It's been a heavy week. It's been a heavy few weeks if we're being honest. I When a when a group of kids and. Minnesota, who are praying at school at mass, get fired upon, it's heavy. When a refugee woman gets murdered in the transit system in North Carolina, it's heavy. When multiple students are critically injured in another school shooting in Colorado. It's heavy. And then Wednesday, when we heard the news of. Public figure Charlie Kirk, who was. Assassinated at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. It's heavy And that one feels a little different because. Here is a man Who was killed for speaking. And I get that he was a polarizing figure on the political world, and And I get that. And so I'm not asking people to agree fully with his politics or or even his way of doing things, but the reality is you have a person in our country. Who regularly And consistently shared his faith. He's only 31 years old, loved his wife. A dad of two young kids. And that I'd like to think that we are a nation and a country. That can stand up and say that's not OK. And so what do we do with that? Right, I, I'm amazed that his wife, who's just 48 hours after his death, was able to stand up and address the country. I I don't know how someone could do that, grief, but the moment that struck me was when their little 3 year old. Came through and said, hey, where's Daddy? See, more than a political party. This strikes the core of of our faith, of somebody who's a believer, of somebody who's sharing, proclaiming his faith, of someone who even welcomed people to disagree with him. Right. But as someone who then strikes a chord not only with our Christianity, but with our humanity. Not to mention Thursday was the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Start. Then I had the privilege of spending a few days uh with David Nelms, the founder of the Timothy Initiative, who was in town and we were sharing of the mission efforts as one of our main mission partners. And in the conversations with him, he was sharing over the last, uh, he visited about 15 countries this summer around the world and was sharing story after story after story of real life persecution happening right now. So what do we do with that? What do we do with the darkness? I mean, it's, it's natural to feel anger and fear and frustration and worry and doubt. It's, it's, it's natural to ask questions like why would this happen? More specifically, why would God allow this to happen? What does the Bible actually say about evil and grief and suffering? And then what are we supposed to do about this? Anyone else feel just a sense of heaviness this week? We wanna go to God's word and try to answer some of these tough questions this morning. But I want to start off this morning with with this. Simple but not easy truth. Simple. It's, it's one, it's one phrase, but it's not easy to digest, but it's the reality that we're living in right now, and it's this. Evil is real. Grief is heavy. But Jesus gives us hope. Evil is real, grief is heavy, but Jesus gives us hope. And I want to try to address two questions that I think people are wrestling with right now, that I'm personally wrestling with right now. And let's see what scripture has to say to us. The first question. What do we do with evil? What do we do with evil? You know, we live in a divided and distracted world. There is both the visible world, but also the invisible world. There is both a physical world, but also a spiritual one. You have a physical body, but also a spiritual soul. And, and when stuff like this happens, It's even crazy to say stuff because it's multiple things, right? When bad things happen, it forces theological problems, philosophical issues, and emotional struggles within our body. And if it doesn't, I worry, right? I'm not fazed by that at all. Really? Kids were shot at, someone was stabbed, a public figure was Assassinated because he was speaking. What do we do with that? You know, there really is a problem with evil. Because it doesn't seem to align with who God is. And so the question is, well, maybe there is no evil. OK. I think we know in our heart that's not true. Maybe God's not all powerful, right? Maybe he couldn't stop it. Maybe he's not all knowing. Maybe he didn't know what's gonna happen. Maybe God is not present. Well, that doesn't really align with scripture. Maybe God's not good. That doesn't really align either. Maybe maybe there is no suffering. That doesn't seem to line. So what, where do, where do we go? Where do we place this? It's like somebody handed us a really heavy weight and we're just hanging on to it. We have nowhere to set it down. Right But I was reminded this week, in my devotion time, in my prayer, in my conversations with other ministry leaders in the area that The Christianity was actually born out of. The greatest evil that mankind has ever seen. In that The perfect man, the man of Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man. Like we mourn the loss of a Charlie Kirk. But he was flawed, right? And if it's not Charlie Kirk, there's somebody in your life that you lost or something happened that you can't explain or struggles that you have. But, but at this moment, Jesus was in fact perfect. Who came and served and gave and loved. He washed the feet of Judas, who would betray him. And so the greatest evil this world has ever seen. was when Jesus was nailed to the cross. And yet it was in that darkest hour that God presented and shared and brought forth the light of the world. And so what do we do with evil? I think scripture tells us 3 things. Number one. Is that we have to remember the goodness of God. Now that seems counterintuitive at first. But I want you to take the feelings you have of fear and frustration around evil in this world. And I want you to, to ask yourself the question, where does that come from? In other words, how do you even define evil? CS Lewis put it this way, he says, a man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. See, when we see acts of evil. The reason it hurts us, the reason it pains us, is because we have been created in the image of God and therefore have a sense down to the deepest parts of our soul, that that's not OK. And that even in the presence of evil, we are reminded of our need for good. And we're gonna jump into scripture here in just a minute, but we have to remember in the darkest moments of the goodness of God. The second thing we have to do is that we have to recognize that we're in a spiritual battle. We have to recognize that we're in a spiritual battle. It like Jesus is not aloof. God is not aloof to the dark things happening in this world, that as you read scripture, you, you come to realize, oh, it actually said this was happening and that this would happen. Or things like this would happen. For example, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10 to 12. Paul writes, finally, be strong in the Lord and stand in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of who? The devil. He says, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil and heavenly places. There is something deeper at play here. And I think what we're seeing in our culture right now is Satan being more visibly active than I can remember in my lifetime. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8 and 9, he says, be sober- minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour someone. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. See, you remember when the church started from the suffering of Christ on the cross, and then the resurrection that would Follow it, telling, giving us hope in the darkness. The church movement started what out of suffering. At a persecution. It was in fact the martyr of Stephen in Acts chapter 6 that sparked the change. Uh, start planting the seed in the life of Saul, that when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9, he would experience a transformation and become the greatest leader of the early church ever knew, and it stemmed out of a moment of evil and darkness and suffering. Writer, uh, Randy Alcorn put it this way, he says, God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves. And I think what he means by that is that we're not always gonna get an explanation for why something happened. We just won't You know, there are, there are discussions out there of exactly why someone was killed or this happened or that happened. But I'm gonna tell you, knowing the why that something happens like that, it's not gonna ease the pit that you have in the stomach and in the heart. It doesn't make it easier. Right. And so, while we don't necessarily know why an evil thing happened, what we come to know is that there is evil in the world. That Satan is present in the earth, that there are spiritual demons, angels, there's a spiritual warfare happening. Right now But we also know that it's going to be temporary. That God has dealt with evil. An example of Noah and the flood in Genesis chapter 6, wiped it out. He has dealt with evil all throughout the Old Testament. At times when people turn from God, they receive judgment. And then something bad happens and then a uh a remnant of people turn back to God, repent, and then God blesses them and they're faithful, and then they turn from God, and then they get judged again and bad things happen, and then somebody comes in, and then Jesus comes in and actually deals with the evil of the world by taking on the weight of sin and wrath of everything that we face in this world, and that was seen as the most evil moment was actually The launching of hope and love and forgiveness and purpose and peace, so that in the darkest moment, that's when the light of the gospel shone the brightest. And then launched the church where people experience persecution and loss. Those early believers and church leaders died proclaiming their faith. And yet they, here we are 2000 years later, and there are more Christians ever in the world before. There are more copies of the Bible than ever before, that there are people being reached around the world with the good news of Jesus, and people are getting saved because darkness cannot squash out the light, but rather light will always s squash out the darkness. Amen. So not only are there spiritual forces at play, because there is the presence of free will where people reject God and turn to themselves, we see darkness at play. It says this prophet Jeremiah says, Jeremiah 2:13. He says, for my people I've committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of the living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Cisterns are like those giant clay pots. That's what our world has done. Out of our own brokenness, we now have a pot that can't hold anything. And we live in a world and a culture that promotes broken empty pots. And Jesus, as he did to the woman at the well. Which, by the way, Samaritan woman, different ethnically, politically, generally, like every difference imaginable actually offered living water to the person, not just across the political aisle, but the ethnic and every like he broke every possible stereotype and said, no, I am for you and I'm gonna give you living water. And that and and God uses that person to lead revival in that town. And so God's gonna work and move how he sees fit, OK? But we have a part to play in this culturally. It says in Romans 1:24 and 25, it says, therefore, God gave them up to their lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because here it is, that they exchange the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. One more passage when it comes to this is that Uh Paul is writing to Timothy before he leaves. Timothy was the pastor of Ephesus, a young pastor, young leader. And what Paul wrote to him about the godlessness that was gonna happen in the last days could have been written this week. You, uh, you decide for yourself. Let me just read the words of 2 Timothy and you decide if this describes our culture today. Starting in verse, uh, we're gonna read verses 1 to 5 and then verses 12 to 14. Says, but I understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving God, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power, says avoid, avoid such people. Then in verse 12, he continues on, he says, indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ, Jesus will be persecuted. While evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you. Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing that from whom you learned it. What he's saying here is that the world is going to continue to get worse and worse. Because dark, lost, foolish, and evil people are gonna act in those ways. On top of that, the spiritual battle that we are in, that those who reject the God who saves us are gonna act in that way. He says, but you continue double down on what is true. To live out what you firmly believe, that Jesus came into this dark world and offered us a different way, not to repay vengeance for vengeance, but says no, trust God with vengeance and that the best form of vengeance is revival. To say my life has been changed and forgiven and loved, and now I can be a light to the world to show them a different, deeper, better way, that the best thing that we can do in this country is not a political move, but a spiritual one where we repent and turn back to God. Amen. But it has to start with us, and it has to start here. Cause if we're being honest. There's a little bit of evil in all of us. A little bit of selfishness in all of us. And at some point, our society has rebelled, rejected against God, and then made the other person the enemy. And so therefore, we attack each other back and forth. Do you understand that was Satan's playbook from the beginning? He starts by getting Eve and and then Adam to doubt the goodness of God. And so they eat of the forbidden tree, they get kicked out of the garden and say, OK, here we go. We start. Do you understand that the first relationships after them ended in murder? Of Cain killing Abel. Of a man created in the image of God killing another person over hatred in their heart. Isn't it crazy that here we are thousands of years later, and we are still living in the exact same way that dates all the way back to Genesis 4. So it has to. Come, yes, at a national level and a personal level and, and get for those get involved. I'm not saying don't get involved in those things. I'm just saying. Like you're not going to be saved by how you vote. There's a deeper thing at play. So those called into the arena for those things in politics, yes, jump in, get in, fight for those truths, be, be the prophet, be the truth teller, go in, right? Go to like do what God's calling you to do, but understand. There are, there are deeper things at play and the deeper issue is the sin and evil in this world that only can be eradicated by the power of the Holy Spirit and the people who believe in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we go into this world, be in the hands and feet of Jesus, to offer love, sacrifice and service, to offer and show people the better way. So how do we respond to evil? One, we gotta remember, The goodness of God, that the only reason that we even understand what evil is, is because it's the opposite of who God is. To, we gotta recognize that we're in a spiritual battle. There are spiritual forces at play. And then 3, we have to remain confident. In God's victory over evil. Here's what I mean. John 16:33, Jesus says, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world, you may have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Then we learn in Colossians chapter 2, verses 13 to 15, he says the record of debt that stood against us. With its legal demands. This he set aside, or sorry, I'm gonna back up. I started reading this verse ahead. And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven all of our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands as he set aside nailing it to the cross. He's Does he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. Here's the thing that we have to remember that no matter how dark our world gets, that God's victory is brighter and will shine for all eternity, that while we live in this world surrounded by suffering, that we have a God who suffered more than anyone possibly could. And that he didn't stay in the grave, that he rose again, and then promised eternal life tomorrow, abundant life today, and that we read this book and we stand more bold, stronger than ever to be strong and courageous in his name, because Satan will not win, evil will not win, suffering is temporary, God is good, and ultimately he reigns and is a victorious forevermore. Amen. What do we do with evil? We gotta remember the goodness of God. We gotta recognize that we're in a spiritual battle, and we gotta remain confident in God's victory. But that leads us to the second question. Because it doesn't change the fact that it's difficult. So what do we do with our grief? What do we do with our grief? Where do we place it? Three thoughts. Number 1, reach up to God. Reach up to God. When Mary and Martha and some others were grieving the loss of Lazarus, their friend, before Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead. The shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, we have this in here that Jesus wept. shows us that Jesus cares for us. We sang to open the service today. So, a song written directly from Psalm 34. In that Psalm, Psalm 34:18, it says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. In Psalm 23, it says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We are walking. Not in the valley of darkness right now. We are walking through the valley right now. And so we have to reach up to the good shepherd, our Lord and Savior, to know that he is with us in this moment. It says in Romans 5:4, it says, for whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of scriptures, we might have hope. The stories of scriptures. are meant to encourage that the God of Scriptures is the same today. And he is in control. Philippians 4:6-7 says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus, even when he was in his earthly ministry, when he was preaching the Sermon on the Mount, we have this passage known as the Beatitudes. Part of that says these words in Matthew 5:3 and 4. It says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. We have to reach up to God. How? Through prayer, through scripture, through music, through confession, through rep repentance, we have to come before him because he changes all things. What do you do with your grief? First, you reach up to God. Second, you gotta reach into community. That if you are suffering, if you are struggling, you do not and should not go through this moment alone. It says in Galatians 6:2 that we are to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. That the great commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is who God has called us to be and what God has called us to do. You're gonna see in the news, you're gonna see in these places, this, this rise of attack back and and division and walls are gonna go up. But the church has an opportunity like never before to shine a light into this darkness and say, what we need more than division, what we need more than distraction is devotion to God. And to turn back to him. And that we can encourage each other in that moment. Do you have community where you are surrounding people and others are surrounding you to connect and help you grow and to strengthen your faith? We have to reach up to God, we have to reach into community. But the third thing is that we have to reach out to others. Cuz there are people that are hurting. And I, and I wanna know like, what are the people who don't have God turning to right now? See, if you are a believer and and you put your faith in God, then earth is the closest thing to hell that you're ever gonna experience, right? Cause you're in a broken world, filled with evil and sin and foolishness. But that's temporary. But if you don't believe in God, Then the reality is this is the closest thing to heaven that people are gonna experience. And that's an issue. Why? Because if you think this place is supposed to be heaven, then we have no idea what to do when things like this happen, do we? And so there is an opportunity right now to come alongside those who have yet to place their faith in God and say, let me show you why I believe what I believe. And you come alongside and you support just as Jesus himself did that. It tells us in Romans here in 1415 here, I think it's actually a reference. I think I messed up the reference on that. I think it's actually Romans 12, but in there it says to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. That as Christians, what do we do with our grief? Number one, take it to God, to repent your own sin, to go to Him in prayer, to lift him up in worship, to read about his strength in this word. To reach into the community, to ask for prayer, to encourage one another in these moments that we can come together as the church, the bride of Christ, the family, the movement of God like never before, that we spark revival, not vengeance, and we come in and we sparked this movement, then that in turn come and reaches out to those around us to serve, to love, to bless, to meet the needs of those who are hurting. And to show this world what the gospel really means. Cause evil is real. Grief is heavy. But Jesus gives us hope. I want to end this morning. With three encouragements. Three prayers, and we're gonna pray for our nation. Number one. Is that when you think back to the things that have happened up to this point. Remember this prayer from 2 Chronicles chapter 7, verse 14. It says, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves. And pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Are we willing To repent Come before God And put him first in our life. Have you put your faith in Jesus? And if you have, but walked away, are you, are you willing to come back? Second encouragement and prayer I want to share with you comes from 2 Timothy 1:7. for today really is this idea that for God to not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. Our society is going to live in fear right now. But as believers, we don't have to. That does not come from God. That we live by the power of the Holy Spirit to be the presence of Jesus to the people around us, that we have the same power that spoke the world into existence, that conquered death on a cross, that experienced the resurrection in life that brought hope and love and peace, that changed. The world as we know it. That is the power we believe in. That is the power that we hold to, because then we also have a spirit of love, that we can love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, love others as Christ first loved us, and that it changes things. And that ultimately, we can have a spirit of self-control, that we can walk and enter any room in which we experience relationship with others, and we can have the control of the spirit of our attitude and our actions, so that we can witness and change and see lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And lastly, a prayer for tomorrow. is to remember here in 2 Corinthians 4:17, that for this light and momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. This is not our home. And this week's events reminded us of that. So I want to end with a prayer. And I want to ask that you would just bow your heads for a moment and close your eyes. But before we do this, because I truly genuinely believe this is the most important thing we can do. Is that if you're sitting in this room, and you are being stirred by the Holy Spirit, that you, you recognize, you know what, John, I need Jesus in my life. I've heard about him. But I've never put my personal faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But I want to do that today. I want my eternity to be secure. I want my life to be transformed. If that's you, with nobody looking around, would you raise your hand up high so I can pray for you? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. In the back, amen. Amen You can put your hands down. I'm gonna pray right now And I want you to pray along with me. There's not magic in these words. But it's the person that we believe in. And so let's pray to Jesus. Dear God, I pray I know that I'm a sinner and I can't make it to heaven on my own. God, I believe in your Son Jesus as Lord and Savior. That when you died on the cross, you took payment for my sins, and by rising again on the 3rd day. God, you provided a way for forgiveness and for eternal life. So I commit my life to you. Thank you for saving me. Come into my life, into my heart. And change how I live so I can do it for you. And now as we continue to pray, Let us pray for our nation right now. Dear Heavenly Father, may we turn. May this be a a a moment of revival in our country, in our nation, that we will turn from these worldly ways back to you, our God, Creator, our Savior, that we commit our families and our lives to you to be the light of the world, that in our grief, we can reach up to you, that in our hearts, we can reach. The community and ultimately, God, we can reach out to meet the needs of the people around us. Then may we see revival break out and may it start in this room. May it start in this community. May it spread throughout our nation in this world, because you are good, and you are glorious and you're victorious, that even in the darkest moments, we cling to the light. Jesus, and we pray for our nation right now. son's name we pray. Amen.