Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to the first week of a brand new series called When Life & Truth Collide. The premise of this series is something that all of us have dealt with in our lives. The collision of life and truth.

It looks like this. In our church, we believe and teach that the Bible is in the inspired Word of God. It is without error. It is the truth.

So you’re going through life, believing the Bible. If it’s in the Bible, then you see it as truth. But then something comes along in your life that seems to contradict that truth. What do you do? What do you do when life and truth seem destined for a head-on collision?

For example, you believe that God is good and loving, but then there is a terrible tragedy in your family. How do you reconcile that? Life and truth collide.

You believe the biblical promise that God will bless his people. You’ve been faithful to him and yet it seems as if life just keeps kicking you in the teeth. Life and truth collide.

We will all go through these collision seasons in our lives. This series is designed to tackle that collision head-on. It’s going to be gut-level honesty. No pat answers. No religious platitudes or clichés or catch phrases. Those things never helped anybody except the companies who print them on bumper stickers and T-shirts. I want us to move beyond cliché answers and actually come away with something that will help us. In some ways, this series may ask more questions than it answers. God doesn’t always give us the answers that we want. But ultimately, it’s my prayer that this series will give us some peace and reassurance when life and truth collide.

Let’s pray and we’ll get started.

PRAY

I’m somewhat of a country music fan. I was actually watching the Country Music Awards last year when Brooks & Dunn performed the song we just watched called God Must Be Busy.

This song has elicited a huge response from the Christian community. There has been an outcry from some circles about how this song is a sacrilege. How dare they blame God for these things? How dare they suggest that God is too busy to care about these people?

You want to know my first reaction after I saw Brooks & Dunn perform this song at the CMAs? My first thought was, “That song is incredibly honest.” Just to be totally transparent here, there have been times when I felt the exact feelings that are expressed in that song. God, why is this happening? God, I just don’t understand. God, why aren’t you answering my prayer? Are you too busy to concern yourself with me?

It’s the collision of unanswered prayer. It’s the wife who desperately wants to be a mom. She prays for God to enable her to conceive a child, but it never happens.

It’s the man who prays for God to bless him with a job to support his family, but he keeps coming up empty.

It’s the child who prays for God to provide a loving family to adopt him, but he just keeps getting bounced around from home to home.

It’s the person who prays desperately for their loved one to be healed, but they still die.

This collision of unanswered prayer can rock us to our core. It is a prime example of a time when life and truth collide. Let’s break open the collision and try to look at it from all sides.

The truth is that God answers prayer. The Bible says as much.

Psalm 65 says, “You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior.” (Psalm 65:5, NLT)

In Hosea 14, God says, “I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.” (Hosea 14:8, NLT)

James 5 tells us, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16b, NIV)

The truth says that God answers prayer. It is a consistent theme that you will find throughout the Scripture, Old and New Testament. That’s the truth.

The collision comes when the circumstances of our lives seem to contradict this truth. God promises to answer my prayers, but lately it doesn’t seem like he’s been doing it. It feels as if my prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling. It seems that either God really is too busy, or he’s not paying attention to me, or he just doesn’t care. Life and truth are colliding in my unanswered prayer.

There are times when this collision happens because our perspective is limited.

In the very beginning of the New Testament in the Bible, we meet a man named John the Baptist. That name can be a little confusing today because we hear it and we immediately think of the modern-day Baptist denomination. That’s not what this title of John is all about. The Baptist denomination wouldn’t come along until centuries later. Possibly a better title for him would be John the Baptizer. The reason we refer to him as John the Baptist or John the Baptizer is because he baptized a lot of people. Simple enough, right?

But John did a lot more than simply baptize people. John was a prophet of God who was sent to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist was a great man of God. In fact, Jesus went on record saying, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11a, NIV)

John the Baptist was the half-cousin of Jesus. John actually baptized Jesus himself! How’d you like to have that on your spiritual resume?

John was the prophet of the century. During the Intertestamental Period, the period of time between the Old and New Testaments, there was silence from God. For 400 years, God sent no prophets. No Scripture was written. For 400 years, there was a deafening silence from heaven. John was the prophet who broke that silence.

I want to pick up his story in Matthew 11. The Bible says, “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’” (Matthew 11:2-3, NIV)

At first glance, this is a very understandable question. People in Israel had been waiting for the Messiah for centuries. Generation after generation of people had longed for his coming. So Jesus comes onto the scene. He hasn’t died or rose from the dead yet, but he is teaching God’s Word with great power. He is healing people of every disease imaginable. He’s performing other incredible miracles. So there is a lot of buzz about Jesus right now. “Is he the one? I think he might be the one. He seems like the one. Do you think he’s the one?”

So it seems perfectly reasonable for John the Baptist to send his followers to Jesus to ask him, “Are you the one?” It was the question that was on everybody’s mind. But what makes John’s question so intriguing is that he was actually the first person to announce to the world that Jesus was the one!

Listen to this story from earlier in John’s life. In John 1, the Bible says, “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on [Jesus]. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:32-34, NIV)

John said, “Jesus is the Son of God.” Not, “He may be the Son of God.” Not, “I think he’s the Son of God.” Not, “All indicators seem to point to him as the Son of God.” John boldly testified that, “He is the Son of God. He is the one we’ve been waiting for.”

John had been sent to prepare the way for the Son of God. When John baptized Jesus, the heavens ripped open and God spoke out loud. “This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased.” Can you imagine that? That makes any spiritual experience you’ve ever had seem like playing in the kiddie end of the pool, doesn’t it? John saw the heavens open, the Spirit of God descend on Jesus, and he heard God say out loud, “Jesus is my Son. He is the one.” And so it’s no surprise that John boldly proclaimed to everyone, “Jesus is the one.”

What is surprising is that later on in his life, John asked Jesus, “Are you the one?” How does that happen?

You may have skipped a very important detail when I read the account from Matthew 11. Let me read it again.

“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’” (Matthew 11:2-3, NIV)

John was in prison when he asked Jesus, “Are you the one?” Now keep mind, when John announced Jesus to the world, he was a free man. He had a very successful ministry. But now he’s in prison.

And he’s not in prison because he committed some horrendous crime. He’s in prison because he boldly confronted a sinful king. King Herod had married his brother’s wife illegally. That’s some Jerry Springer stuff there. And after Herod married his brother’s wife, John the Baptist called him out. John told Herod that he was wrong.

In this culture, you just didn’t do that. You didn’t tell the king that he was wrong. So Herod had John thrown in prison where he would eventually be beheaded.

John had believed the truth that Jesus was the one. John had taught the truth that Jesus was the one. But now that he’s in prison for doing the right thing, life has thrown him a huge curveball. Life and truth are colliding, and John is questioning everything.

You ever been there? You can believe the truth, you can believe it with everything in you, but then life happens. Life jerks the rug right out from under you. It rattles you to your very core, causing you to question everything you’ve ever believed. That’s what happens when life and truth collide.

Now I wish I could tell you that the story of John the Baptist gets better. When John’s disciples came to Jesus, I wish I could tell you that Jesus said, “You know what, you’re right. I’ve been so busy teaching and healing people and performing miracles that I forgot all about my friend, John. I’ll take care of it.”

I wish I could tell you that after John’s disciples talked with Jesus, Jesus went all Jack Bauer and busted John out of prison. But that’s not what happened. Acually, Jesus didn’t do anything to get John out of prison and John was eventually executed.

Here’s the truth. This is going to shock some of you because it’s not a churchy thing to say, but it’s true.

There are times when the worst possible scenario plays out and God seemingly does nothing about it. Some of you didn’t even know you were allowed to say something like that. You’ve thought it, but you never thought you were allowed to say it. The hard truth is that there are times when the absolute worst possible scenario occurs and God seems to be sitting on the sidelines just letting it happen. God must be busy.

And you pray! And you do the right thing! And the bad stuff still happens. Look at John. John wasn’t in prison because he was a criminal. He was in prison because he took a stand for what’s right. You ever pray, do the right thing, and then feel like you got punished for it? It happens. Life and truth collide. It happens.

After John sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one or should we expect someone else?” look at Jesus’ response. Because initially, it seems as if Jesus just dodges the question altogether.

“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matthew 11:2-6, NIV)

John’s life had not turned out the way he planned. John’s prayers had not been answered in the way he had hoped. And his faith is so shaken that he sends his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one? I used to believe you were the Son of God, but here in this prison, it’s hard to see that anymore.”

Jesus responds by saying “John, I’m healing people. I’m preaching the gospel. I’m doing what I was sent to do. John, I know that your prayers aren’t being answered in the way that you would like… but if you could lift your perspective, if you could see outside your prison cell, you would see that this thing is bigger than you. It’s bigger than your prison.”

That almost seems like an unbelievable answer from Jesus to someone who is hurting so badly. “John, I’m sorry, but this is bigger than you and your prison.” That seems offensive.

After Jesus gives this answer to John’s disciples, he says in Matthew 11:6, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matthew 11:6, NIV)

That’s the way the New International Version of the Bible reads, but it’s actually not the best translation according to the original language of the passage.

A better translation is, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11:6, NKJV)

Have you ever been offended by Jesus? Has God ever done something that offended you? Maybe this is an even better question…has God ever not done something that offended you? Like not answering your prayer the way you think he should?

It doesn’t always make sense. I don’t understand why my friend Larry Holton had to die earlier this month. He was only 60 years old. He went from living a healthy, full life to having his life snuffed out by cancer…and it happened just like that. He should have lived 20-30 more years. He had an awesome wife and beautiful twin girls. He’ll never get to walk them down the aisle at their wedding. He’ll never get to enjoy his grandchildren. I don’t understand that. I can’t explain that.

What I can tell you is this…whatever you’re going through, whatever your prison is, whatever prayer seems to have gone unanswered in your life…there may not be any explaining it, but this is what I can tell you. A God who was willing to exchange the life of his Son for your life can be trusted with the most challenging, confusing, hardest details of your life. His love for you was settled on the cross of Calvary. There is no question about it.

But sometimes we need our perspective lifted. John couldn’t see beyond the prison walls. What is your prison? What prayer have you prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed, and yet God doesn’t act? I can’t give you a specific, concrete answer as to why that’s happening in your life. I can’t explain your pain. What I do know is that if my pain becomes my perspective, if my pain is all I see, my life will head on a downward spiral.

I remember when my grandpa died at a fairly young age. Emphysema had done its worst and my grandpa had wasted away from the disease. I remember the day that the disease finally took his life. I was ten years old at the time. I was lying in my bed awake, but not yet ready to get out from under my warm blankets. My bedroom was close enough to the kitchen that I could hear what was going on in there. My dad was on the phone. I figured out very quickly that he was talking to my older brother. I remember Dad’s exact words to my brother from that phone call. “I got bad news, buddy. We lost him this morning.”

Even though I was young, I knew exactly what had happened. I knew that Pappaw had died.

There were an untold number of prayers lifted up for my grandpa. Prayers for healing. Prayers for a miraculous healing. But on that April day in 1988, those prayers went fully and finally unanswered.

Or did they? In actuality, is there really any such thing as an unanswered prayer? The truth would say no.

There is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. It’s interesting that if the answer to our prayer is “no,” then we call that an unanswered prayer. But in reality, that prayer didn’t go unanswered. It was simply answered in a way that I’m not willing to accept. Every prayer gets an answer…it may just not be the answer we’re looking for.

Before my grandpa died, we prayed for a miracle healing. I contend that the miracle healing happened…just not in the way we had planned. My grandmother was not part of the church in any way before my grandpa’s death. In fact, it was his death that forced my grandma to look for something to hang onto. And the something that she found was God. She reconnected with her Heavenly Father as a result of losing her husband. I think the miracle healing actually did happen. It just didn’t happen in the way we were looking for it.

Our perspective needed to be lifted. We were imprisoned by my grandpa’s disease and death. But God was working behind the scenes. He wasn’t ignoring the prayers of my family. In fact, just the opposite proved true.

Jesus’ answer to John the Baptist was, “It’s bigger than you. I know you’re in prison, but God is doing more behind the scenes that you will ever know. You never know what God is doing behind your back.” You may say, “That’s not a satisfying answer.” I know it’s not satisfying, but it’s true.

Sometimes the only thing we can do is lift our perspective and watch for God’s plan.

When it comes to this collision of unanswered prayer, sometimes the collision happens because God’s plan is different from ours. Life and truth collide when God’s plans prove to be different from my plans.

I like to think that I’ve got it all figured out. I am the man with the plan. I know who I am, I know where I’m going, and I know how I’m going to get there. I’ve got it going on! Anybody else like that sometimes?

When we follow that line of thinking, when we’re just convinced that we’ve got this life thing down pat and we don’t need anybody, God needs to send us a reminder. He needs to remind us who is actually driving the bus and who is just fortunate to even have a seat.

The Apostle Paul writes about this in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul was having all kinds of visions and revelations from God. He was seeing and hearing incredible things that no one else could see or hear. He seemed to have an inside track to the Lord that no one else had. And it seems as if Paul started enjoying it a little too much. Maybe getting a little arrogant about his status as this super apostle.

Listen to what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12. “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV)

Paul tells us that he had a “thorn in the flesh.” We are never told exactly what the thorn was. It seems safe to assume that it was some physical problem. People have speculated that Paul had epilepsy, a speech impediment, malaria, some problems with his eyesight, leprosy, and even migraine headaches. It’s interesting to think about, but it can never go beyond speculation because Paul never tells us what his thorn was.

What he does tell us is that he prayed three times for God to remove the thorn from him. Now surely an apostle who is writing most of the New Testament, who is seeing these grand visions and revelations from God, surely God will always answer his prayer the way that he wants.

Nope. God answered his prayer, but not in the way that Paul had hoped.

God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

And then Paul goes on to write, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)

God had a different plan than Paul did. Paul’s plan was for God to take away his pain so that he could more effectively minister for Christ. God’s plan was to use his pain to keep Paul’s ego in check and to bring glory to himself.

Sometimes when it seems as if you’re prayers are going unanswered, it’s because God’s plans and your plans are not the same plans. And when that happens, God’s plans are going to win out.

Proverbs 19 tells us, “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21, NIV)

When my plans don’t align with God’s plans, I can pray it all I want…it isn’t going to happen. God is sovereign. His plans cannot be thwarted. His purposes cannot be undermined.

We’ve said that there are no such things as unanswered prayers. Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is wait a while. And sometimes the only answer God gives us is the same answer he gave Moses.

God was sending Moses to rescue the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, and Moses was balking, trying to come up with any excuse he could not do that.

In Exodus 3, “Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14, NIV)

Moses said, “These people are going to want to know who sent me to them. What do I tell them?”

God said, “You tell them, “I AM. I AM sent me.”

Sometimes when we pray, the only answer God gives is, “I am. I am supreme. I am sovereign. I am God.” I know that doesn’t always feel like enough, but there are times when it’s the only answer that we get. And if we remain faithful to him even when nothing seems to make sense anymore, we’ll be able to look back at that “I am” answer and see that it actually was enough. At the end of the day, when God is all you have, you realize that God is all you need. “I am” is enough.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: When Life and Truth Collide, John the Baptist, prayer, problem of evil, unanswered prayer