Hey everyone!
September 16th, 2008 Posted in family, questions, sermonsI spoke this last weekend at church for the first time since Christopher’s early departure to heaven. I asked everyone to indulge me for a couple of weeks as I essentially preached messages to myself.
This coming Sunday, September 21, I plan to speak on the topic of heaven. What is heaven really like? What will we do when we are there? How should the truth that we will go to heaven one day affect us here on earth?
“Where were you, Lord?”
But my message title for this last Sunday was “Where Were You, Lord?” It was based on John 11, which is the story of the unexpected death of Lazarus and the inevitable grief that followed. It is a story where Jesus showed how He can be glorified through the toughest of circumstances, even the death of a loved one.
To watch the message, click here.
Here is an excerpt from what I said:
So Lazarus had died.
When Jesus finally did come to town, Mary confronted Him with these words: “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died!” (John 11:21)
Pretty brash words. Have you ever felt that way?
- “Where were you, Lord?”
- “Where were you when my marriage dissolved?”
- “Where were you when my parents divorced?”
- “Where were you when my child went astray?”
- “Where were you when my loved one died?”
Notice that Jesus did not reprove Martha for what she said. This is a good reminder to us to know that it is not sinful to tell God how you feel.
Look at the Psalms, as David honestly cries out to God. He would honestly cry in his pain: “‘O God my rock,’ I cry, ‘Why have you forsaken me? Why must I wander in darkness, oppressed by my enemies?’ Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound. They scoff, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” (Psalm 42:9-10 NLT)
Then he corrects himself and says: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 42:11 NLT)
Sometimes I preach to myself. I have done this many times. In my pain, I will cry out to God.
I won’t tell you what I say, because that is between God and me. But sometimes when the reality of my son’s death hits me, all I can say is, “Oh God!”
But then I will preach to myself! I’ll say, “Greg, your son is more alive than he has ever been and he is in God’s presence right now and you will see him again!”
Even Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
But the key is that He prayed, “My God, My God . . . ”
The point is we must pray! You can fault Mary and Martha all you want, but they brought their doubts to Jesus!
It’s not wrong to verbalize your questions, even your doubts. The problem is when you withdraw from God and others, when you become angry and bitter and won’t pray at all.
Through all of this, I have cried out to God. Not because I am so strong and spiritual, but because I am so weak and in need.
Cry out to the Lord!
Has tragedy or calamity befallen you? Cry out to the Lord!
When calamity befell him, dear old Job was devastated. We all remember the fact that he worshipped God, saying, “Naked I came into this world, and naked shall I return there . . . Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21 NKJV).
Why did this happen?
Another issue I raised in this message was the “Why” question. Why did this happen?
I will deal with that in my next blog entry. God bless you all.
Good Morning Greg and family!
Last Sunday, as we were both watching the service, we had noticed that you are like a storm, breaking through the clouds of grief. Becoming stronger everyday. Your message was powerful and to the point, yet I know that your grief is still so very real.
Later in the week, we were watching TBN and you were on there with Raul Ries and Pastor Chuck. Something came out to the effect of, “had you both not become Christians, (referring to yourself and Raul) you both would probably have been dead.” The moment that that was stated, the look on your face had changed to probably a reflection of what you have yourself recently been going through. I think that in times of tragedy we all tend to go through times of personal inspection of what we can do to change our own lives. As a teacher, I find myself doing the same when lessons don’t go well and I am sure, that is how a person should be with whatever type of work we do as referring to earthly issues. I think at times, most of us would have been dead had not Christ interceded through strange events within our lives.
Be thankful for the times of reflection. We pray that as you prepare your message, people will realize that Heaven is a very real place. I personally have dreams about heaven and about friends and family that have gone before me. It seems very exciting to know that we will all be their very soon. Be assured, you are on the right path and God inspired within your teaching.
God Bless you,
Rosemary Scott and Shelley Smith
Pastor Greg -
It was wonderful to see you this last Sunday, and the message was perfect! You know we all love you dearly. I see you every Sunday, and with all that has happened the last couple of months, we have got to know you personally.
Your Lost Boy book and DVD are great. It is hard to expose your life, but you did such a great job telling us about your rough upbringing. That book has helped me a lot.
To be honest, when I heard that Chris went to Heaven, that day….I took it very hard, like it was my own family member. I felt like Job’s friends when they were walking up to see him and they saw the condition Job was in and they ripped their garments. That is how I felt. And I know lots of people felt the same way. We grieve with you and pray for you. We just plain ole love ya Pastor Greg.
Thanks for all the sermons you have given, that always seem directed to me. I really love Harvest, and God Bless our church and congregation and your whole family.
In His Honor,
Cari
Hi Pastor Greg!
I heard you say last Sunday (and again in your latest blog) that you hoped that we would “indulge” you as you preach the next couple of weeks on topics that you’re dealing with. Please know that we are not indulging you – we are family! We are concerned with the things that concern you and are honored that you would share these things with us. I have attended Harvest for the past 20+ years and have been blessed, along with so many others, by your teaching that is powerful and applicable because it stems from what the Lord is showing you.
BTW, I know that so many say that Harvest is a big church and that people can “get lost” in it. I suppose that can be true, but the minute you get involved, the church becomes small. And that was proven, once again, on July 27th. When you, Jonathan and Don McClure spoke, it felt as if we were all sitting together in your living room grieving as a family together. As hard as it was, it felt good to be with family.
Please don’t ever stop indulging us.
Blessings,
Paige
Dear Greg and family,
I am a 37-year-old widow. My husband died unexpectedly four years ago when we were both only 33. How my heart aches for you. Please know that I am praying for each of you as you wrestle with your grief. I am especially praying for you, Brittany, as I have journeyed the path you are on. I am hurting with you and covering you in prayer.
Praying fervently,
Monica Hodges
Psalms 5:1-3
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God: for unto Thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Still praying.
I cannot say that I understand the pain, but being one that is going through a severe test now I can somewhat feel some of it.
I listened to your message and my heart went out to you, and as you ministered it took my heart off my current problems. You blessed me and my wife. There is nothing that I can say that you did not cover, but I ask that you cry out to Jesus. He knows and will carry you through this. Always know and trust that your son is with Jesus, and that something good is going to come out of this because God is always in control.
Sincerely,
Conrad
Pastor Greg,
It was so great to see you this past Sunday. The message was wonderful…as always I was touched. Thanks for all the amazing work you do. You and your family continue to be in my prayers. God bless:)
Pastor Greg,
As far as I am concerned, you can preach to yourself anytime you need to. We, the church, are getting the message also. Whatever helps you through this difficult time, is what it should be. We are just so glad to have you back. You have given the church so much with your teachings, and whatever it takes to give you comfort, is fine with me. Again I say, God bless you.
Pastor Greg,
Why do we weep, when our loved ones pass from this world of pain and suffering to heaven where there is none, where our loved ones are perfected, where they have the ultimate total joy, where they can actually see God face to face and a place we desire and long to be? Throughout the years, as our children grow, we are sad when they are sad, we hurt when they hurt, we cry when they cry and we rejoice when they rejoice. As parents we spend our whole life trying to give our children the best of everything, and everything we didn’t have.
When they finally achieve and receive the ultimate love, joy, peace and happiness (heaven), something we could never give them, then why do we weep? Should we not be rejoicing, praising and thanking God?
I know I was weeping, because you were hurting and there was nothing I could do to remove the pain but, pray for you. However, I was not weeping for Christopher, because he was in heaven. How could I weep for someone who has the best of the best? Something so good, I can’t even imagine how good it really is. Is not our weeping truly for ourselves? Are we not truly weeping for what we have lost?
In John 11:35, I believe Jesus wept because they had lost their true joy because of death, a joy that was given to them by God. In other words, they were robbed of their joy by death. I am confused at our humanity, a mystery I will not understand until I see God face to face.
I will continue to pray for you, your family, Brittany and her family. May the Lord richly bless you all.
Love your brother in Christ,
Joel Charbonnet
Dear Pastor Greg,
My family has been attending Harvest for over four months now, and it is great. I know God brought us here, because I have finally found a connection between my mind and heart here at Harvest. I have come to love you and your family and my heart goes out to you in this time of mourning. My prayers are for you and your family daily, especially Brittany. My heart ached for her loss the most. I cannot even imagine the pain all of you are going through. I just wanted to say that my family and I will continue to pray for you and yours, and that all of you have been an example to all that have the privilege of hearing you speak.
Amanda Garcia
We all truly enjoyed your message this past Sunday! I was personally touched by it. Your family is always in my prayers.
Natalee Lopez
Dear Greg,
I wanted to let you know that that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. My father passed away on August 7, 2008. Reading your blog page has been very helpful. Air 1 Plays a song by a group named Pilar and there is a verse in their song where they talk about how they are always smiling down on you and they are holding the hand of Jesus. What a wonderful thought to think about.
Love, and God bless you.