2006. 5. 21 차동빈 목사(4부)  최지훈 전도사(1부)  문형일 전도사(2부)  홍인표 목사(3부)

"Where Are You God? "

2 Timothy 4:9-18

A Strange Ad appeared in a news paper article some time ago. Though it only contained 15 words but it got amazing result, in fact, certainly more affect than the newspaper or even the person who wrote the article ever imagined. It read as follows: “ I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes w/0 any comments for five dollars.” It sounded like a hoax but it was legitimate it was true. The person who wrote the article realized that this was a lonely world and many people had no one to talk to. His desire was not only to make some money but to give an ear to those in need and the need to express them-selves. Some people were so lonely and desperate enough to talk that they called more than once from long distance. Once the Ad remained on the newspaper for several days, this person was receiving 20 to 30 calls each day.

“None but the lonely heart can feel my anguish.” You know there is no other anguish like the anguish of the lonely. There is no other like it:

1. A single person going through a backwash of a rejected romance.
2. A military service men, thousands and thousands of mile at sea.
3. An anonymous in some bar drinking his life away here in Virginia or abroad.
4. A widow who buried a life’s mate and now she sets the table for one and no one to talk to.
5. A teenager tonight who stares at the t.v. set trying to escape from the pains of his home pressures perhaps from drugs, alcohol, sex, or simply a divorce in the family, perhaps.

You see, loneliness strikes the godly as well as the good, the strong as well as the courageous. Those who wrestle with loneliness are not the outcasts or people with problems, but your avg. day person. Are you desperately lonely this afternoon even though we just praised to God?

A.W. Tozer was right when he said, “most of the world’s souls have been lonely.”
“Having lost of all senses of time, I wondered aimlessly along a unknown beach in state of Washington. I was sobbing uncontrollably every step of the way as the sun was going down and darkness closed in. I drop down on the beach completely exhausted for me, the sun had stop shinning! There was only darkness. Where are you God!!! I shouted. Just a brief month before, I would not have believed any true minister of the Gospel would think up such words and I shouted, angrily again and again at the top of his voice. Where are you God?! Anyone who has been broken apart emotionally by some shattering experience. “Death of a love one, financial disaster, a run away son or a daughter, a physical set back and most shattering of all experience is a divorce knows what I mean when I say there was a pain inside of me that cut like a sharp knife. At 31 years old, my life was filled with success and almost all things that I’ve wanted. Now I was a senior pastor at a very successful and one of the largest in our denomination in the state of Oregon. After, I’ve only been there only 13 month, the church has been doubled in all areas and now I as fulfilling some of the dreams that I had. I had a wife whom I loved and been married to since I was a freshmen in college. If anyone would’ve of asked me just a few month earlier, I would of told them, I had the happiest of marriage. I had an 8 year old son who was my pride and joy. Everything I could of wanted in a boy. I had a little girl of 5 yr. of age who had a way of wrapping her fingers around my life. Then that fatal day came in October when my wife told me, “She didn’t love me, she never loved me at all.” She was going to take the children and leave me forever and move 2500 mile away back to her home town in Ohio. She announced to me that I was a loser and I would lose everything. I would lose the privilege of pasturing the church I loved, I would lose the wife whom I cherished and loved, I would lose my beautiful children, there would be nothing left for me. And the following weeks and days I struggle to save the sinking ship but I didn’t prevail. Before ending up on that beach rock bottom, I went four days without food and calling upon God by some miracle, save our marriage. And now as I lay on the beach, the marriage was over. My life as a minister would soon be wrecked. My children would be taken miles away from me. Never before did I have a divorce in my immediate family and I couldn’t see any reason why my family would accept me again. Hey that’s pain! Hey that’s loneliness!

2 Cor. 11:23-24 (Paul’s detailed letter) you can also mark in the margins, loneliness. They pulsate with it ? I’ve been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Hey who bathed his wounds, who took care of him that night, who helped him with the soar-ness the next morning? You can’t take care of your own back. Who took care for him? Who comforted him & said to him “it’s ok we love you for what you are doing. We are in full support. Even though you were canned, you did in the name of God. There was no on who helped him back to health? Across those verses, loneliness forgotten men of whom the earth is not worthy is written.

But the most eloquent of all Paul’s writing about loneliness is found in his last days, in Ch. 4 of 2 Timothy. I think it’s a section we could all identify with if we let our emotions seep through the vs. If we peel off our masks of our own religious looks, if we let the truth show through, we will admit that most of us have felt or feeling truly the lonely times of our lives. It’s about time I said this in front of you, I go through it & I know all of you do too! Isn’t it wondrous that just by getting busy doesn’t solve our loneliness.

Where was Paul when he wrote these words? He was in Mamertine Prison, in Rome. On traveler who was in this place during the summer time wrote these words, “ Descending of the winding staircase, you come finally to a dismal low arched chamber where the Apostle laid bound, waiting to be offered up. Even on a hot summer day, the visitor could sense the constriction of the low ceiling and the dampness of the dungeon.” He concluded by saying, “This is one depressing place!

But this wasn’t summer. It was the fall and it was depressing. Paul under the candle light, no doubt drew out this pen and wrote these words that would live out for centuries. To comfort the lonely in the church for the time to come. When does loneliness strike? Well, I came up with 4 separate occasions and I know there are many more but I limited to 4:

1. First of all, when we are furthered from a cherished friend. Vs. 10,12,14,19.
Hey, I’m alone here. There is nobody around. Notice what he says in vs. 9 and vs. 21 ? do your best to get here before the winter. There is emotion in that. It drips with nostalgia. Hah, the leaves are falling from the trees, it won’t be long before it’s going to be stone cold down here. Get here before winter Timothy. (Tree of isolation is fed by the stream of loneliness) That’s where Paul was. He was all alone. There wasn’t anybody around. Nobody to love him and to put their hands around him and say, “I care about you.” Nobody to say, “Thanks Paul for all you did.” No body, well that’s not all together true because Luke was there. Good old Doctor Luke. He sticks out in vs. 11. But you know doctors aren’t usually too compassionate. They would ask you a lot of questions like, “stick out your tongue?” How do you feel? Ahh, there weren’t anybody to love him. You see, he needed his cherished friends. Somebody that was a soul brother that would say to Paul, “Paul, my heart beats with yours.” You know what I mean. An intimate friends to cure our loneliness cause there aren’t many of them out there.

2. Loneliness strike when our memories bring nostalgic reminders. Busy as I am preaching this message, I’m getting more lonely. I don’t think I could bare this moment. I don’t think I can make it. Loneliness strikes when our memories bring nostalgic reminders and if you are a person of emotions. And especially if you are an artistic kind of a person. You have evolved from lots of emotions. A lot of nostalgic feelings/ look at Paul in vs 16 (what’s he doing? He’s re-living his yester years) You do that when you fell into loneliness. It hits you when you are alone at the beach, walking along the shore line as you hear the crashing of the surf. It’s a sound that reminds you to remember, remember when _______. It’s giving you this pulsating rhythmic feelings and you can’t get away from it. It caves in on you, on the sight of certain things, smell and sounds, it all knocks at your door, telling you to remember, remember, remember.

3. Loneliness strikes also during certain times of the year. Vs. 9 and 21. Hey I can’t take the winter alone. Sir Walter Scott wrote, “November skys chill and drill when November leaves are red.” Scott apparently had troubles with November of his life. I am told by Psychologist that we go through cyclical times in our lives. When bad things happened on a certain date and when that date rolls around next year, we go through a slump in our sub-conscious and our minds will not forget that date. Christmas times are most desperate times on people. In S.F. there are many many more jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge in winter than spring or summer. Certain times of the year or season are especially hard for certain people.

4. Lastly, loneliness comes when we are shelved and forgotten. And I know there hasn’t a person in this room who hasn’t gone through these feelings. You feel shelved and forgotten when your friend says, “get lost.” You feel shelved and forgotten when you boss says, “we don’t need you anymore so you are fired.” You feel shelved and forgotten when your parents says, “You are worthless and turns their back on you.” You feel shelved and forgotten when sea of sickness comes and ruins your health. And you know for me when someone who was once loved the Lord so much and he/she walks away from the Lord.

It’s un-mentionable, we don’t like to talk about it. We want to avoid it and ignore it but there are times when we are shelled and forgotten. Mistreated and ripped off and at those times loneliness comes like a fast flood and we are submerged. And we cry out, where are you God? Loneliness has done a thing on us. Well, thank the Lord and he did not die in doubt but very wonderful things happened to Paul and will happen in loneliness.

And now let’s go to the brighter side of the picture. Couple of things in this section that told me what loneliness does, and are:

1. Loneliness makes us aware of other significance. Often that we felt that others who weren’t very significance before. Vs. 11 ? Mark who John Mark? Yeah. Pick up John mark and Timothy when you come. And you come before winter. Why Paul? Isn’t this the Mark in the days of Barnabas whom you said, “don’t take him for he has deserted us.” That half baked missionary you take him Barnabas. I’m not taking him in his days of success. It was those days when Paul felt like a winner. It was those days, when Paul was at the top. And now he is not, you know where he is now? He is at the bottom. He’s got a whole new mind set about him. Loneliness does that to you!! In the broken and dependence of Him. You suddenly realize person was really significant and this person really fit the body of Christ. Look at the benefit of him or her. Paul even says he is profitable and is helpful to me in my ministry. The guy he wouldn’t travel with, few years before. But he wants him now. I need to see John Mark. Isn’t that good. Isn’t that like God. Intolerant people have never suffered. People who have been riding off. People quickly haven’t been lonely. Oh. Bring Mark, I need him. I really do.

2. It forces us to turn our concerns totally over to God. There is no one else. This isn’t some theory! It is so sweet to trust in Jesus. Vs. 14 ? I’m not going to be out in the beating the bushes for Alexander. The Lord will handle it. Look at vs. 18 He will take care of this and He’ll take care of that. What about your future Paul? He will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him glory for ever and ever amen. That’s it. That’s the bottom line in Christian living. He was at the end of his rope. Death was next on line. You can’t take anything with you. I never saw a hearst pulling a u-haul. When you are gone, you are gone. Paul says, “he’ll take me to his heavenly kingdom and praise God.” Naked I came and naked I shall go.

1. First of all, spending time with intimate friends.
2. Taking care of bodily needs. Vs. 13
3. Stretching the mind with good books vs. 13
4. Spending time in the scripture