Setbacks - 260211

SPEAKER A 00:00:00 - 00:01:13 Hello, I'm Clive Nash. Welcome to Let God Speak. Today our panel will discuss the topic of Setbacks to Faith. I once read the story of a boy who was rescued after a terrible incident at sea. His rescuers found him clinging to a rock. They asked him if he was scared. "Yes," he replied, "I shook all night, but thankfully the rock did not move." Can we find a firm rock in our times of trouble and in the setbacks of life? Saint Paul wrote that troubles can lead to perseverance, character, and hope. What is the firm basis for hope? Let's see if our panel can help us today. We'll be back in just a moment. On our panel today we have Gayl Fong and Harold Harker. Good to have you with us today. SPEAKER B 00:01:13 - 00:01:14 Thank you. Thank you. SPEAKER A 00:01:14 - 00:01:44 I'm looking forward to our discussion. We've worked together before and I know we've had good times in the past. I'm sure the Lord will bless us today. Yeah. Amen. But before we begin, let's take time to pray. Our wonderful Father in heaven, we thank you that you have given us the Holy Spirit to guide our minds, to lead us in the path of truth. And as we discuss this sensitive topic today, I pray that He will speak to our minds and to the minds of those who are listening or viewing. And I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. SPEAKER C 00:01:44 - 00:01:44 Amen. SPEAKER A 00:01:44 - 00:01:58 Amen. Well, you know, it's said that the sun melts the wax but hardens the clay. Harold, how can life's setbacks strengthen us rather than weaken us? SPEAKER C 00:01:58 - 00:03:29 Well, Clive, your introduction gave us a great clue. And let me read it in Romans 5:3-5. And now, sorry, and not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. I don't know that we glory in tribulation, but look where it leads you. It gets you hope, and that's fantastic. Hmm. Now the focus, however, is on the love of God. We recognize that the love of God comes to us and is poured out by the Holy Spirit. But let us not minimize the reality that life can often be hard and it's challenging. But there's an old hymn and it's got great words. And let me read it to you. It says, Take it to the Lord in prayer. In His arms He'll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there. There's always hope and help and love in the arms of God. SPEAKER A 00:03:29 - 00:04:04 Mm, thank you, Harold. That's encouraging. I'm thinking about the story in Mark's Gospel, Mark chapter 4, and I'm going to read verse 35. Just a little context here. Jesus had been talking to the crowds and then He talked to His, just to His disciples alone. And verse 35 of Mark chapter 4 says, "On the same day when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.'" Now, Gayle, do you think He knew beforehand that this was going to be a perilous journey? SPEAKER B 00:04:05 - 00:04:47 Well, most likely, yes, that is, He is God. But I believe that Jesus, he can teach us. He teaches us through life's experiences as well as through instruction. And we see this here in the book of Mark as they're following this instruction and reading verse 7. The Bible says, and a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. So a storm blew up And that storm had blown up so suddenly, as they can do on the Sea of Galilee. I have not been there, but I've read about it. And they used to have to— SPEAKER A 00:04:47 - 00:04:49 I've only been there once and it was dead calm. SPEAKER B 00:04:51 - 00:05:18 Obviously this was different this night. But we often don't get warning about the storms of life. Everything can be going well and then all of a sudden we may get a phone call or there's a knock on the door. So things can come unexpectedly. Unexpectedly. But this does not mean that God is not with us. He said He would actually never leave us nor forsake us. SPEAKER A 00:05:19 - 00:05:26 And that's a wonderful promise. So Harold, what was Jesus doing amongst all of this mele? SPEAKER C 00:05:26 - 00:06:38 Well, in this massive storm, let me read Mark chapter 4 and verse 38. But He, that's Jesus, Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we're perishing?' What a question to ask. Don't you care? The waves around, the wind's blowing, and he's asleep. Well, what confidence that is. But then he gets up and this is what he does. Verse 39 to 41, "Then he," Jesus, "arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'" Wow, what a lesson in the middle of a storm. That you think you might drown, Jesus is asleep and he's safe and we're safe with him too. SPEAKER A 00:06:38 - 00:06:45 Mm. Yeah, so just applying that in our situation, Gayle, do you think there's a lesson of faith here? SPEAKER B 00:06:46 - 00:08:44 Mm. Yes, I'm sure there is here and I'm sure that the disciples, they did what they could actually to maneuver the boat in the storm because there was actually some experienced fishermen amongst themselves. So, and after they'd done all that they could do, then they turned to Jesus. And I do believe we do the same as well. But God does expect us actually to do what we can do, but also we're asking Him to help and guide us as well. But He won't do what we can do ourselves. We need to work with Him. With God, but some situations in life, they're actually beyond our ability to solve them. And so we can turn in faith to Jesus to see us through those very difficult times, and that's where he really does come through. Sure. And just commenting on this experience on the lake, I'm reading in the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 8 and verse 25. The Bible says, then his disciples came to him and awoke him saying, Lord, save us, we are perishing. They've absolutely reached their limit. There's nothing more that they can do. And we see there is a comment in the book Desire of Ages by Ellen White. I may have— it says, as Jesus rested in the Father's care, we are to rest in the care of our Savior. And this is something the disciples were learning. So Matthew's describing this same incident on the lake here as he says, "Lord, save us, we're perishing." And because that was an urgent call for help, and we shouldn't hesitate to cry out to the Lord in our times of absolute despair and distress. SPEAKER A 00:08:44 - 00:09:27 Mm, yes, it reminds me of another incident, you know, the urgent cry of Peter, "Lord, save me." Yes. You know, and God is there to hear our prayer. Now, I think about the next chapter of Mark, chapter 5, a couple of stories of healing here in this, but we want to focus on one particular one. Certainly both of them had great need, but in verse 21, I read here that Jesus crossed over again by boat to the other side, to the west side of the Sea of Galilee, And a great multitude gathered to Him. And one lady in particular, Harold, was waiting there for Him, wasn't she? Mm-hmm. She had a great need. She was, she had a setback in life. SPEAKER C 00:09:27 - 00:10:29 Sure did. Let me read it. Mark 5:25-26. Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for 12 years and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. Now she had at least two problems. She was sick. She was ill. She'd found no healing at all with all the doctors she could find. They'd taken her money. She couldn't even go to the synagogue to worship because she was unclean. And here she is, Poor. She's not well. She's spiritually deprived. And she had heard about Jesus. Wow. And His power to heal. And she thought, against all odds, I'm going to have faith in this man. And she went towards Him. SPEAKER B 00:10:29 - 00:10:29 Mm-hmm. SPEAKER A 00:10:29 - 00:10:33 Yeah. And I'm sure she would have been anemic too. You know, another one of the things. SPEAKER C 00:10:33 - 00:10:33 Correct. SPEAKER A 00:10:34 - 00:10:56 With this loss of blood over a long period of time. And Harold, you spoke about her faith. Mark 5:28, for she said, "If only I might touch His clothes, I shall be well." Great expression of confidence. So Gayl, was her faith rewarded? SPEAKER B 00:10:56 - 00:12:17 It certainly was. And the Bible goes on to say in Mark 5:29, Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. So to actually go forward and to be part of that crowd and to get so close and touch the garment of Jesus, she had to defy tradition to do what she could do. And the Andrews Study Bible makes a good point here and says, she was in the in the same category as actually a leper. That this woman would press through the crowd, thus defiling many, and intentionally touch Jesus shows her desperation, faith, and hope. And she really went for that. But we notice these qualities. We notice desperation. Faith and hope. And maybe someone we know, or maybe ourselves, we can identify with those attributes. And there is hope for healing of body and soul in Jesus. SPEAKER A 00:12:17 - 00:12:23 Amen. So Harold, just can you expand on this? How, how was her faith rewarded? SPEAKER C 00:12:23 - 00:13:31 Well, Mark tells us in chapter 5 and verse 30, "And Jesus immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, 'Who touched My clothes?'" Wow. She had reached out in faith and she'd just be able to touch His clothes, but she felt the miracle of healing Immediately. And Jesus knew he'd been touched. And it was the touch of this woman. It was different from the jostling of the crowd. You know, some take the name of Jesus very casually, almost in swearing. But God knows how we relate to Jesus. He can tell the difference when we come in faith. And we're going to believe on Him and we claim His promises in the Name of Jesus. And He gives the answer. He'll give the hope and the courage that we need for every situation. Mm. SPEAKER A 00:13:31 - 00:13:46 Amen. Yes. And He was able to say to her, "Go in peace." Gave her not only a healing of the body, but there was something about the mind there too, wasn't it? Settling her mind. So Gayl, Are the promises of Jesus still valid today? SPEAKER B 00:13:48 - 00:15:34 Yes, his promises are absolutely sure. And just reading this promise in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28, Jesus actually says, 'Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' And over the many years I've endeavoured to take God at his word. And I think of a particular time in my life when I was a new mum. I had one little one and I had another little one, and they're both under the age of 2. And I remember feeling very overwhelmed with the responsibility and also wanting them to grow up and to be part of God's kingdom and to actually have Jesus as their friend and savior. This was my heart's desire. My husband was very busy and perhaps at that stage was not on the same page as I was, so I was quite fearful about this. And there was a song in the Heritage Singers I used to sing, learning to lean, learning to lean, I'm learning to lean on Jesus, finding more power than I've ever dreamed, learning to lean on Jesus. And basically that to me is this verse: I come to him, come to Jesus, all you who labor and are heavy laden. And I laid my rest upon Jesus and I found him to be my strength. And I've always been leaning on him all through raising our girls, and I lean on Him for everything. And I have to say, God is good. SPEAKER A 00:15:34 - 00:15:35 Amen. Yes, yes, He is. SPEAKER B 00:15:35 - 00:15:46 And I just praise Him for His strength and His power and His peace that actually came to me many times as I'd give my burden to Jesus. SPEAKER C 00:15:46 - 00:15:47 Yes. SPEAKER A 00:15:47 - 00:16:05 Yes. Yes, God is a strong tower we can run to, isn't He? Amen. You know, when I think about setbacks in the Bible, particularly stories in the Bible. There's one character, Harold, that comes to my mind, that is the oldest book in the Bible, Job. So life wasn't fair to him, was it? SPEAKER C 00:16:05 - 00:18:33 No, it wasn't fair. In fact, he was well off. But let me read Job 1 and the first verse 14 to 17. And a messenger came to Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away. Indeed, they've killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone escaped to tell you.' And while he was still speaking, another came and said, 'The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants 'And consumed them. And I alone have escaped to tell you.' And while he was still speaking, another came and said, 'The Chaldeans formed 3 bands. They raided the camels and took them away. Yes, they killed the servants with the edge of the sword. And I alone have escaped to tell you.' He's lost everything. But it wasn't enough. Satan then says, "Hey, let me read on." It says in verse 18 and 19, "While he was still speaking, another came and said, 'Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's home. Suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, And they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you. He's lost everything. He's lost his family. But then Satan has another go and tries to attack his health. Here it is in Job 2:7. Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Wow. Grief after grief. And they call this grief overload or cumulative grief. You know, you can handle one or two little things, but here they come, major setbacks, and they happen too often. We can lose stability quickly when that happens. Job is the prime example who copped it all at once. SPEAKER A 00:18:34 - 00:18:48 You know, when I have a burden or facing a difficulty, I speak to my wife, you know, we counsel together. Gayl, how did Job get on with his wife? SPEAKER B 00:18:49 - 00:19:18 Well, the Bible says a little different here. Unfortunately, she did not have the faith to hold on to through these personal family tragedies. And actually, in a crisis, faith is tested and character is tested. And we can understand, perhaps, you know, I can understand in a way her reaction because here she's lost her children as well, all of her children. SPEAKER A 00:19:18 - 00:19:20 It's not just his children, it's her children. SPEAKER B 00:19:20 - 00:20:06 Combined they had 10 children, which is— It would have been a wonderful family. But the Bible says how she responds in Job 2:9, "Then his wife said to him, 'Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die.'" So life can deal some very hard times that can produce, despair, and you'd have to say she's actually in large despair here, um, and this despair can lead to thinking that life is not worth living anymore. And but unfortunately, that's what she was telling Job. SPEAKER A 00:20:06 - 00:20:11 Yeah, now Harold, Job had friends. They would have been a help to him, wouldn't they? SPEAKER C 00:20:11 - 00:21:15 Sometime, but not this time. Bildad came, and this is what he said in chapter 8, verse 4, "If your sons have sinned against Him," that's God, "He's cast them away for their transgression." Wow. And then it tells me as I lead it, read over in chapter 18 and verse 21, "Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and in the place of him who does not know God." He virtually says, They don't know God. And then in verse, chapter 23, this is the real answer. This is Job's answer. But he, that's God, he knows the way that I take. When he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. Job's faith was the answer. Whatever came, and you couldn't have it worse than Job did, he still had faith that God would be there. SPEAKER A 00:21:15 - 00:22:06 Yeah, I'd like to jump over to another story where this, I guess, was a discouraging event for Cleopas and the other disciple, possibly Cleopas' wife. In Luke chapter 24, it told a story there about how they were going from Jerusalem about 7 miles, 11 kilometers down to Emmaus. It was after the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus. And they were a bit perplexed, you know, what's going on here? And Jesus came alongside them, but they didn't know who he was, and explained the scriptures to them. So Gayl, what was the state of mind of these two disciples in view of what happened that weekend? SPEAKER B 00:22:07 - 00:24:53 Well, they had suffered a blow because Jesus was crucified that weekend and doubts were arising in their minds. Was he truly the looked-for Messiah? They had misunderstood his mission. And we just read in Luke chapter 24, verse 21, when they say, 'But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.' So they expressed their doubts to Jesus, not knowing who he was. And then we read on, 'Yes, and certain women of our company Verse 22 to 24. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it was just as the women had said, but him they did not see. So what did Jesus do? He gives them a Bible study, and we read on in verse 25 to 27, "Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So a little later, as they recognized Jesus by the way that he broke bread, but the interesting thing is if they hadn't really encouraged him to stay, he would have never stayed because Jesus is a gentleman, but they invited him. He came. He came in and as He broke the bread, they recognized this was Jesus. At that moment though, He vanishes, vanishes from their sight. But suddenly now their pessimism is turned to joyous confidence and they rush back to Jerusalem going over the same route that they had walked ever so carefully to share their experience. With other disciples. And really, this is the greatest joy because their doubt is turned to belief because Jesus is risen and risen indeed. SPEAKER A 00:24:53 - 00:25:04 Amen. Harold, I'm going to skip down to another thought here I have in my notes, and that is, when there's trouble, pressures outside of us, can we have peace within us? SPEAKER C 00:25:06 - 00:25:26 Yes, absolutely. This verse is the answer. Romans 8:28, "We know that all things," that's good and bad, "work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." So with God, there's the answer at every time you like. SPEAKER A 00:25:27 - 00:25:44 Mm. And Gayl, one further thought. I think about Saint Paul, for example. You know, he got beaten and stripes and imprisoned and so on. With all the things that he went through, what do you think sustained him during those troubles? SPEAKER B 00:25:45 - 00:26:04 There's a verse in Romans chapter 8 and verse 18, and it says, 'For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. So he was continually looking to Jesus. SPEAKER A 00:26:04 - 00:26:04 Yes. SPEAKER B 00:26:04 - 00:26:06 Yeah. Continually looking up. SPEAKER A 00:26:06 - 00:26:11 And Harold, just briefly, I'm sure you've had some setbacks in life. What's carried you through them? SPEAKER C 00:26:11 - 00:26:38 Well, I get this promise from Hebrews, it really has helped me. Let me get it to you. Hebrews 10 and verse 23, let us hold fast hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. God is faithful. He'll give you the answer in bad times and good. Powerful promise. SPEAKER A 00:26:38 - 00:26:54 Thank you very much. My guests today were Harold Harker and Gayl Fong. I want to thank you for your contributions to our discussion today. I've really enjoyed if we can say enjoyed a difficult topic, you know, but I have been blessed by it myself. SPEAKER C 00:26:54 - 00:26:54 Amen. SPEAKER A 00:26:54 - 00:28:00 You know, setbacks, we have them. Every one of us have had setbacks in our lives and comparing our troubles with those of others does not necessarily help. Even saying to ourselves that others are worse off than I am brings little comfort. What does bring us strength is relying on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Turning to the sure promises of the Bible, you can be assured that in any setback, Jesus loves you. He longs to comfort you, to strengthen you, and ultimately to welcome you into his eternal kingdom. Well, we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. If you're blessed by this program, why not tell your friends? Remember, all past programs plus teachers' notes are available on our website, 3abnaustralia.org.au. Email us as you wish at [email protected]. God bless until next time. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.