Staying Anchored in Suffering | Francis Chan

But man, like that's that's the vision I had for church. Was not just one guy gets up here all the time and is always leading. But as you guys know when you're churches, man, I don't lead any of you. It's it's like these people that that care for That's the way the body was supposed to be was like everyone has something to offer.

And for me, I was so tired of like going to church and feeling like I'm the one that's got to speak to thousands of people when I go, "No, there's a lot of like crazy gifted people with amazing stories right there." And the Bible says everyone has something to give.

You know? And I was like, "Man, why is everyone looking to me for every answer, every question?" Every You know, you can open up this book for yourself. You can lead other people. And it And And to me, it was like, "Man, that was the perfect picture of it."

I was like, "Here's this guy that Aaron's been working with and and and you know, and then he comes up here and blesses all of us." And I'm just sitting here going, "God, I I I have nothing to add to that." I mean, that's just something you've done in someone's life.

That's so amazing. Gosh, I I've so appreciated getting to know you and your family and um man, I I I pray that man, Lisa and I can pour into your lives somehow or serve with you guys. I love that our kids play together, hang out together. Their son Izzy, yeah, there really is no one like him.

Um he was on my baseball team. You know, for those who don't know, I'm a I'm a baseball coach. It's just what I do. And um but man, we just had such a blast, you know? And man, thanks for opening up. That That's the thing like as I'm sitting there listening to them share everything I'm going, "Man, who does this anymore?"

Like just lays it all out there? I mean, a lot of us grew up in church where everyone dressed up and pretended like their life was all together, right? And they don't throw their garbage out there. And then you find out about it later and you go, "What a hypocrite."

Man, it's so so refreshing, I think, for all of us, right? To sit here and go "You're just going to tell us your whole story?" "You're just going to lay it all out?" Like the good and the bad? I mean, aren't we used to church where people just come up and they share all the good stuff and all their successes and they don't lay out, "No, this just happened last week.

No, I just messed up. No, you got to understand where I came from. We made some serious mistakes." And then they give all the glory to God and go, "You know what? He's He saved me from that. He brought me out of there. So, man, I'm just so thankful for that."

Man, that's the picture of church we want to share with the world is like no, no one's up here saying, "Look, I I've lived this perfect life and therefore God's blessed me and you're not quite good enough and maybe you know, it it's just like, "No, we've all messed up.

We don't We don't belong here. I don't belong standing up in front of you being a pastor to anyone." The thing that bugs me about my life is my life wasn't like Angel's. See, my life I I found Jesus at an early age. But then, it was like after I found Jesus, I screwed up.

And sometimes I think that's that's so much worse. Cuz it's one thing like you don't know when so you're going and you're you're doing these stupid things and then God gets a hold of your life and then there's a repentance story where your life starts going a different direction.

But for me, it was like, "No, I I knew better." Man, I was in high school. I knew the Lord and I was even heading into ministry. And that's when I started screwing up my life. And it's like And that that bothers me cuz man, I love hearing all these testimonies, but I'm like, "Man, but they Man, they didn't know better.

I knew better and I chose to rebel." And then sometimes maybe some of you are like me where you go, "Okay, God, is there forgiveness for me? Can you Can you help me, the guy that knew better, already knew you and maybe was even pursuing ministry and then I turned and do all these things.

And I'm on the other side of no, I was that guy that was supposed to be the protector. I was supposed to be the the church leader. I already had my youth group and everything else. And then I started screwing up. And that's a the beautiful picture of the prodigal son, right?

In the Bible. Was this father who had the son who knew better, who was under everything and then he goes the the wrong way. And when he recognizes it and says, "I I got to head back." You know, the father goes running to him and and puts his arm around him and you know, puts a ring on him and has a feast for him and everything else that man, like Angel says, "It doesn't matter where you came from."

That's like, man, today I I think there's a reason why every one of us is here right now. There's a reason. It was ordained that Angel should share that story that I did not know he was going to share. And I didn't know some of those things and it just makes me love you guys more and go "Man, that's the thing.

It's like when you're real and you lay it out, you know, church used to be a place where if you throw something out, everyone judges you for it." And what I love about this place is you throw something out and everyone loves you more because of it. Because you're real.

And everyone can suddenly go, "Okay, I get it now. Now I'm not so ashamed of the stuff of my past." Man, I remember uh speaking at a conference. I I don't even remember I'm so far from what I was going to talk about today. But I remember speaking to this high school retreat.

It was outdoor thing like this. And this kid starts confessing up front. And he starts talking about I mean, this 18-year-old kid starts talking about how he was fake you know, in the church. We just had a time of confession like, "Man, do you want to share sin with everyone?"

I mean, you don't have to, you know, but people started coming up and this one kid just starts talking about how when he was, you know, 13, you know, he was a leader in the youth group already, but he was looking at pornography. And then he was 14, he started sleeping with his girlfriend.

And then he was 15 and he started experimenting with guys. And then, you know, and then he's like, "Last year, it got so bad, I even tried to force my little brother." And everyone's just sitting here like "What would possess this guy to just lay it out?" I mean, he's 17, 18 years old in front of all of his peers.

And I'm up there holding the microphone, my arm around this guy like, "I can't believe he's saying this stuff." And he can't even talk. He's just bawling. And it's one of those moments where you're talking These are These are like 7, 800 high school students. His peers that he's throwing all of this in front of.

And I I'm seriously in shock. I've never seen anything like this. And I'm worried now for the guy like "You just said this in front 
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 of high school students. Man, what's going to happen to him now?" And right then, about 30 or 40 high school kids, unprompted, whatever, come up around this guy and start hugging him and crying with him and laying hands on him and praying for him.

And that night, man, all the kids went back to their cabins and everyone started confessing their sin. It was the first time I really saw like revival happen. Because revival isn't everyone going, "Hey, man, hallelujah. Ha." You know, it's just >> 
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 >> revival is everyone like bawling their eyes out before God and go "Okay, I'm just like that kid."

Okay, I I screwed up. You I mean, after someone confesses something like that, everyone's like, "Okay, I'll tell you what I did. Yeah, I shot a guy." You know, it's just it it's just when someone's that real and just goes, "I don't care. I'm going to use what God's done in my life.

And I'm just going to throw it out there cuz I just want to be right with him. Just going to lay out everything that's I've done and has been done to me. I'm going to lay out my background. You know, that's one of the passages we read this week, right?

Was 2 Corinthians. You know, that Angel spoke from about us being blinded. But in 2 Corinthians 1, if you remember in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 he says in verse 3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

So, he says You see, this is a very, very important point. If there's one thing I I just the one thought I want to get across, it's that. He says, "Blessed be God who comforts us in our afflictions so that we then can comfort others when they go through the same affliction."

I mean, that's exactly what Angel did, right? He got up here. And he's praising God. You see the joy in his life. I see the joy in their family. I see everything else. They're praising God. They're not They're not bitter from the past and go, "Man, God did this to me.

God did this to me. God." No, they're talking about, "Man, here's God. He got us through it." He got us through it. And now what is he doing? Hey, if you're in the middle of something like this, let me now comfort you with the same comfort that God gave us.

See that's what a testimony is. It's just saying man, I was so messed up. I was so lost and in the midst of that God came down. That's what 2 Corinthians 1 was all about. Look what he did in my life and I bring this up because man, some of you may have grown up in a church that tells you hey, if you follow God, man, everything's going to go your way.

You want you want a better job, follow Jesus. You want everyone in your family to get healthy, follow Jesus. Get rid of the sin in your life and God's going to bless you. And I'm telling you that's garbage. That is not what the scriptures teach. Every single book of the New Testament talks about suffering for believers.

It's not saying you follow Jesus and everything's going to get better and you'll have no pain on earth. Oh, there will come a day he says in Revelation 21 when we at the end of all of this when we'll see God and he'll wipe away every tear from our eyes because we we will have shed plenty of them.

He says now there's no more pain. Now there's no more death, but while we are here, we suffer. That is such an important thing for you to learn because I've heard of people walking away from God when they go, man, God, I was going to church. I was following you.

Then all of this stuff happened to me. So you must not be real. I got a text this week just just two two three days ago. My wife and I got a group text from this gal from our old church that just says, where is God? It's a question a lot of people ask when they go through difficult times.

Where is God? How could there be a God if this is happening to me? And isn't it crazy that this week in our scripture reading, we had our New Testament reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 while the Old Testament reading was in the book of Job? Right? And you guys know this the book of Job is all about this guy who suffer and I used to hate the book of Job.

I used to hate it. The reason why I hate it was because people in church would abuse that book and people in church tend to whine a lot, you know, and it's like, oh, my ankle hurts. I'm just like Job. And it's like, are you kidding me? >> 
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 >> You know, I mean you've heard it, right?

And then you read the story of Job. No, Job had his whole family die. Okay? And Job was had sores all over his body and but not only that, Job was the most righteous man on earth. Okay? You're not like Job. You're not the most righteous. You're not the most blameless.

I mean here's a guy who's saying man, anytime a stranger needed a place to live, did I ever turn them away? Here's a guy who said, God, you know me. I made a covenant with my eyes never to look lustfully on a woman. Need I say more? You're not Job.

Okay? And then he goes through all of that pain and everything. And so I was always like bothered by Job and because I'm like, oh man, I don't get but but he was the he was the blameless one. What what's hard for me in the book of Job is you realize here were guys that were pretty wise and pretty holy.

In fact, when I look at Job's life and I listen to what he says, I go, okay. He's beyond me. And then when I hear the wisdom that comes out of these the words of these people, I go, man, they're pretty wise people. And yet the whole book of Job is about it's The other part I don't like is like man, for like 38 chapters, they're just speaking nonsense to each other.

But these are the wisest people. They're beyond us. For for many of us and and yet as they talk, you realize at the very end man, those were all just these little people talking, everyone thinking they're so wise. And they're not. At the end, it's God who speaks and says, you guys were all off.

There was one There was one verse I did want to read from it though that I I loved. It was from Elihu. Um I think this is from yesterday's reading or the day before where he says, okay, so so everyone's talking explaining to Job, which probably has happened in your life.

When something goes wrong, everyone has advice for you, right? They're like, well, maybe it's this. Maybe it's this. Maybe it's the sin in your life. Maybe it's because of this. There's no shortage of people who want to talk nowadays. Right? Everyone's got advice. Everyone is just so wise, so brilliant.

And you know, I was talking to my daughter about it this morning. I'm like, hey, what did you get out of your reading in the book of Job? And she goes, you know, it's just that. It's like everyone wants to talk and you start hearing everyone else's voice and trying to figure out who's right when in the end of the day, you should just listen to the voice of God.

Like and Job is it's almost like he couldn't hear cuz he's talking, everyone else is talking and at the end of the day, it's like God speaks at the end. But uh Elihu says something. You know, Elihu actually was pretty good cuz he shut his mouth for like 31 chapters and he's just listening to everyone else talk.

Job's friends are like, well, it's cuz of this and Job's fighting back. No, it's not. You know, they're talking talking talking and then verse in chapter 32, he's like, okay, I've just been listening all this time, but now I got something to say. Okay? I've been listening for 31 chapters.

Now I have something to say. And in in verse in chapter 33 verse 6, I just love this one verse. He says he goes, behold, I am toward God as you are. I too was pinched off from a piece of clay. Okay? So so he he's he's he's probably the most humble in that group.

And he goes, okay, look, I'm not here like, ooh, I'm all high and mighty Elihu. I know more than you guys. He goes, I'm just like you. I was pinched off from a piece of clay. Okay? In in the in the Old Testament, I got a clay clay dough.

Um But you know, and in the New Testament, it talks about the potter and the clay. Okay, I don't know any book in the Bible that humbles me as much as Job does. Because that first that first story is about God and Satan. That that's the thing. Book of Job is not about us so much.

It's about God and going look, there's something bigger going on right now. See see we if you're confused about life, this is something I I realized from the book of Job this week. If I'm confused about life, it's probably cuz I think too highly of myself. Whenever we're too confused about life, it's because we think too highly of ourselves and we think we're thinking about everything revolving around us.

If everything revolves around you, life's not going to make sense. Because it didn't make sense in the book of Job. Here's the most righteous guy and he's suffering more than anyone on earth. You see that in in chapter 21, Job's frustrated like, I don't get it. I see wicked people and they're healthy.

You ever thought that? Man, I see some of the most evil people and they are living it up. Because it doesn't make sense and he goes, and I know my life. Man, I know how I I look at girls with my eyes and I I just I treat them like sisters.

Man, there's purity. I see the way it's all my stuff. I just give it away. I care I know how I live and I know how they live. So why does it look like their life is so easy and mine's so messed up? So even Job was like, I'm getting confused by this thing.

Then Elihu comes up. He goes, okay, I I want to say something, but I'm not like high and mighty above all you all. He goes, I was pinched off from a piece of clay, too. It's this picture of here's God. Okay, d- not in a blasphemous way, but but the the image.

And here's you. Right here. And God just says, okay, I'm going to make this guy. Here's Elihu. Here's Job. You know, here's Angel. You know, here's um Dora. Boots. You know, uh you know, it's just like and then what do we do? We're down here going, man, it's all about me.

Why is this happening to me? Why is that happening to me? And the and and and so Elihu has the wisdom because look, I'm just another guy that was pinched off a piece of clay. Okay? This is this is all I am. There's this being up there. Do you think of yourself like that?

Like man, who do we think we are? That that's why I was even scared to teach this morning. I'm going, God, I'm not I'm just another guy that's just pinched off this piece of clay. Like there's this the there's the maker up there. Man, and until you get that, you're not going to understand life.

And that's what Paul was saying. He goes, man, I'm struggling. Read Read all of 2 Corinthians 1. Paul's like, man, I I I'm going through it. There's times that This is the Apostle Paul. And that's why I get so frustrated with this prosperity gospel of oh, you follow Jesus, everything's going to be right.

No, look at the godliest people in scripture. Look at Jesus. Man, it was a life of suffering. But it's for his glory and we as this little piece of clay, we you know, we we don't just think everything revolves around us. No, we all just congregate down here, you know, as all these little pieces and we go we get it.

This isn't about us. So, Job, if something good happens in my life, then I give it all to God and go, "Why?" Because God wants me to glorify him in that. So, so God, you know, some of you guys know God blessed me with a bunch of stuff and money and whatever else and and and so my responsibility right now is just like, "Look, I don't care.

I'll give it all away. There's people suffering." You know what makes me excited is I know him. The one that pinched me off from this piece of clay and I can't even believe I'm up here anymore. I The God who restored me and changed everything. I I can't even believe my life.

And then for those who are suffering or going through it, it's just like in that story of Job. Why? Satan is looking at God and going, "Man, Job only loves you because you give him everything. Take it all away and you'll see he doesn't love you." And so those of you who are suffering right now and going through it, maybe you're in a different stage of life.

It doesn't mean God doesn't love you as much as he loves those who are prosperous cuz there's wicked people who are prospering. And read Psalm 73 sometime. The psalmist himself is going, "I don't get it. All these rich people, they're healthy, they're wealthy, and yet they're wicked. And I'm suffering."

And but by the end of the chapter he goes, "Okay, but then God opened my eyes. I got in his presence and I realized how this thing ends." He got it. He goes, "Okay. So, it's not going to make sense in this world all the time. But how does it end?"

And how does the story of Job end? Huh? I I I mean, I'll close with this, I think. Uh Job 38 after So, God's quiet for 37 chapters. He even beat out Elihu. But then at the end, God says this, "The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Dress for action like a man. I'll question you. And you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding.'" Okay, here's how the story ends. I I don't care how brilliant you think you are. The story ends with God.

See, I We we live in such an arrogant time. People go, "Oh man, I'm going to question God on this. I I wonder why God's doing this. I wonder why God's doing this." And God's just being silent. Then at the end, he explains to Job and all his friends, "You know, let me explain something to you.

You've got this all backwards. In fact, let me ask the questions. I don't know if you realize this, but I didn't create you to judge me. Okay? So, why don't you just sit there and let me ask you some questions since you're so brilliant to question almighty God of why did this happen to me, why did that happen to me?

He answers them out of a storm. He goes, "Tell me, come on, you're so smart. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" Come on, you're you're the genius. I could have used you when I when I made the earth cuz you're so brilliant, aren't you?

That's the way God speaks. Look, you're going to recognize at the end it was not all about you. It's about this God. And so if you're going through a difficult time, your job is to say, "You know what, Lord? Blessed be your name." On a road that's suffering, we sang that song.

And there's pain in the offering, blessed be your name. That's what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 1. He goes, "Man, when I'm suffering, man, I just figure God's going to get me through this and comfort me through it." He didn't say God's going to take it all away.

No, he goes, "No, no, no. I'm going to get through it. I'm dying daily. This is This is difficult, difficult, but it's all going to be worth it. There's this glory that's coming that I can't see yet. It It's happening. And for now, as I as I'm healed by these things, I'm going to go out and heal other people."

That's why God's doing it. If you're going through the tough times, man, don't question God. We We weren't created to question him. We're created to glorify him. Man, I love listening to testimonies like that where people go, "Okay, that's what I went through." But man, I'm I'm thrilled to be a child of God.

On a I think it was on Monday this week that some of us were listening to us some of the pastors were I know this is a sensitive subject too right now, but we're listening to a guy who was speaking and he's a homosexual. Grew up just ever since he was in elementary school just attracted to guys loved guys and fell deeply in love in these relationships.

Um I mean, it was his whole life and he's fashion designer, you know, designer guy in Paris and all this stuff. I mean, someone shared the gospel with him. He started reading the Bible. And he started looking at the He's just like, "Man, I I saw what this book said."

It didn't change his desires. He still liked guys. But he understood what the word said and so he's like, "I I just got to resist." And and now he's in seminary, wants to be a pastor. And uh but someone asked the question. They said, "Don't you think it's unfair that we tell gay people that they have to remain celibate in order to follow Jesus?"

And the way the guy answered the question, I've never seen anything like it. He kind of like sat back in his chair and smiled. And kind of like a with a rolling of his eyes type of look, he just goes, "Unfair?" He goes, "What do you mean unfair?"

He goes, "You want to know what unfair is? Unfair is that the son of God who did nothing wrong, he had to die on the cross for my sins. And now everything is cleansed for nothing that I did and I get to spend all of eternity 
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 with God."

And he just had this look in his eyes like, "That's unfair." He goes, "Am I still attracted to guys? Yeah, I guess, you know, do I Do I understand from scripture that I can't? Sure." He goes, "But unfair?" It was like he just got it. He's like, "Man, that's the beauty of the gospel."

It's when you get it, you don't look back at life and say, "God, this isn't fair. This isn't fair. This isn't fair. This isn't fair." You just realize, "Man, Lord, so you watched your son tortured on a cross for me. I'm the I'm the most blessed man on earth.

And the moment I die, I come before God as one of his children despite everything I've done. And that's going to be for all of eternity for those of us who believe. And that's why we embrace this God. And that's why we're about to take communion is because this is what purifies us.

And And this isn't for everyone, but I I just want to say, man, I I don't know your backgrounds, man. First, I I just love seeing this group. I I love our our church together. You know, it's just like, man, all these people I don't know from different churches and we're gathering together and no one wants this to be about us.

We want it all to be about him. And so I don't know if you've been grabbing on to something else. You know, it's almost like like angel angel screwdriver. Like you've been holding on to that. Like that's your security. That's what you're going to you're going to grab on to.

And maybe it's time to let go. Maybe today you see the ugliness of it. Silly illustration, but it's kind of like yesterday. Yesterday we were at uh Six Flags uh in Vallejo because it was my daughter's birthday. Uh one of my my uh 10- or 11-year-old daughter now.

And um we're in line for this ride. And uh I'm with the law, you know, she's staying with me. You know how you're in line and and there's a Chinese guy in front of us. And she's not paying attention and she just kind of starts grabbing onto his arm. >> 
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 >> Meanwhile, I'm like standing right in front of her and she realized what she did and she's like, "Oh."

And we're just laughing. I'm like, "Man, he didn't even look like he had a full head of hair. You're so like racist, man." You know, and uh >> 
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 >> But it was just it was just hilarious, you know? But it's almost like that picture where some of you you've just been grabbing onto the wrong arm.

You know what I mean? It's like you just and and hopefully today is one of those days where you're like, "Uh you know, who was I touch What was that?" Whether it's a relationship, whether it's a screwdriver, whether it's whatever. You're trying to hold on to something that's not your father.

That's not your God. That's not going to save you. You You've gone down that road. And telling you there's real father that's waiting for you. Man that can restore through the pain and everything else. And that's why we're about to take communion and so Chaz is going to lead us in this time.

And let's focus our sights on our real father. Let go of whatever we're we're holding on to. Let's just hold on to him right now.