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Why Haiti ?

How many Christians died because of this earthquake?

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150 in one

congregationMost of the 40 building of

the Church of Christ where destroyed

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Delmas Church of Christ - Haiti

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Delmas Church of Christ - Haiti

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Some of the 31 children that live at the Son Light Children’s home. Sponsored by the Estes Church of Christ - Henderson, Tennessee

This is the home of Roberta Edwards – Port au Prince, Haiti

7Roberta Edwards

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Why do those in Haiti have to

suffer?

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What about those devastated by

Katrina?

Why Me

Lord?

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The

Value of Human Suffering

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I walked a mile with PleasureShe chatted all the way,

But left me none the wiserFor all she had to say.

I walked a mile with SorrowAnd ne’er a word said she;

But oh, the things I learned from her

When Sorrow walked with me!

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How can God be all powerful and all loving

and allow suffering?

Atheism alleges human suffering is an argument against the existence of

God or a loving God

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1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God;

for God is love.

God has an expression

of his love

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God’s love granted mankind Free Will

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Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

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Foolish choices can have devastating consequences

Free Will enables humans to make their own choices

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So do bad choices cause God to bring about

“Earthquakes”?

Therefore our responsibility for unwise

choices is man’s not God’s

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Genesis 6:5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6 And it grieved Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.

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Genesis 6:7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it sorrowed me that I have made them.

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Question

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Because of

“Sin”

Why did God destroy Earth?

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No Rain, No Hurricanes, No Tornadoes, No

Earthquakes

Facts:Prior to the Flood

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Thus it was “Sin” that brought God to cause the

Flood

The Flood caused all these terrible things to

happen

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Sin caused God to bring about the Flood, and with the Flood

mans earth now has many problems

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Romans 3:23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

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Since we have all “sinned”, we all must take on the aftermath of what

caused the Flood

Sin caused God to bring about the Flood, and we all must bear

the

consequences

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So what can we do about suffering?

We must turn to the loving God who created us

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What are the

Benefits that suffering

brings to mankind

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Suffering: Insight into Sin

The Bible clearly teaches that this planet has been

heir to suffering as a consequence of man’s sin.

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Romans 5:12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned.

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Suffering: A Reminder of

Our Infirmity

Suffering highlights that we are frail human beings.

We are not God

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Too many humans believe they are their

own God

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From the words of the infidel William

Ernest Henley

“We are the masters of our fate, and the captains of our

souls”

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When we suffer,

we are forced to focus upon our own weaknessIt is hard to be haughty when you are hurting. Pain can

be humbling

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Suffering: A Reason to Call

upon the Lord

Suffering can draw our interests toward the true

God

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2 Corinthians 1:3-4 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

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Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears.

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Suffering: Real Value of

Things

Suffering aids us in seeing the real worth of things

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As the poet John Dryden said:“We, by our suff’rings,

learn to prize our bliss”

He that hath an ear, let him hear what suffering

whispers to the soul.

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Suffering: The Seed of CompassionSuffering prepares us to be

compassionate to others.

“Do not judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his

shoes.”

There is an old saying

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I suggest another proverb: “One cannot comfort

effectively until he has lain in the bed of suffering.”

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Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to aid them that are tempted.

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The song lyric

“Are you weary? Are you heavyhearted? Tell it to Jesus; tell it to Jesus,”

Can we truly say: Been there, done that!

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Suffering: Making Us “Homesick”

Suffering sharpens our awareness that this earth

is not a permanent home.

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1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul;

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.

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Suffering: Teaches Us How to

PrayPraying is an instinctive human response to severe

hardship.But effective prayer is a

learned exercise.

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Luke 22:44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

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When suffering occurs

When do we see people most often in prayer?

A song Suggest: “Pray when you’re happy;

pray when in sorrow.”

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Suffering: Grooming the Soul

for Eternity

Suffering tempers the soul and helps prepare it

for eternity.

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1 Peter 1:6-7 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:

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Suffering: Nurtures Virtues

Reflect for a moment upon the quality of courage.

Civilizations universally perceive courage to be one of the prime traits of

humanity, and, by way of contrast, cowardice is considered to be utterly

reprehensible.

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Ralph Sockman wrote:Without danger there would be no adventure. Without friction our cars would not start and our spirits would not soar. Without tears, eyes would not shine with the richest expressions

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Suffering: Builds Character

Suffering separates the superficial from the stable

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1 Corinthians 3:12-15 12 But if any man builds on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.

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So, while no one actively seeks suffering in his life

Honesty compels us to admit that hardships do have great

value

Certainly, the existence of suffering is not a valid reason for rejecting the

Creator

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Suffering: A Reminder of Our Infirmity

Suffering: A Reason to Call upon the Lord

Suffering: Real Value of Things

Suffering: The Seed of Compassion

Suffering: Making Us “Homesick”

Suffering: Teaches Us How to Pray

Suffering: Grooming the Soul for Eternity

Suffering: Nurtures Virtues

Suffering: Builds Character

Suffering: Insight into Sin

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What is your reason for rejecting Jesus?

What is your reason for rejecting the

creator?

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Why not come to

Jesus now?

Jesus suffered for

you