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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Flip the Script

K'dee Elsen Crews

01 How Bible “Buts” Change Trials Into Triumph

It is a blessing to be here and it is a blessing to share this evening a three-part series.

Well, tonight won't be all 3 parts, but this weekend, 3 parts of a message that's been on my heart to give you a little bit of context to the inspiration and motivation behind this three-part series.

Some of you may have been there at the last UIC, a conference for youth, where I gave a five-part series And when I was giving this particular talk, I had an odd experience.

I don't know if you've ever experienced this before.

I've had this primarily when singing, where you're singing something and you're able to think a different thought.

How in the world am I saying something or singing something and thinking something different?

When I was sharing this message, I was sharing the words, and then it's as if everything slowed down, and I heard the words for myself.

And as I heard these words, I was touched.

And I remember thinking, wow, God's word is so beautiful.

Again, odd, because I was continuously speaking as I was praising God in my mind.

And I just remember thinking, Wow, I had prepared for weeks and maybe even months those talks, but I had never seen until that moment how the Holy Spirit brought it all together.

And so I said in my mind in that moment, I want to share this again.

And so I'm excited, I'm elated to share this three-part series with you all.

Have you ever experienced trauma, gone through a trial, faced pain and suffering?

I want you to take a look around you and notice this is a human universal experience.

Pain, suffering, trials, tribulations, we all go through it.

Now what is the most common response that we have when we go through suffering?

A common universal response, even for non-Christians, is to ask the question why.

When I used to work here in the medical center with palliative care, serious and terminally ill patients, many of them did not identify as Christians, maybe even atheists at times, and it was this natural response, why?

And not just why, but sometimes we'd see multiple versions of these why questions.

Why do bad things happen, especially to good people?

It's almost as if these are innate questions that we ask when suffering.

Now, specific to Christians, we tend to ask this question.

I can't feel you, I can't sense your presence.

Not just when we ourselves are experiencing difficulties, but how do we respond when others are going through difficult times?

We would hope that we would respond with the Bible, but many times I like to say we respond with Bible Band-Aids.

Now you might say, what are Bible Band-Aids?

If you think about if we're having a deep wound, Is a band-aid sufficient for a deep wound?

So many times we may respond in these ways.

These are some examples of Bible band-aids.

Hopefully you've never said this, but maybe you've experienced that response.

Bad things don't happen to us as Christians.

Now, there is some truth in these statements, But again, sometimes these are quick little band-aids that we use when we're experiencing deep, deep anguish.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of these responses?

Many times, there's many reasons, but many times it's a way to explain away the experience and the emotions.

Many times we don't feel comfortable to respond to people when they're suffering.

And so we wanna throw a quick little verse out, or maybe wanna throw a quick little bandaid, but we don't realize that the Bible actually has responses for these questions.

So how do we correctly apply the Bible for strength and healing?

This series, we're going to be learning how to apply God's word in 2 ways.

In 1 way, we're gonna be studying biblical passages, both in parts 1 and 2, of biblical characters who have struggled, who have experienced trials and tribulations and trauma, and we will see how they ask these questions or how they receive answers to their difficulties.

But then on Sabbath afternoon, we'll be taking a direct approach to answering the question why by studying the great controversy.

But many times we don't go even deep enough into the great controversy.

And then we don't apply it to our own lives.

What does it mean about this big cosmic conflict when I myself am struggling?

So we'll have parts 1 and 2 today, looking at biblical stories, and then part 3, not today, today and tomorrow, and then the afternoon looking at the why question and the great controversy.

Now instead of using Bible band-aids, the Bible has a different approach to answering the question why.

There's a theme that happens in the Bible.

It's quite fascinating that the Bible uses a lot of buts.

Looking at the definition of but, there's many, but I'm going to hone into the first 1.

Buts can be used to introduce a phrase or a clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned.

For example, you may, hopefully you haven't heard this before, but sometimes in arguments people say, I like you, but I can't stand you right now.

It negates what was said before, the I love you or I like you, all people hear is I can't stand you.

Instead of using Bible band-aids to explain away an experience, It allows the person to express their anguish, to express their deep sorrow, and then there's a but, it gets flipped, and then we can have the answer to our why.

So instead of explaining away, it flips the script into victory.

So today's presentation, part 1, is entitled, Flip the Script, How Bible Butts Change Trials into Triumph.

Here are some examples of some of my favorite Bible buts to illustrate the point and you'll start seeing hopefully this pattern in your own Bible study.

Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.

It doesn't just throw a quick band-aid, don't weep.

It says weeping does happen, but joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 34, the righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers them from all.

Notice it acknowledges the many troubles.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

You're expecting God to come for condemnation, but he comes for salvation.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, so 1 might possibly dare to die, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

It's posing this question, you know, we would barely or rarely die for a good person, and then God flips the script and says, I didn't just die for a righteous person while we were yet sinners.

Not sinners who repented, but in the act of sinning.

02 How Bible “Buts” Change Trials Into Triumph

What wasn't mentioned is, yes, I'm an alumni of Loma Linda University, but I'm also an alumni of Advent Hope, both as an attendee and serving as a leader.

Some of the most precious years of my life were here in Loma Linda and here at Advent Hope.

And so it is a blessing to be here, here at Advent Hope, but also an absolute blessing and privilege to share.

I shared my testimony here once and I shared that I'm an introvert.

And so speaking isn't something that I enjoy, but I do enjoy it from the perspective of when you start to get to know God, as you start to fall in love with God and his word, It's kind of like the experience of Jeremiah where he says, it's like fire in my bones and I can't hold back.

And I just wanna say 1 more prayer before we begin to ensure God's presence here with us.

Father in heaven, I pray for you to touch my lips that every word that comes out comes from you, from your throne of grace.

And Lord, I pray that you can tailor this message to each person here today.

I know that we all struggle in different ways, but Lord, you see all and you care deeply for us and you desire to come next to us, comfort and strengthen us.

So Lord, may you be here present in a very tangible way.

If you weren't here last night, I'll be fair and do a quick review, but I often have the difficulty of over-preparing because I get so excited, and so I don't want to spend too much time on the review.

Have you ever gone through a trial, experienced trauma, faced pain and suffering?

And we have quite more few people here today, so take a look around.

Now, when it happens to us, we're kind of almost shocked and act as if it's not, but It's a universal human experience to experience these things.

Now, another aspect to the universal reality of suffering is that we often respond in a very common way.

Whether for yourself or someone else, I shared a little bit about when I worked in the hospital, even atheists, non-Christians would ask this question.

And not just this question, but we see this question in different forms.

These are questions that we wrestle with when we're struggling.

Now, Christians typically not only have the why question, but the where are you God?

You may be strong in your faith, but yet it's a natural desire to question where are you God?

Now how do we typically respond in those cases?

Whether it's ourselves struggling or a friend comes to us and shares their struggles, we typically respond not just with a Bible, but what I like to call Bible band-aids.

These are quick little verses or phrases that we use to quickly push away these experiences.

Just pray more, have more faith, or God is testing you.

Maybe there's something wrong with your faith then.

God is in control, Everything happens for a reason.

Hopefully you didn't say these in an inopportune moment, but we often hear these and they're not very helpful.

Now there's some truth in these, but Many times the purpose of these statements are to explain away the experience and the emotions.

We feel uncomfortable with those deep sorrow and anguish and difficult emotions, so we try to explain them away.

But the Bible shows us something differently.

How do we correctly apply the Bible for strength and healing?

This is a question that we'll be addressing through this 3 part series, starting last night, today, and then this afternoon.

Yesterday and today, we're looking at biblical characters and how they wrestled with these experiences and how they received answers, and then this afternoon, we'll be directly answering this through a great controversy perspective.

Instead of Bible band-aids, the Bible has a very interesting way of dealing with suffering.

And apparently yesterday When I said this, my niece, almost 5, started laughing.

But when you start studying God's word, you'll start seeing it everywhere.

There is an expression of agony, an expression of sorrow, And God allows us to express that.

And then there's a but, and that but flips the script.

So here's a definition, let's zoom in on the first 1, that buts are used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned.

I used the example last night that you may have heard before, I love you, but I can't stand you right now.

It negates what was said prior to the statement.

Even though it still may be true that I love you, but I'm focusing on the part that I can't stand you right now.

This is what God uses in his word to help us express, but then use a but to forget our past experiences and to hold on to the victory that he gives us in the moment.

So today's presentation is entitled, part 2, Flip the Script, How Bible buts can change our trials into triumph.

Now, a prerequisite to this, as well as last night, is I need you all to use your imagination.

And I say that because too often we read God's word over and over again, the same biblical stories, maybe you heard them as a child, and it loses its power and meaning.

So I'm asking you to please use your imagination to the point where I hope that you can have almost like a virtual reality experience today to really imagine the details of this story.

Because what they have gone through is written for us.

Because we will, there's nothing new under the sun, we will experience these things for ourselves.

And we act as if it's new, but someone walked before you, and God gave them responses to help us today.

We'll be using this framework, God's will, God's when, and God's ways.

Because when we go through trials, we often only consider God's will, and we question why God?

But sometimes we don't realize that His will may be different, or sometimes His when, or sometimes His ways.

So just so we recap, we first looked at Daniel 3, the story of the 3 Hebrew boys in the midst of the fire, and We saw that God's will was to deliver them, but the when was different.

Instead of saying, God, deliver me from the fire, I don't wanna go in the fire, God delivered them in the midst of the fire, which tells us if you're ever complaining and whining, saying, God, where are you?

God may be delivering you in the trial itself.

And not just that, but God teaches us, what do you want more, the deliverance or Jesus himself?

And For me, I would take the fire if Jesus is in the fire.

Because imagine, we might say, I don't want the fire, but then you didn't get Jesus either.

We realized that the reason why God allowed that was not just for the 3 Hebrew boys, It was God's intentional way of reaching the king, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonians.

And we see that especially in chapter 4, where we see God humbles King Nebuchadnezzar.

Chapters 1 to 4, God is pursuing King Nebuchadnezzar.

And sometimes we think a trial is all about us, but God's ways are higher.

And then we looked at 2 Corinthians 12, this one's a powerful 1, because this 1 is very confusing for us, where we say, God, Paul was a righteous man.

And it says he pleaded 3 times for the thorn in his flesh to be taken.

We'd expect it to have been, yes, of course.

But it says he responds in saying, my grace is sufficient.

And if it was us, we would have said, I don't want your grace, I want the healing.

But do we want the healer more than the healing?

Then we see God's ways were higher, not just for Paul.

He knew Paul could endure it, and instead of removing it, he strengthened him to bear it.

03 Questions for Healing: How the Bible Answers the “Why” of Suffering

I don't know if you caught it, but in the first song, what was the song that we sang?

My hope is after parts 1 and 2, you will start noticing buts in your Bible studies, in these songs, as an encouragement, no matter what we go through, to flip the script.

For this afternoon, we are gonna continue answering these questions of why, but we're gonna take a different approach instead of looking at biblical characters and their stories, we're gonna be taking a great controversy perspective to answering the questions why.

When we're struggling, we're wrestling, we want answers.

But before we get good answers, we need to ask good questions.

And not just questions, but really sincerely asking them, searching for those answers.

Now what's interesting about this, I was reading this book given to me by a client, 1 client that often gives me books and doesn't read them himself.

Very simple, but profound book called Jesus is the Question, the 307 Questions Jesus Asked and the 3 He Answered.

Many times we think about Jesus as the answer man.

But when you study the approach of Jesus, he actually asks a lot more questions than gives as answers.

So for example, as highlighted in the title, he asked 307 questions, he's only asked 183, and only directly answers 3 of those.

If you think about that, Jesus is 60 times more likely to ask a question than he is to give an answer.

We think about Jesus as an answer man, but instead he is the great questioner.

So we can learn from him to say, well, I too need to then ask questions.

What were Jesus's first recorded words in the gospels?

In Luke chapter 2, he says, why do you seek me?

To his parents, did you not know that I must be about my father's business?

Jesus's first recorded words are questions.

Some of his last words were, why, Why have you forsaken me?

So we see the 2 bookends of Jesus asking questions, and then there's so many questions in between.

Some, if we were really to analyze, would seem almost like dumb questions.

He goes to a man at the pool of Bethesda and he says, do you want to be made whole?

Seems a little simple and obvious, the answer.

Of course, I've been here 38 years struggling.

But Jesus asks questions, some seemingly obvious, why?

Answers can help, but questions can be more helpful.

Notice, again, with this theme of Bible band-aids versus butts and questions, band-aids are quick little responses instead of entering into a deep experience.

You notice here in questions, what do we find?

We find that there is a quest, a journey that we go on for those answers.

A quest is a journey to search for something valuable.

And as you search, the search itself is transformative.

Maybe when you've questioned and wrestled with God, why, why, why?

You may get closer to God in that journey of searching for that answer.

Maybe you're wrestling with God, God, should I have this job?

Many times we search through the word, we counsel with others, and we don't realize the journey itself of searching is transformative.

I love this quote, The goal is not to communicate knowledge, but to elicit new understanding in the listener.

Information is not the goal, transformation is.

If you notice, Every great teacher, ancient and present, asks a lot of questions.

Socrates, for example, we get the term in psychology, Socratic questioning.

Many times people think therapy is a lot about giving advice, it's actually not.

A lot of it is asking questions to elicit not information, but transformation.

God wants us to journey with him, engage and collaborate with him, to enter into a deeper relationship with him.

We don't really want to wrestle with God in that journey.

God wants a journey with us, engage and collaborate.

And so when we ask these questions, why me, why God, why suffering, why do bad things happen?

We have to make sure that we're actually asking those questions.

I alluded to it earlier that they're universal questions.

And I think 1 purpose of them being universal is that God actually designed us to ask questions.

You see this with kids as they start to grow.

I had to apologize to my sister because I taught my niece the question why.

That's a very annoying question when you're growing to parents.

Because we are designed, God designed us to love questions.

And part of the why questions is also Because we are designed for justice.

And so when something happens against our design, we naturally question why.

I was talking with someone earlier about grief.

We know death is coming and yet we question why we wrestle with it.

Because we were designed for a reality of eternity.

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Flip the Script

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