God is Still God, and God is Still Good

I preached this message this morning in memory of Zac Smith. I hope it will be an encouragement to you.

Text: Matthew 19:16-17a: And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.

Intro: In Matthew 19, people had brought their children to see Jesus and the disciples tried to keep them away. But Jesus rebuked the disciples and told them to let the children come to Him. Jesus showed His love for the children, by hugging them, holding them, blessing and praying for them. While all this is going on a wealthy young man comes to Jesus and asks what thing he could do to earn eternal life. He didn’t understand that you cannot buy or do any good work to get salvation. It cannot be purchased, and you cannot do anything good enough to deserve it. You have to accept it as a free gift, much like these children that came in their innocence to see Jesus and accepted Him as He was.

But before addressing his question, Jesus addressed the rich man’s salutation. When the young man greeted Jesus he said, “Good Master.” Jesus then replied, “Why do you call me good? There is only one that is good, and that is God.” Now Jesus pointed out two things in His answer. One, if He is good, then He is God, and two, God is definitely good.

For some people that’s a hard proposition to accept. When you look at all the trouble in the world today you can’t help but wonder what is going on. ISIS, terrorism, Christians beheaded, Nepal earthquake, China threatening the stability of the Southeast Asian region, crime, disease, where does it all stop? The atheists, the critics, the skeptics, the unbelievers, those who reject Christ will mockingly say, “Where is your God now?” “Why does He allow evil like ISIS and other terrorist groups to exist?”

When the trials come into our own lives and our homes, when we struggle with sick children, no job or income, when we can’t seem to find an answer for our problems they say, “How can a loving God allow these things to happen?” “You foolish Christians, what meaning of life do you find in your God who allows this to happen to you when you have faithfully worshipped Him?” Sometimes it’s hard for us not to ask the same questions.

I. When Ruth Nayve was diagnosed with cancer, we all prayed for her and begged God to heal her, and to meet their financial obligations which were excessively high. He did. But just as she ended her chemotherapy and was recovering her mother came down with cancer, and then her father had a paralyzing stroke. Just when it seemed like things were looking good for Ruth, they became worse for her family. Who could blame them if they were to wonder when it will all end? When will it be enough?

II. When Pastor Terry Overstreet, whom we prayed for this morning, and I met in college, we were young, and strong, and athletes. I played baseball; he had been offered a scholarship to play football at the University of Maryland. We both loved the New York Yankees! He gave it up to follow God’s call into the ministry. I chased my baseball dream and when I didn’t make it went into the military before finally becoming a missionary. We are both 60 years old. While I’m relatively healthy, he just suffered his second stroke. Almost as if adding insult to injury, his church had just celebrated its 30th anniversary and two days later he was struck down. He is a good pastor and well loved by his church. You can’t help wonder why does God allow these things to happen?

III. My family has been plagued with Multiple Sclerosis. My great grandfather died of it in 1935. My Aunt Marianne came down with it in her 20s, her sister, Carol, got it in her 60s, and my dad came down with it at age 73. All three of them died from the disease and now my cousin’s daughter, Marisha has MS. She’s fighting a brave battle, but there is no cure for the disease and now, only in her 30s, she needs a cane to walk, but is often so weak she needs a wheel chair. When the disease was first diagnosed she called her grandmother, my Aunt Carol, and they cried together over the phone because they both knew what it meant for her future. MS is a genetic disease. It is passed down within a family, but the tendency is to skip generations. That is it will pass from a grandparent and then reappear in a grandchild. Since my two aunts and my dad all had it, and my cousin’s daughter has it, I can’t help but wonder if someday it’s going to afflict either of my two young sons, and I pray for God’s mercy.

IV. Then besides illnesses, tragedies and death, there are other kinds of trials that we often struggle with. When you’ve dedicated your life to a cause or a profession and then you fail to reach your dreams and you’re left with bitter disappointment; when you start a business and it fails and you’ve lost your investment; or you’ve studied as hard as you know how and you still failed a test; when you’ve worked your hardest and done your best and then you get fired from your job unfairly; when you try to do right and people oppose you and slander you; when the person you love leaves you, and friends betray you; you sit there and wonder, Lord, Why? Why have I failed? Why has this happened? Why are people treating me this way? Haven’t I served you? Haven’t I been faithful? What am I going to do now? You look out at your life and you see no direction ahead. You’re going to have to start over but you don’t know how or what to do, and you wonder, What is God doing with me?

In the Aeta village is a woman named Carmen. She’s an intelligent woman. When she was young she was able to leave the village and get an education. She learned to play the piano well and having tasted a more comfortable life her hope was to be a professional musician. But it didn’t happen. Her dreams were smashed and she had to move back home. Discouraged and depressed she turned to alcohol. Now she’s the village drunk. She must wonder, is there no hope? There’s got to be something better than this in life. She said to us once in a drunken stupor, “I just want to die.”

V. In 1873, Horatio G. Spafford sent his wife, Anna, and four daughters on a ship to England. He had intended to go, but a last minute business emergency forced him to stay behind. Spafford would follow when the business was done. On the voyage his family’s ship came into a violent storm and in the middle of the ocean collided with another ship. Anna Spafford was rescued, but their four daughters drowned. Spafford took the next ship across and as they reached the location of the tragedy the captain told him this was the place. Then as Horatio Spafford stood at the rail and looked out at the watery grave that held his children, he wrote the hymn we sang this morning.

When peace like a river attendeth my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, It is well; it is well with my soul.

Did you ever go to the mountains and sit by a stream or small river and just listen as the water flows over the rocks forming pools and then cascades on its journey down through the hills and canyons? It’s a soothing, relaxing sound that as you listen and enjoy the beauty around you seems to cause an overwhelming peace to come over your spirit. Sometimes that’s the way life is and it is easy to say, “Yes, it is well with my soul.”

But what about when the sea billows roll? What about when the storms of life break your way, you are devastated and there is no relief? When nothing goes right and you can’t see your way out of the trial, and you feel like you want to lash out at God and say, “Why?” It’s not so easy then to say, it is well. When God’s sovereign will goes against your personal will and desires do you still recognize He is God? When the trials beat you down and it seems like there’s no end and no answer, can you still say God is good?

VI. A few weeks ago in our Missions Conference I told you about my cousin, Sharon, how she and her husband, Jim Smith, had worked with Rachel Saint in the jungles of Ecuador. Today I want to tell you more of her story. In 1976, Sharon gave birth to her first child, a son they named Zac. Zac was born two months prematurely and was in an incubator in the hospital struggling to breathe. One day our grandfather went to the hospital with Sharon to see his first great grandson. As he and Sharon stood outside the window looking in at Zac in the neo-natal intensive care ward, Sharon began to cry.

Grandpa put his arm around her shoulder and as they walked down the hall and he told her a story. In 1914 he had enlisted in the Dutch army. He was just twenty years old. But not long after in a physical exam the doctor determined that he had a heart murmur. It was so bad that he was immediately discharged and the doctor told him he probably wouldn’t live passed thirty, only ten more years. By 1976 he had lived another 62 years, had six grandchildren, two great granddaughters and now he had seen his first great grandson. “Don’t worry,” he told Sharon. “God has plans for that boy.”

Indeed God did have plans, but as it turned out they were not the plans that Zac or his family would have hoped for.

VII. (Show video.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Qb1qdXn4o If you haven’t seen this video you need to. It’s four minutes and thirty seconds and well worth your time.

VIII. Five years ago yesterday, May 16, 2010, Zac Smith passed into the arms of Jesus. The cancer had riddled his body until he was hardly more than skin and bones. There was no relief for his pain. How he suffered. In the end he was so weak he couldn’t speak or even open his eyes. His last conscious act was to raise his right index finger just enough to point up, apparently signaling that the angels had come, and then he died.

Zac has a great family; this is a recent picture of his wife, Mandy, and children, Lizzy, Jake and Luke, with my cousins Jim and Sharon. He had a great ministry at his church. The Lord has given them grace and comfort, but after these several years you couldn’t blame them if they still just wonder why? But Zac gave us the answer. No matter what happens God is still God, and God is still good.

Con: No matter what happens, whether you know the reason or not, God’s plans for you are better than any plans you could ever make for yourself. Whether it includes a life of ease and great success, a life of struggle and heartbreak, or anything in between, God’s will is always best.

Zac Smith wanted to raise his family. He wanted to serve God. He was taken before his children reached their teen years. In life he served in a large church doing the multi-media, where he also made this video, and influencing perhaps hundreds of people. In death, through this video, he has influenced and encouraged hundreds of thousands of people. This video, not only on Youtube and Vimeo, but also in churches and elsewhere has been shown all over the United States and all around the world.

There are people who would never have known the comfort God gives if they had not seen this video. People who were in despair have found hope and encouragement in this video. People whom Zac will only know when they get to heaven have come to Christ because of this video. Whether we concur with God’s will for Zac’s life or not, God knew what was best even in Zac’s suffering and the heartbreak of his family. And the eternal rewards are unending.

Listen, no matter what you go through, whether you live in wealth or poverty, whether you live in health or struggle with disease, whether you are successful or struggle through failures and disappointments, whether you live a long life or die young, God has a plan for you and it is the best plan because God is still God, and God is still good. To God be the glory.