The Lutheran Hour
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"The Trouble I’ve Seen"
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Text: Romans 8:28
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! A living Lord Jesus comes to you this Lord’s day. He comes with God’s gracious assurance that the Redeemer’s redemption brings us forgiveness, faith, and a happiness that can conquer every pain and problem of life.
“Is everybody happy?” Those who are slightly older than I might remember that trademark question from Ted Lewis. Ted conducted a big band from the 1920s right through to the 1960s. He began his performance by asking: “Is everybody happy?” As far as I know, nobody ever took a poll to see what percentage of his audience was happy. When I asked the question, “Is everybody happy?” what was your reaction? Did you grumble, or did you say, “I’m happy. I’ve always been happy.”? If you said that, congratulations! I’d like to meet you.
Is everybody happy? When some of you hear that question, you challenge: “Reverend, exactly what do you mean when you use that word happy? Are you talking about the condition of the world? If you’re talking about the fact that terrorist bombs are killing our young men and women who are stationed in foreign lands; if you mean that, no, I’m not happy. If you’re talking about the falling value of the dollar; or global warming; or pollution; or the unpredictability of the stock market; or the threat of a nuclear war being started by some small, little dictator that has starved his people so he could blackmail humanity; then, no, I’m not pleased. If you’re talking about the fact that one species after another is going extinct; or that I can’t walk down the street at night and feel safe; or that I’m not sure what food I’m supposed to eat which won’t cause cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, or give me gout, no, I’m not dancing in the streets. ”
Are you happy, personally? I don’t know your reply to that question. I do know a lot of folks would say something like: “Let’s see, I’ve got my credit cards maxed out; I got passed over a promotion at work; my car is making a strange grinding sound at a place that there shouldn’t be any sound at all; and my children seem to be deaf whenever I ask them to do something. The dishwasher has so many leaks it washes the floor more than it does the dishes; my garage door opener doesn’t open; my best blue jeans just ripped; I forgot to bring cookies to school today; I ache in places where I don’t know I had places; and the love light in my marriage seems to be flickering. Sure, I’ve got some good days, but no, I’m not at all happy”
I’m beginning to think it’s risky to ask the question, “Is everybody happy?” The answer almost always, at least for most people, seems to be: “No!” Think about it. What’s the age at which people are happy? Children in the grade schools aren’t happy. They want to drive, and stay up late, and have some freedom. They’re not going to be happy until they get to be much older – like when they become teen-agers. Of course, if you stop by a high school and visit with those folks who have attained that ripe old age where they are able to drive and stay up late and have some freedom – if you ask them, “Are you happy?” boy, are you going to get a dirty look. Are they happy? Not a chance. They’re dealing with a whole new set of problems and pains. They’re striving to be admired, accepted, appreciated, and appealing, and all of them are convinced they’re none of those things. They’re trying to find out where they fit in, and are pretty sure they’re not going to fit anywhere. They’re looking toward the future and the future seems to be dim. Will they get in to the right college? Will they make something of themselves? They’re looking forward to that day down the road when they don’t have to be in class; when they don’t have to take orders; when they can have all the liberty to do what they want, when they want, as often as they want. And for right now, they’re not happy.
So, exactly when do we reach the age when we’re happy; when we don’t have to take orders, when we can go and do what we want, when we want? I think that age is called retirement and it comes for most people around the age of 65. That seems pretty sad, don’t you think? I mean is everything just a preparation for that which follows after three-score years and five? If you listen to the folks who have reached that golden age, many of them look back in time and talk about the “good old days” when they didn’t worry about aches and pains, pills and problems; when they didn’t have on hand some sympathy cards to be sent to the families of their friends who had passed away.
I’ve got to tell you, all of this talk about happiness, or the lack of it, is really depressing me. How about you? It seems like real, lasting happiness is as elusive as the leprechaun’s legendary pot of gold which can be found only when you reach the end of the rainbow. No wonder people always seem to be buying self-help books that don’t help; popping pills that don’t placate; searching for that which they can’t find; buying that which doesn’t satisfy; and reaching for that which is always beyond their grasp. If all this is true, then we might as well link arms and start singing, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.”
That might not be such a bad idea. And maybe we ought to keep singing. The next line to that song is: “Nobody knows but Jesus.” Jesus knows how hard it is to find happiness. Jesus knows, because Jesus Christ, the eternal, holy Son of God was also one of us. Look at His life when He was among us on earth. Look carefully. When could it be said that Jesus had what we would call “happiness” in His hand? When He was a baby, the ruling king of His country tried to kill Him. When He went to share God’s story of salvation with the people of His hometown, they tried to kill Him. When He tried to speak of repentance and forgiveness to the religious leaders of Israel, they tried to kill Him. Although He loved His disciples, one of them betrayed Him to His enemies so that He might be murdered. The Roman procurator, entrusted with the administration of justice, allowed Him to be crucified. Between these attempts on His life, as He was about the business of redeeming us, buying us back from sin, death, and Satan, Jesus was maligned, mistreated, and misunderstood; He was unwanted, unwelcomed and unheard.
Still, all of this the Savior was willing to endure so that you might be forgiven of your sins; so that you might be rescued from the damnation that your rejection of the Father had insured. Christ’s resurrection from the dead on the third day shows to all the world that God has accepted His Son’s sacrifice. Forgiveness and an eternal future, hope, and true happiness are yours because Jesus’ substitution has redeemed you, restored you, and forgiven you.
Yes, Jesus does know the trouble you’ve seen; Jesus understands your sorrows. He understands because, although innocent, He suffered to save us from the sadness of sin, from the unhappiness of life, from the eternal condemnation that we had deserved. About Him, the prophet Isaiah wrote, and if you will allow me to paraphrase a little: “Jesus was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, (a man) familiar with suffering. (He was) Like one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised … He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet (He was) stricken by God, smitten by God, and afflicted. (He) was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that (brings) us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed … the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, He was afflicted, and yet He did not complain … He was led like a lamb to the slaughter …” All this unhappiness Jesus endured so that you might be forgiven. He who loved us suffered sorrow and sadness so that in all these you might be more than a conqueror.
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, that you’ve seen. Nobody knows but Jesus. Jesus knows your trouble. More importantly, Jesus died to take away your trouble. Of course, when people hear that, they get angry and they challenge: “Reverend, if Jesus loves us then shouldn’t things be different? Why do I see so much unhappiness? Why is there so much sadness? Why do all of us, including Christians, have so much misery and so much pain and so many problems?”
In light of what I’ve said in this message, I can certainly understand how you feel that way and why you might ask that question. I’d like to try and give you an answer. It’s an answer that may not make a lot of sense to some of you, at least not at first. But this answer is God’s answer. Under God’s direction, St. Paul shared God’s answer with Christians who were living 2,000 years ago, even as He shares it with you. Paul wrote, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Did you get that? Let me say it again: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Because you see so much suffering in the world, those words may not make sense to you, at least not at first. It may not make sense to Christians who have some doubts; it may not make sense to those of you who are besieged by sin and all the nasty difficulties that sin brings with it. The explanation begins this way: God is your Father; He is your Friend. While God is against sin, He is for you. Even though humanity rejected Him, God still loved us. In His love He devised a plan to save us. In His love He sent His Son from heaven’s high throne to be born one of us, to live for us, to suffer for us, to die for us. In Jesus’ love, even from the cross, even as He was being laughed at; even as they gambled for His clothes; even as His sacrifice was being mocked, Jesus … loved … us. Suffering for those that didn’t deserve it, enduring pain in a way that is difficult for us to understand, Jesus carried our sins. From the cross, enduring the worst injustice this world has seen, the innocent Son of God, continued to love us and said, “Father, forgive them.”
Because Jesus has substituted Himself for you; because He endured your punishment; because He took away your sin, forgiveness is yours – forgiveness, God’s great gift of grace. Because of Jesus, God forgives every sin, every sin that you have ever committed. There is nothing you can do, nothing which is so horrendous, so horrible, so heart wrenching that it can override and overpower God’s love.
No matter what trouble you’ve seen; no matter what sorrow you have experienced, God in His love, in His power, in His grace can bring good out of it. He who sent His Son to save you, will never leave you nor forsake you. He who has forgiven you, will help you every moment of every day. How do I know? I know because God loves you. It is not within Him to turn His back upon you. More than a mother loves her beautiful newborn baby, God loves you. More than the parents of a special needs infant love their little one, does God love you. And no matter what, God can bring good out of the worst of situations. He has the ability to take your trouble and turn it so it brings about good. He will take your pain and bend it to His purpose. This He can do, this He will do, unless you tell Him, “no.”
Confident in the knowledge of His profound love, you will no longer blame Him for the trials and tribulations this sinful world brings; nor will you accuse Him of being cold and cruel when adversity advances. On the contrary, washed in the blood of the Savior, you will thank the Lord that He has, through His Son’s death and resurrection provided a way past those pains and problems. You will praise Him that you have a Savior who came so that you might have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). You will rejoice that He will give you the assistance, the strength, the patience, the power, the endurance you need to carry the crosses of this world. This is His promise: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43: 2ff) And when, in His time, and according to His will, your days on earth come to an end, that same love will permanently take those crosses from you; God’s love will take you into an eternity where crosses, sadness, and sorrow are things of a long ago past.
It was about ten years ago that some fifth graders from one of our Christian schools were playing baseball against a rival school. It was the kind of day that was designed for baseball. Blue skies, warm temperatures, and a gentle wind – not even enough wind to stir up the dust and sting the eyes of the spectators. In the small set of bleachers the teachers, along with parents and grandparents were doing some serious cheering. The loudest of the cheering voices came from a fifth-grader who sat on the lowest level of the grandstand. One of the player’s grandfathers sat next to the boy and made some small conversation. Granddad was amazed at the amount of baseball lore the boy had managed to collect. He gave the grandfather the batting average of each member of his team; related how each player had done in the last three or four games and proudly shared any special fielding accomplishments that the player had made.
At the end of the game, the grandfather went to collect his grandson. Before he did, he turned and said, “My young friend, thank you for the visit and for telling me about each of the players. If you don’t mind, would you tell me something about yourself?” “Sure,” came the reply, “what would you like to know?” The grandfather was ready with his question. He asked, “If you could have anything you might wish for, what would it be?” The boy, looked at the ground, thinking. Then he said, “I know, I’d like to see the team not to lose a game all season.” “And after that”, grandpa asked. “What would you wish for then?” “I’d like to see Tad’s father join the church. He doesn’t go to any church.” “Anything else?” asked grandpa. “Nope, nuthin’ else.” Grandpa said “thank you,” and, with an expression that showed he knew he had just heard something great, walked away. And the boy? The boy slid off the bench into his wheel chair and rolled into the school to wait for the special van that would take him home.
Are you happy? Most aren’t, but that boy was. Even with bad legs that boy was happy. He was happy because he had a Savior who lived, died, and had risen for him. He was joyful because he had a Lord who set him free from sin, death, and devil. He was glad because he knew that a Lord who had enabled him to carry his burdens here would release him from those burdens in heaven. He knew. By the Holy Spirit’s power, I pray you know as well. If you don’t, please call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for July 24, 2005
TOPIC: Once Saved, Always Saved?ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hello, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: A listener wants to know, is it possible to lose one’s salvation?
KLAUS: A common question. Sometimes it shows up in other forms, such as, “Do we believe that once we’re saved, we’re always going to be saved?” Or sometimes the question is, “Can you turn away from walking with God?” and the variation that most find most confusing: “If you turn away from God, can you still be saved by grace?”
ANNOUNCER: So, at least three interrelated questions. Let’s see how far we get.
KLAUS: OK.
ANNOUNCER: The first question, “Do we believe that once you are saved, you’re always saved?”
KLAUS: The answer to that one is a simple: “No, we don’t believe that once you’re saved you’re always going to be saved.”
ANNOUNCER: Why do we believe that?
KLAUS: We believe that because that’s what the Bible clearly teaches. Let me give you a few examples. 1 Corinthians 10 it says: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Then there is the passage in Hebrews 3 which says, “See to it, brothers that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
ANNOUNCER: So here we see the Bible warning us to hold onto the truth of the Gospel and not let go of it. Does the Bible mention people who did that, unfortunately?
KLAUS: The Apostle Paul had a friend named Demas, and we hear about him in the fourth chapter of Colossians. There it says that Demas was (Colossians 4:14) one of Paul’s fellow laborers in sharing the Gospel. Yet, in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul says, “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10). It would certainly appear that Demas had deserted the Lord Jesus, too. So, Mark, what all of this is saying is that Christians can walk away from God. Of course, they’re no longer Christians then.
ANNOUNCER: Would the opposite also be true?
KLAUS: Do you mean, “Does God walk away from His people?”
ANNOUNCER: Right.
KLAUS: The answer to that question is a definite “No.” One of the great joys of the Christian faith – and, by the way, I don’t know of any other system of beliefs that offers the same assurance – the joy of the Christian faith is that God doesn’t walk away from His people. Nor does He demand that they somehow earn His love and forgiveness, in which case, they’re always left guessing as to whether they’ve done enough. God will never forsake those who trust in Him, and His Son, Jesus Christ, for their salvation.
ANNOUNCER: And the Bible backs that up?
KLAUS: Wouldn’t have said it, if it didn’t. In John 10:27-28, Jesus says, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.” In Romans 8:38-39 it says, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The Bible is pretty clear. We can leave God; but God will never desert His people.
ANNOUNCER: Well that answers our first two questions. But there was a third. You said this was perhaps more confusing. “If you do walk away from the Lord, can you still be saved by God’s grace?”
KLAUS: Tougher question, let’s answer it two ways. To the person who has walked away from the Lord, you can be sure the Lord is even now working to bring you back. He’s even using this radio program to do that; the Holy Spirit is present and active wherever and whenever the Gospel is preached. He wants you to be and remain part of His family. His love for you hasn’t changed during this time that you’ve wandered. You can be brought back to God’s family through His gift of faith. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of your sin of unbelief and trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ for your forgiveness and salvation. Believe that Christ died and rose to forgive you.
ANNOUNCER: But you also said there was a second way you could answer this question.
KLAUS: There is. This answer is to someone who might be asking that question this way, “I can walk away from the Lord’s salvation, do what I want, sin the way I want, the Lord is going to always take me back.” If someone, and I certainly have no reason to believe that this caller was asking the question from that point of view, but if one of our listeners has that philosophy, I can only say, “Don’t do it! You are playing with fire. You don’t know how much time you have left to be turned around.”
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, pastor. We’ve certainly covered a lot of ground today. And just to recap what we’ve said: yes, you can walk away from God, but God will never walk away from you. God’s grace is always available to repentant sinners, but we should not flirt with the notion that we have all the time in the world to be brought back into God’s family of faith.
KLAUS: That’s right.
ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections from this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Despair Not, My Soul, Nor to Sorrow Give Way” setting by Walter Buszin. From I AM Forever WHO I AM by the University A Cappella Choir (© 2002 Concordia University–Seward, Nebraska) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“From God Can Nothing Move Me” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission
“I Know My Faith Is Founded” by Arthur Preuss. (© Arthur Preuss, Sr.) Used by permission
“Allein Gott in der Höh” by John Behnke. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC