have trouble reaching the limitations of old age. But listen to the rest of the verse in John sixteen: Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Oh my. To someone who knows Christ, that means everything. If you don't know Christ, you don't appreciate that statement. Often people tell us certain things, and we look at them and we say, I know you better than to believe that. I was reading in Genesis just the other day of the situation where Joseph's brothers have come back and given the report to their father. They don't know it's Joseph back there, but they've got this food, but they're supposed to bring Benjamin back. Jacob is saying, no way, no way. And Reuben speaks up. Oh, Reuben. Yeah. Reuben says this to to his father. Trust your son with me. You can trust him with me, and if something happens, you can take my son and kill him. Oh, that was great comfort to Jacob. If something happens to my son, I can take my grandson and kill him. Oh, that's great comfort. And I'm sure Jacob looked at his son, Reuben, and he shook his head and said, oh, Reuben, so often you speak before you think. But the one who says, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, his word is yea and amen. And I want to tell you something about him this morning. In Isaiah chapter fifty three, we read these words concerning him. He's the man of sorrows, now listen, and acquainted with grief. The next time you experience grief in your heart, I want you to think about the Savior. And he's acquainted with grief. So often, when our hard times come, we say no one understands. But I can point you to one this morning who understands everything there is to be understood about grief. One of my favorite portions in the book of Hebrews goes like this. We have a great high priest. He's the Lord Jesus. Now listen to this. And he can be touched with the feelings of our infirmity. I commend him to you this. The one who is the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And he's the one who is saying to us this morning, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. But I want to point out something else to you from John chapter sixteen, and this is precious to my soul. In verse twenty two, Jesus says, therefore, you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. And in that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Now here's the thought that has come into my soul and, and buoyed it up. Not only can I come to the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, who can be touched with the feeling of our, of my infirmity, but this one has access to God the Father, and through him I can have access to God the Father. Now that's so important because in second Corinthians chapter one it tells us that he, the Father, is the God of all comfort. Isn't that precious? The God of all comfort. And the one who says, be of good cheer, is telling me he's got the connection to put me in touch with the God of all comfort, who happens, by the way, to also be the great physician. But notice this as well in John chapter sixteen. In verse seven, Jesus says, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. Now there's many things that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was going to do. Among the list that Jesus gives is this, verse twelve: I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth. No, I love that, and I'll tell you why I love that. Because it's through the Holy Spirit that we begin to discern the mind of God, and when we begin to ask the question, why, oh God, we open God's word, and the Spirit of God takes the word and applies it to our hearts. And we begin reading things like this. We know, we know, K-N-O-W, that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to his purpose. We read the trial of your faith is much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire. Because the end product of the trials that God sends our way will result in the honor and the glory and the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ. But then this thought also has brought great comfort to my heart as I've gone through some awfully deep waters, family-related waters. The Holy Spirit, in bringing forth what we now have in the form of our New Testament, has brought forth that which Paul tells us in the book of Romans is the comfort of the scriptures. Do you see what Jesus is saying in the sixteenth chapter of John's gospel? And there's another thing connected with the Holy Spirit coming. He dwells within each of his people, and he produces in those people fruit, and there's the comfort of the saints. Do you see why Jesus says, be of good cheer? I have overcome the world. Yes, there are times of trial. There are times of tribulation. But you and I who know Jesus Christ as Lord, as Savior, we have come to know the one who is able to carry us through any trial and any tribulation. Not just here. But I'm going to turn you to one more scripture, First Thessalonians chapter four and verse eighteen. And listen to the power of this short little verse. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. What words? The words that precede it. Well, what are they? They're the words that tell us that ere long we're going to hear a shout and a trumpet, the dead in Christ will rise, and then we which are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will go up to be with Christ forever. I remember the pain in my heart, the day we laid my mother's body in the grave, and the tremendous comfort that came to me, realizing that when Christ comes, those who have gone to be with him will come with him. And so it wasn't goodbye, it was so long, for a season, just for a time. You see, we sorrow, the scripture says, but not as those who have no hope, because we have hope, and the hope of the scriptures is not the weak, emaciated, puny word hope that we have in our English today. This word hope in the scriptures has teeth to it. It has reality to it, and we have hope in Christ. If we do not have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most to be pitied, because not only have we been laboring for that which is not going to be, but we've wasted all these years here upon earth. My friend, Christ is real. The comfort of his love is real. The comfort of the Spirit is real. The comfort of the scriptures is real. And yet, oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, the needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. My friends, these words of our Lord Jesus Christ are not empty. Be of good cheer. You're going to sorrow, he says, and in the world you're going to have tribulation. And you're sorrowing now, he says in this chapter, and it's going to get worse, he says. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. I'm going to ask our song leader to come and lead us in a song. I purposely have planned to end a little bit early so that we can sing this particular song. It's number five hundred and twenty five in our hymn books. five hundred and twenty five, After which we'll close in prayer. And. And in I hope to best you so, may we make your story. Oh, while the clouds come my way, I My hear year, my my great great green rejoices. stars will be. My heart dreams of it far away. My year, my sunshine plays with pain, makes my earth pale. Oh God, help me this day to day. I cannot go by today. I I praise praise the the grace grateful of to the way and hear the sound which is the same that would well hear. Oh, come the sweetness of my air. My air, my air to my own skin. My way is just as holy is. When comes the Before we pray, there may be someone here this morning who has never come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. You're going to experience the trials of life, if you haven't already. Let me ask you this question. To whom do you turn? Who have you found that's more faithful than what- than the one whose name is faithful itself. Who do you turn to that has greater balm than the one who's the balm of Gilead? My friend, if you're here without Christ, I commend him to you. Be glad to speak to you about your soul. Stop on the way out the door, squeeze my hand and say, I'd like to talk to you about my soul. We'll go in another room, and I've counted a privilege to point you to the Savior. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you, we praise you for the gift of your beloved Son. Truly, he is the incomparable one. We think of the question he asked his disciples one day, will you also leave? The answer came back, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We thank you for him. We thank you for your word. We ask now that you'll apply your word to us as individuals, to this assembly corporately, and we might leave this place rejoicing in him. Lord, you know each heart. If there's one or more who have never bent the knee to Christ, may they do so this morning, led by your spirit. We ask in that name which is above every name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.