174: Andrew Cridland - Exhortation: Hold On! Pain Ends...

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   Welcome to Good Christadelphian Talks. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. And I'm Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode at the start of each week with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to listen to.

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   And now let's talk more about this week's talk. Welcome to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. This is Brother Brian. This week's talk is an exhortation by Brother Andrew Kreidland, which was given this past year, March of 2021, at the Aberfoyle Park Ecclesia. His exhortation is based on the acronym of HOPE, H-O-P-E, Hold On, Pain Ends.

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   And with that title alone, you get a great sense of what Brother Andrew's message revolves around. And this spoke to me strongly due to some close sisters and brothers that I've had in mind who have some tremendous burdens to bear right now. And I'm sure to a certain extent that could be said of all of us, all of us who are anxiously waiting for the return of Christ.

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   But I think that this exhortation will have greater significance for some who are really starting to wear thin or are dealing with some heavy stones that are not going to be moved anytime soon in their life. So Brother Andrew focuses on the hope that is woven throughout Scripture as a counterbalance to the pain that crops up in various forms in the life of a believer.

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   But with the unique point of view of the three women who went to Jesus' tomb with spices to anoint his body as part of the custom for burial at the time, having spent the previous Sabbath day confined to their homes feeling helpless, hopeless. And then the small window that Mark 16 gives us of their mindset as they walked on the way.

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   Still in the dark before dawn, these three women, they were determined to anoint the body if they could access it. But the crushing question that stood to prevent even this humble gesture, we're told that they asked, what about the stone? Who will row the stone away for us? It was that stone that separated the bereaved from their Lord, separated them from their hope.

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   And Brother Andrew piercingly asked the question of us, what's the stone in your life? We know that whatever it is, God will roll it away. Our God, Yahweh, will remove these burdens. And that there is no measure of heartbreak that cannot be made into joy again. So, obviously, come to Jesus. Seek him when and where he may be found.

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   And if you know of those who you know are weary and burdened, then carry them to Christ if you must. Remind them of the hope that supersedes all despair. As always, we hope this strengthens your faith and brightens your day. Brother Andrew Kreidland, hold on. Pain ends. Thanks, Brother Richard. And good morning, my dearly loved brethren and sisters and young people.

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   When I was driving home from work, I'm going to say a year or two ago, but Brother Colin and I were talking about how fast time has been flying. So, maybe it was a few more years than that. But driving home regularly, there was some advertisements on bus stops, which you may have seen.

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    And I took a photo of it. And apologies to those on the phone that can't see it. But this was the message on the bus stop. And vertically, it had the word hope, H-O-P-E. And then it had a message, hold on, pain ends. And it got me thinking about our hope. And that's really what caught my attention on that, the message.

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    Our hope, the hope that we have. We've got to have perhaps one of the greatest hopes that anyone could have, all of mankind. A hope that our Father in Heaven is going to intervene on this earth. A hope that we're going to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns to this earth.

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    To stand before Him in judgment. A hope that He will find us acceptable to become immortal saints in His kingdom. A hope that He's going to take away all of the pain and suffering that we bear and that we see around the globe today. And as part of that hope, it's captured really in the words of Revelation 21, verse 4.

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    He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, or crying, nor pain anymore. For the former things are taken away. No tears, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. But before that time, we live with hope and pain. If we let it, pain can destroy our hope.

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    And that's the reason why we need to hold on. Hold on, pain ends. It ends, brethren and sisters, because our Father in Heaven is going to take it away. You know, hope is very dynamic.

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    Hope is the very engine of optimism. Hope is the very door that leads from darkness to light, from impossible to possible, from fear to faith, from darkness to light, from cowardice to courage, from giving up to perseverance. Hope is the very ingredient in the life of the believer of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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    And the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians that before we came to Christ, we were without hope. But when pain destroys our hope, we're in a terrible situation. Loss of hope is a devastating condition. And we're seeing so much of it around the world today. Hopelessness is something that we hear about from every corner of the globe.

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    There's nothing worse than the feeling of hopelessness. It darkens one's world. It deprives us of clarity of thought. It steals all joy of living. Have you ever been in this position where you've lost all hope? Has the pain been too hard to bear and you think, there's no way out of it. There's no hope.

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    There's no possibility of a breakthrough. I'm talking about the time when you've lost all hope and you've resigned yourself to the inevitable dark future. When you're surrounded by a state of constant anxiety, anxiety and worry and the feeling of hopelessness.

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    Perhaps some of us this morning feel that way right now. Or the Bible has some wonderful news for anyone who is feeling that way right now. Or who might feel that way in the future. Whatever hopelessness we're going through, God can turn it to hope. And we've got the example that we're going to have a look at in Mark 16.

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    So let's just go over to Mark 16. Here's a, here's an apt example, especially as we consider some of the words taken from our daily reading Psalm 116. Mark chapter 16.

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    And also as we remember our risen Lord this morning. Here's an example of hopelessness. And in the first few verses we've got these women that are making their way to the tomb so that they might anoint the body of Jesus in verse 1. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome.

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    A few days earlier they had watched and they had seen with their own physical eyes Jesus being crucified on that instrument of torture that we call the cross. They saw his body brought down from that blood-soaked cross. They saw men wrap his body and bury him in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. Then they had to stay away.

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    As everybody went home on the Sabbath they had to stay home on the Sabbath because all Orthodox Jews did nothing on the Sabbath. They stayed at home. And there as they spent their Sabbath all alone they went to their own tomb of hopelessness. They were in their own tomb of inner darkness. They were in their own tomb of deep deep, deep, deep loss in their own tomb of sorrow and resignation and pain.

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    These women were not just any women. They had supported Jesus through his ministry. They were the women who would follow Jesus. they were the women who were his family members. They were women who were called by God to serve his anointed Messiah. The Messiah who for thousands of years of prophecy had been prophesied about his coming.

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    And now they had the privilege of serving him and they had an unwavering commitment to their Lord Jesus Christ and Messiah. These women stood with Jesus and with his mother Mary through thick and thin. Ah, but now but now they just stood at the foot of the cross with the only male disciple out of the twelve, John.

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    He's the only male disciple that didn't cut and run. They stood at the foot of the cross and they saw all their dreams bled to death. They saw their hope being crucified. They resigned themselves to this colossal loss. So on that day after the Sabbath day of rest they came to the tomb early on a Sunday morning.

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    But they came depressed. They came with a sense of hopelessness. These women, Mary the mother of James, Mary Magdalene from whom Jesus had healed sicknesses and infirmity and Salome. Salome had two of her sons as Zebedee as disciples of Jesus. And on the third day on Sunday morning after the Sabbath rest they made plans.

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    But their plans were based on hopelessness. They didn't say to each other let's go and see our risen Lord. No. They brought spices. And this was a very important custom among the Jews. Not just for Jesus but for all Jews. If the burial was on a Friday they'd wait for the Sabbath and then they'd go on the third day.

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    If it's not on the Sabbath then they would go the next day. And so they're bringing these spices under this Jewish custom to pour onto the dead body because they didn't bury people in boxes like we do today. So they put on these spices on the body to mitigate the odour of decay that comes from a decaying body.

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    So they had forgotten or perhaps they didn't realise that a thousand years before Christ it says my son shall never see decay. It's in Psalm 16 verses 9 to 10 therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices my body also will rest secure because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead nor will you let your faithful ones see decay.

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    But to their credit these women didn't cut and run like the other disciples and stay home. To their credit they went home on the Sabbath but they didn't stay home like all the other disciples they were at least doing something and doing something is better than doing nothing they were doing something to face their grief they were doing something to face their pain they were doing something to face their loss they were doing something to deal with this sense of hopelessness you know Salome in particular had big dreams dreams especially for her two sons you remember the story in Matthew 20 when she goes to Jesus and she asks Jesus that her sons might sit on his right and on his left right out in the front with Jesus she had big dreams and hopes for her boys under the rule of Jesus but her dreams were shattered on Friday she became discouraged dispressed despondent she was filled with hopelessness like the other two Marys she felt the pain had come all those plans had come to naught she felt that her ambitions for her sons to rule with Jesus had been buried right there in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and so in a sense of resignation she comes with the two Marys trying to do the best dealing with a bad situation with these two Marys she was doing all that she good and all three of them they're doing the best that they can with hopelessness and in verse 3 in Mark chapter 16 as these women were coming to the tomb and they're getting closer and closer to the tomb

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    as they're walking together and they're talking to each other and they're comforting each other and in their hopelessness they start to discuss the biggest obstacle that they're going to face when they get to the tomb who's going to roll away the stone it's a huge stone that dozens of men would have taken to move it K Iphos had insisted he said to Pontius Pilate that this man said he was going to raise from the dead so take the biggest stone you've got and seal up the tomb and that's what he did who's going to move the stone and the women are discussing this huge obstacle that they're facing by now they're moving from hopelessness to helplessness isn't that amazing a huge stone so let me ask you this have you ever been there are you there right now have you ever been in a situation where everything is coming at you in succession and every time you think you see the light at the end of the tunnel it ends up being a train and you lose hope !

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    think about it what keeps you up at night what causes you anxiety and fear and worry what deep disappointment are you living with what's causing you pain and these three women are trying to deal with their hopelessness they had to face up to their shattered dreams they were doing the best in a bad situation they were going to their tomb and to their utter shock when they get there the stone is rolled away in verse 4 of Mark 16 they look up and they see the large stone has been rolled !

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    back it was a ! huge stone and Christ had been risen bodily and physically and he had risen from the dead and all of a sudden they realised that their plans were nothing compared to God God's plan was far greater than theirs God's plan was far superior to theirs God's plan was far more wonderful than they could ever imagine that God's plan all along was that his son would not see decay in the tomb they didn't need to bring those spices Christ was only going to be in the tomb until he was victorious over our greatest enemy death and on the third day Jesus got up and he walked out of the tomb God had rolled away the stone so what's the stone in your life perhaps we're living with a huge stone of guilt and despair living behind a huge stone of pain and hopelessness we may be living behind a huge stone of crushing anxiety about our future or our family's future we may be living behind a huge stone of loss and pain we might be living behind a huge stone of repeated sins and weaknesses that seem impossible to overcome and we know from the testimony of God's word and the testimony of many of our brethren and sisters throughout the whole earth that our father in heaven can remove all stones of impossibilities !

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    in our life our father in heaven can remove all the stones of prison of worry and anxiety our father in heaven can remove the stone of sin and guilt and pain he removes them as far as the east is from the west what a privileged people we are there is no stone in our life that is large enough that he cannot remove there is no tomb that threatens to bury you that he cannot empty there is no mountain of shame and guilt that he cannot destroy there is no pain or sorrow that he cannot replace with the comfort and solace there is no death that he cannot conquer hold on pain ends let our hope overcome our pain we're going to come back to the two marys and salome a little later as they journey hopelessly towards the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus weighed down with a big stone that's looming large in their life but we find similar sentiments in our reading this morning one of the hymns of the Passover which are recorded in Psalms 113 through to 118 we see it in verse 3 the sorrows of death compassed me the pains of hell get hold upon me I found trouble and sorrow here's someone in sorrow in distress in anguish this is no ordinary pain it's the anguish of the grave a pain of sorrow even unto death you know we can't even begin to imagine what our Lord faced leading up to his sacrifice but we certainly get a taste for it in this passage and we're going to see over the next few verses exactly how the

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    pain would end you know in Hebrews 12 in verse 1 we don't need to turn it up because I'm sure that you you'd recognise this one but in Hebrews 12 and verse 1 the apostle Paul reminds us of all of those men and women of faith from the previous chapter in chapter 11 those of faith who shared the same hope as us those of faith who experienced the same pain and suffering as we do face the tomb like we do each and every one of them holding on knowing that the pain would end those who had died in faith and in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1 the apostle Paul encourages us to take their example and he says let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us the word weight in that verse speaks about a burden a mass and encumbrance and you've got this picture of this believer and they're running the race towards the finish line and at the end of that line is eternal life the believers hopes are centered on reaching the finish line but during the race they start to get weighed down difficulties in life become a burdensome !

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    stone they're weighing us down this stone and if it's getting bigger and bigger and we're trying to run the race and we're getting weighed down by this stone a stone that if we let it could smash our hopes its trials and tribulations health issues losing loved ones anxiety financial problems the sin we don't seem to be able to overcome the pull of the world maybe the feeling that God doesn't feel quite so real as he did when we were baptized all of these things are pain endured and as we're running the race perhaps some of these stones we can just fling off as the apostle instructs us to do and if we fling them off we're told well they won't hinder your race but if we let them build and build and build and build and build and we're trying to do this race run this race then the pain can become unbearable and we can start to feel hopelessness and we need to cast off the weight but perhaps there's other stones in our life that are with us for life some difficulties and pain we just can't control some stones require us to endure patiently to the end you see Yahweh never said that we would be free from pain Yahweh never said that we won't have these stones in our lives that we have to carry patiently we have that in some examples Luke 14 verse 27 and whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple psalm 34 verse 19 the start of the verse says many are the afflictions of the righteous second of corinthians

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    2 verses 8 to 9 we are troubled on every side yet not distressed we are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed acts 14 22 we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God and what does the person do here in psalm 116 amidst the pain and anguish and the great weight of the grave that weighs heavily upon them verse 4 they turned to Yahweh then called I upon the name of Yahweh oh Yahweh I beseech thee deliver my soul another translation renders it I beg you Lord save me our father in heaven can help us remove the stone of hopelessness and pain from our lives just like he rolled away the stone for the two marys and salome Yahweh can help remove the stones of hopelessness and pain today and he certainly will do it in the future when his son returns and all we need to do is turn to him and cry out and he will hear our prayer we need to hold on pain ends that's what we find here in Psalm 116 the pain ends because in verse 5 our father in heaven is gracious and righteous and merciful yes he is and as it says in verse 6 here's how it reads from the contemporary English version you protect ordinary people and when I was helpless you saved me that's the repeated message from our God in scripture it's not just here in Psalm 116 pain ends because even though Psalm 34 verse 19 which we said starts with there are many afflictions of the righteous but that same verse

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    concludes with but Yahweh delivereth him out of them all pain ends because James 1 and verse 12 says blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised him and to those that love him pain ends because as it says in Isaiah 41 and verse 10 this is how it reads from the amplified version it says fear not there is nothing to fear for I am with you don't look around you in terror and be dismayed for I am your God I will strengthen and I will harden you to difficulties yes I will help you yes I will hold you up and retain you with my victorious right hand of righteousness and judgment and when we read from Psalm 116 we enter into the mind of our Lord Jesus Christ the whole life of our Lord he knew that a time was going to come when he was going to face this cruel death upon the cross he faced it he endured it and when our Lord was facing the cross he took solace in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane and as that time approached the sorrows of death compassed him as we saw in verse 3 and you know in Luke chapter 22 he tells his disciples he says my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death and he goes away and it's recorded in Luke 22 that he knelt and he prayed and an angel appeared to him and strengthened him hold on pain ends and despite the sorrow that manifested itself physically as we're told that our

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    Lord Jesus Christ sweat was like great drops of blood yet he held on knowing that pain would end when they scourged our Lord he held on knowing that pain would end when they nailed him to the cross he held on knowing that pain would end he endured the cross and as we're told in Psalm 116 and verse 8 that his soul was delivered from death his eyes from tears his feet from falling the stone of death and mortality removed from his life transformed by immortality when he would feel pain no more and in verse 11 of Psalm 116 our Lord didn't just experience the pain of the cross he also endured the pain of such contradiction of sinners against him the mental pain that he endured through such hostilities and opposition from wicked men in all of his preaching think about how many people rejected him and the teachings that he had think about all the deaf ears that his preaching fell upon all men are liars he says here we have the sense of how our Lord would have felt in Psalm 22 verses 7 to 8 all they that see me laugh me to scorn they shoot out their lip they shake their head saying he trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him let him deliver him seeings he delighted in him and we can face the same thing today the mocking of the hope that we hold so dear the hope we have that Christ is going to return to this earth the scoffers in 2 Peter 2 in verse 4 that say where is the promise of his coming

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    for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation trying to derail our faith and our hope perhaps it comes externally or perhaps it comes from within in moments of doubt and when we consider the physical pain of the cross and the mental pain of the opposition from wicked men that our Lord Jesus Christ endured and that we endure Psalm 116 and verse 15 says that if we hold on pain ends !

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    whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal life Luke 12 verse 32 fear not little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom and second of Peter 5 and verse 10 but the God of all grace who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered for a little while make you perfect establish strengthen settle you Jesus said that he was the way the truth and the life and in his resurrection he shows that anyone everywhere in the world may know that it is through him we are promised the resurrection that it is through him we are saved eternally that it is through him we are delivered from hopelessness of the grave for eternity that it is through him that our sins are forgiven it is through him that we are delivered from life's hopelessness it is through him we are given peace and joy in this life forever and in eternity it is through him that we can hope in a hopeless situation and just like the son of God so too are we called to be sons and daughters of the living God brother Richard mentioned it in his prayer we are adopted into that family and all we need to do is to endure to hold on because pain ends of course the stones in our lives are grievous of course they give us pain of course they can destroy our hope if we let them of course they can fill our eyes with tears of course they can cause our feet to fall as we saw in Psalm

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    116 verse 8 weighing us down but the hope that we have can give our weak hands and our feeble knees strength Isaiah said the exact same thing in Isaiah 35 and verse 3 that we need to strengthen our weak hands and our failing knees and he concludes in chapter 35 in verse 10 with the glorious vision that the ransomed of Yahweh shall return and come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy in their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow shall flee away you know we need to give the two Marys and Salome credit that they never strayed from the path the morning that they journeyed to the tomb oh yes they had this huge stone looming and a sense of hopelessness during the journey but it didn't stop them from continuing the journey they didn't turn aside and return home and say well it's no good going to anoint the Lord's body with that huge stone in the way no they they were committed to walk before the Lord in the land of the living and Yahweh had provided for them because the stone had been moved just like us if we keep to the straight path we have the promise of our Lord in Matthew 7 he tells us he says enter into the straight gate take the narrow path this is the path that leads to life eternal it's really it's hard to imagine what was going through the mind of the two Marys and Salome as they first approached the tomb and having just discussed this huge stone to then see that it had been rolled away what was

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    going through their mind what we do know from Mark 16 is that when they entered the tomb they were afraid they were afraid at the words of the angel that their Lord had risen and it says they trembled and were amazed turn with me to John chapter 20 where we find the record of the angel talking to Mary the angel asks Mary why are you weeping and she responds to the angel in John chapter 20 in verse 13 because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him and then she turns and she sees Jesus and in that moment she doesn't realize that it's Jesus that is until Jesus says to her Mary and she instantly knows that it is her Lord in that very moment Mary comes face to face with the risen Lord well we don't know what Jesus then goes on to say to Mary sorry we you know what you know what you know what Jesus doesn't say to Mary here in these verses he doesn't say Mary why did you come to anoint my body didn't you know that I would never see decay didn't you know that I would raise from the dead Mary why did you worry about that stone don't you know that my father could remove all of the stones that burden you why did you give up in hopelessness Mary he says none of these things because he was in all points tempted like we are yet without sin you see he identifies with Mary as his sibling !

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    it's my father and your father my God and your God she was family and in his words the Lord reassured her of that fact despite the feelings of hopelessness that Mary and the disciples experienced despite the pain despite the sin despite the weakness of their faith despite the tomb of anxiety and the burdensome stones in their life despite all of these things he saw them as his brothers and his sisters they were the children of Yahweh in heaven just like we are and a time is going to come brethren and sisters and young people when we will see the resurrected Lord for the first time where we are going to stand before him face to face and if we hold on if we endure if we hold on to the hope that we have if we hold on knowing the pain of the stones in our life will end if we maintain our faith and we fight the good faith then he's going to welcome us into his kingdom !

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    brother sister welcome to the kingdom of my father and your father my God and your God so we hold on hold on because pain ends and the time is coming very soon where the words of first of Corinthians 15 and verse 52 will be fulfilled in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we all shall be changed no more sin no more death no more burdensome stones no more tomb of anxiety of fear and loss no more pain all of it washed away by our father as we inherit life eternal and as we're told in the last verse of psalm 116 to stand in the courts of yahweh's house in the midst of jerusalem praise ye yahweh and Thank you.

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    Thank you for listening. God bless and talk to you next week. Thank you.