CRCF””5-3-09
Questions of the Heart: #2
Introduction: I need to take you to an awful place this morning””a dark, cold, nauseating, torturous place. Oh, you”™ve been there before. Maybe you”™re there right now. You can be there in a crowd, at work, at home””even at church. It doesn”™t matter who you are, what you do, how much you have, how good or bad you are””you either have been or will someday visit this place. It is a form of Hell on earth. It is that place of the soul called “loneliness”.
You have been there, haven”™t you?
A contemporary Christian group called Fireflight sing a song called “Forever”. The first verse goes like this: “Sometimes I feel so cold, like I”™m waiting around all by myself. Loneliness gets so old. I”™m in the lost and found sitting on the shelf, been stuck for way too long.”
Have you ever felt that way?
Abigail Van Buren: “Loneliness is the ultimate poverty.”
“Loneliness, statistics say, is prevalent and one of the most feared states of life.””. ”
Bill Lobbs (Assemblies of God pastor): Most of us, at some point in our life, could say “I know all about loneliness because it lives inside of me.” Loneliness is no respecter of persons. Sooner or later it knocks on everyone’s door and we have to deal with it. It is now known that loneliness is a major contributor to mental and physical sickness in our society. The statistics are awesome. Loneliness cuts across all ages. It is a very depressive condition and, if it is serious enough, people suffering from it have taken their lives.
It has been defined as “the painful awareness that we lack meaningful contact with others.” I describe it as that feeling that no one really cares about you as a person. If you suddenly disappeared, there would be no search party because no one would care enough to put one together.
“Why are there times when I feel so alone . . . like You aren”™t there?”
Scripture offers us at least 5 truths concerning our loneliness that help us answer this question:
1. God may confine me to loneliness because I love my sin more than I love Him.
–Can be true for an unbeliever or a believer,
though in different senses
Psalm 38:3, 11, 15, 18, 21”” “Because of Your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins . . . My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance . . . For I am waiting for You, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God . . . But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done . . . Do not abandon me, Lord. Do not stand at a distance, my God.” (NLT)
God may confine me to loneliness because I love my sin more than I love Him. Confession and repentance is the way back to a right relationship with God.
Psalm 32:1, 7””“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered . . . You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.”
2. I may confine myself to loneliness by avoiding God in the Scriptures.
God meets us in His Word, as we read and meditate on His very breath!
”¢ James 4:8”” “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Are you daily drawing near to God through an open Bible?
”¢ Psalm 119:49-50, 54-56”“ “Remember Your promise to me, for it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles . . . Your principles have been the music of my life throughout the years of my pilgrimage. I reflect at night on Who You are, O Lord, and I obey Your law because of this. This is my happy way of life: obeying Your commandments.” (NLT)
”¢ John 17:17””“Make them pure and holy by teaching them Your words of truth.” (NLT)
”¢ 2 Timothy 3:16-17”“ “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God”™s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (NLT)
I may confine myself to loneliness by avoiding God in the Scriptures. The solution to loneliness may be as simple as the daily discipline it takes to relate to God through His Word and prayer.
3. I may confine myself to loneliness by avoiding God in the Body of Christ.
God meets us in the Body of Christ, as we relate to one another!
”¢ 1 Corinthians 12:7”“ “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”
”¢ Hebrews 10:24-25”“ “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near.” (NLT)
You may say, “Well, I”™m here””I come to church. But I”™m still lonely.” Ask yourself this question””when you”™re here, do you truly connect with other believers in real relationships/conversations? God can speak to you through in our worship service or through a sermon. But oftentimes, God speaks most personally through a one-on-one relationship, or in a small group setting where other believers can speak directly into the situation of our lives. That is why we do Bible Study on Sunday mornings, Youth Group on Sunday nights and Men/Women”™s Groups during the week””we need relationships with each other!
I may confine myself to loneliness by avoiding God in the Body of Christ. He lives and moves among His people. The solution to your loneliness may be to simply open yourself up to others by getting involved in one of our small group opportunities.
4. God may allow loneliness in my life to draw me closer to Himself.
God is our all-knowing and Sovereign Father and He always has our best interest at heart when He moves His hand in our lives!
Ӣ Psalm 88
O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out to you day and night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. I have been dismissed as one who is dead, like a strong man with no strength left . . . I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrust me down to the lowest pit, into the darkest depths . . . You have caused my friends to loathe me; you have sent them all away. I am in a trap with no way of escape. My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for Your help, O Lord; I lift my pleading hands to you for mercy . . . O Lord, I cry out to You. I will keep on pleading day by day. O Lord, why do You reject me? Why do You turn Your face away from me?” (NLT)
Dags Hammarskjold: Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for. ~
”¢ James 1:2-4”“ “Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” (NLT)
Ӣ READ Job 3:20-26 (NLT)
”¢ Job 13:15””“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
God may allow loneliness in my life to draw me closer to Himself. There is no simple solution to this loneliness. Our Father”™s sovereign timing is never predictable. Simply trusting Him more often doesn”™t speed our return from the barren land of loneliness””or else Job”™s recovery would have come much more quickly. And yet, while we wait for God to give us relief, we are to learn to trust His wisdom and timing and goodness. We must learn to say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him.”
5. I will never know true aloneness because God will never forsake me.
Jesus experienced true aloneness when He was forsaken by the Father.
There is a vast difference between feelings of loneliness and being truly alone.
”¢ Matthew 27:46”” “At about three o”™clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, ”˜Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”™ which means, ”˜My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (NLT)
“Why did Jesus ask this question? Why have you forsaken me? Jesus, the Son of God, God on earth was abandoned by the Father. For the first, last, and only time in eternity past, present or future, there was a division, a wall of separation between Jesus and his Father. So JESUS DID NOT FEEL FORSAKEN, HE WAS FORSAKEN. There is a big difference between the two.
In the pain of life ”“ when it all comes crashing in ”“ we often feel abandoned and forsaken by God. I assure you, God has abandoned none of us; but what Jesus experienced was more than a feeling ”“ it was fact.
This is the suffering of Calvary: Not the nails and the hammer blows and the crown of thorns. These were awful ”“ these were hideous, I don”™t discredit that. Jesus suffered the pain and humiliation of being mocked, beaten, whipped, pierced and nailed naked to a piece of wood, but none of this compared to the pain of His Father walking away and leaving him in the dark alone ”“ that was the worst. From the before the beginning of time, the Father and Son had enjoyed unbroken communion together. There was never a time they did not enjoy a connection. Then suddenly, on the cross, it”™s all taken away. He lost his communion with God ”“ he lost fellowship with the Father. For a space of time God was dead to Him, and that alone was enough to kill Him. (Ronnie McBrayer)
Jesus understands my loneliness because He”™s experienced what I never have to””true aloneness, a true forsaking by God.
”¢ Hebrews 13:5”” “Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ”˜I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.”™” (NLT)
”¢ Matthew 28:20b”” “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NLT)
I will never know true aloneness because God will never forsake me. I may often feel alone, but Jesus is always near to me, if I”™m truly a Christ-follower. Oh, how we need to remember this truth when our feelings say God has abandoned us!
Conclusion:
“Forever”
By: Fireflight
Sometimes I feel so cold
Like I’m waiting around all by myself
Loneliness gets so old
I’m in the lost and found sitting on the shelf
Been stuck for way too long
But I hear Your voice
You’re who I’m counting on
Oh, tell me You’re here
That You will watch over me forever
Oh, take hold of my heart
Show me You’ll love me forever
I know that You can tell
When I start to let my hope fade away
I need to catch myself
Open my ears to hear You calling my name
Been fighting way too long
But I hear Your voice
You had me all along
Your loneliness may not immediately disappear this morning. Maybe there are steps you need to take toward God””as one who needs to come to Him for the first time and begin a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus, or as a child of God who needs to let go of sin so that you can truly hold on to Jesus. Maybe the only thing you can do is wait on God and trust Him till He brings you back to the comfort of feeling His presence.
Either way, you”™re not alone. God is here, whether you can feel His presence or not.
Here at the Lord”™s Table, celebrate God”™s commitment to never forsake those who depend on Jesus”™ broken body and shed blood for the forgiveness of sin. Celebrate the fact that Jesus is risen from the dead and is always with His people by the Holy Spirit.
Celebration of the Lord”™s Supper