Faith & Lazarus P.A.I.N.: Why Does Pain Exist?

1. Faith & Lazarus P A I N

2. Why Does Pain Exist? • There are five types of pain: • Bodily • Psychological • Spiritual • Social • Emotional • Pain exists for all people, who believe or do not believe in God. • Job said: • “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” – Job 14:1

3. How Do We Sometimes Deal With Pain? Some people escape from pain by succumbing to addictions such as cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, & narcotics – this solution leaves an empty feeling. Some people escape from pain by talking, going out, sleeping, orplaying. Some people escape from pain by prayer, crying, receiving comfort, or by asking for advice.

4. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” -James 1:2-4

5. Some May Ask The Following Questions: • Why does God allow pain? • Why does pain sometimes endure for an extended period of time? • Is pain a contradiction of God’s love for us? • Is pain a contradiction of God’s goodness? • Is God listening? Why me? Why God allows pain for me?

6. Some May Ask The Following Questions: • pain leads us to doubt & complain or allow us to stray towards atheistic thoughts. • These thoughts may come to us because we do not know how to explain pain in our lives and the lives of others. • When does God intervene and take away our pain? • There are many questions that is needed to be answered.

7. What Does it Mean When You Fall into Various Trials? Pain is a sign of life – if you lose your feeling, you would be considered dead. Imagine if you put your hand in a fire and feel nothing! Without pain, you can not feel comfort and joy. Comfort and joy are a result of overcoming pain.

8. What is the Source of Pain? • Natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, rain, wind, flooding – this can affect all people • The human is the one who allows pain to enter his life. • “for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” - Galatians 6:7 • Example: someone who smokes a lot, & eats a lot. • “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” – James 1:14

9. What is the Source of Pain? (continued) • Satan(accuser, adversary, deceiver, enemy, evil one, father of lies, lawless one, liar, Lucifer, murderer, tempter, thief, and wicked one): • Satan’s goal is to destroy our relationship with God – like Peter, Paul, and Job. • God allows pain in order for us to achieve perfection. • For example, Jonah and testing the human beings to know yourself.

10. “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” – Deuteronomy 8:2 • To save you, like Paul – “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” • – 2 Corinthians 12:7 • To assume you a higher rank “ And also if anyone copters in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5

11. How the Human may know the sources of pain ? James 1:5 says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” “THE SAFETY VALVE IS TO HIDE IN GOD” “Out of the eater come something to eat, and out f the strong came something sweet.” Judges 14:14

12. “Your Knowledge is Limited, but for God is unlimited.” “For to you has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake.” Philippians 1 : 29 Therefore, Pain is granted from God, this mean it is given as a gift or a present. - Saint Paul the Anchorite says: “ Whoever escapes from pain, escapes from God.”

13. Pain for Righteousness • “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.” Mathew 5 : 11 • “We must through many tribulations enter kingdom of God.” Acts 14 : 22

14. The Human must learn how to deal with pain • Trust in God during the period of Pain. • Know that the aim of God in pain is to drive the human to perfection.

15. LAZARUS is Only known in the bible through pain “when Jesus heard that, he said, “ the sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the son of god may be glorified through it.” John 11 : 4 The first action during Pain is LOVE. -“Therefore the sisters sent to him saying, “Lord behold, he whom you love is sick.” John 11 : 3 -“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” john 11 : 5

16. WHY GOD DELAYED HIS ANSWER & HE SEEMS NOT CARING “and some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” John 11 : 37 • Why God leave them till they lose faith? • Why he didn’t come before the time of Lazarus’ death, that may have been a good solution. • NOW THERE’S NO SOLUTION. • God only works when finding a solution is impossible, whereas if it is possible He will leave it to us. • Does that not contradict with God’s Love, Mercy & Kindness?

17. How many people benefited from the Pain & Death of Lazarus?

18. The first Person is Lazarus His PAIN was a GIFT & a PRESENT for all who is in the house and people near by. • Thefirst one who got the advantages of the Pain is Lazarus. • After being raised from the dead, he was the first one to sit at the table with Jesus. • The first change was that he was in God’s full care and attention. • His UNITY with Jesus. • Lazarus didn’t say a word or preach, but because of him a lot of people believed in Jesus. “Now a Great Many of Jews knew that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but they might also see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.” • “because on the account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus” John 12:9 & 11

19. LAZARUS BECAME A PREACHER THROUGH HIS PAIN, DEATH & RESURRECTION, a reason for believing for a lot of souls without sermons. THIS IS THE “SILENT” PREACHING Lazarus experienced the Victory on Death.

20. The Second Person is Martha THE SECRET OF RESURRECTION HAS BEEN UNCOVERED FOR HER “Jesus Said to her, “ Did I Not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God” John 11 : 40 THE MENTALITY CHANGED From “see then believe” mentality to “believe then see” Mentality as God said “Believe and you would see” Through the pain you MUST BELIEVEthat GOD is able to CHANGE You. Just trust & believe & you will SEE.

21. The Third person is Mariam She sat under Jesus’ feet three TIMES • 1st time : when Martha was serving, but Mariam was under his feet listing & learning. • 2nd time : when she fell down at Jesus feet saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” • 3rd time : after Lazarus’s resurrection ;“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” The BIG CHANGE for her was from “Hearing & Learning” to “Comfort & Love”.

22. The fourth person is: The people who were visiting and comforting in the death of Lazarus “Then many of Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, Believed in him” Jon 11 : 45

23. The fifth person is : The Disciples “ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, That you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him” john 11 : 15

24. The sixth person is US To understand the Power & Will of God “Jesus Said to her, I am the resurrection and the Life. He who Believes in me, through he may die, he shall live. And whenever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11 : 25 & 26

25. The Seventh Person is JESUS because He was glorified. “when Jesus heard that, he said, “ the sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11 : 4

26. HOW TO ACT WHEN PAIN COMES? “HE WHOM YOU LOVE IS SICK” TRUST IN God’s LOVE IN PAIN, Sickness & Temptation HE IS ABLE & POWERFUL OVER EVERYTHING TRUST IN GOD Without Complaining. “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, wait, I say, on the Lord” Ps. 27:14 “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO ENDURES TEMPTATION, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of the life which the Lord has promised to those who loved him.” JAMES 1 : 12

27. FAITH IN JESUS HIMSELF RAISE THE STONE : “Jesus Said, “take away the stone.” John 11 : 39 Obey God : “Jesus said to her, “did I Not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11 : 40 Action & submission : “then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying” John 11 : 41