Sunday, August 12, 2018

Untroubled in a Troubled World

Matthew 24:6-7

In his book, The Millennium Matrix, futurist and consultant Rex Miller says that North America is headed for rough times.  In he wrote,
I was raised in a world that changed more than it stayed the same, with the certain knowledge that tomorrow’s news would bring some new jolting crisis or accomplishment.  Today, I have great concern about the world my children will inherit.  I wonder more than once where the rule book went that seemed to work so well for past generations.
He goes on to describe this as sort of a cultural vertigo - the sensation that the external world is spinning out of control.  He said these things in 2004!  And he argued that no one will be spared - individuals, families, churches, schools, colleges and universities, businesses, and politics - everything will spin from in these turbulent times!

And, our response should be - duh!  Can you say that with me - duh.  “Duh” was introduced into the dictionary in the 1960’s and its used to express something that is obvious.  It’s obvious because we have read the Book - and we not only know how it all ends, but we also know that from time to time things will get pretty rough…pretty scary…down right terrible.  Jesus said that you and I will hear and see things that will make us thing the end is near, but, he said, these things will normal, the end is yet to come.  See to it that you are not troubled.

So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do this morning - we are doing to see to it that we remain untroubled in a troubled world.  And, we are going to do this by remembering three very important secrets.

OUR TIMES ARE IN HIS HANDS

This is the first and perhaps most important point.  Our times are in God’s hands.  Ed Chinn, from Focus on the Family, said, “God orders and administrates life on this planet with a full and varied palette of times and seasons.”

One of the apostle Paul’s most famous sermons was given on Mars Hill at the city council of Areopagus.  This was the same council that listened to Socrates just before they sentenced him to death.  The council had a membership of roughly 100 philosophers; and Paul stood to address the court in Acts 17.  And in his remarks we have something very important about world events and history and divine providence.

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

We might be tempted to think that the world is spinning out of control.  Facebook has tanked, California is on fire, the middle east is still at war, hurricanes are brewing, Russians are meddling, the mid-west is having record heat waves, and tomorrow a new crisis will be upon us!  But guess what?  The sky is not falling.  The world is not ending.  We need to speak truth to chaos like David did in Psalm 31.  “I trust in You, O Lord…my times are in Your hand.” 

I’d like to share one of my favorite illustrations that exemplifies what this looks like in real life.  In Jan 1974, Guidepost interviewed Hollywood’s greatest cowboy - John Wayne!



Are times scary?  Sure.  Are we living in a bit of a cultural vertigo?  I think so.  But the real question is do we trust God?  Do I trust God’s ability to administer life on this planet; on this continent; in our times?  If you and I are going to remain untroubled in a troubled world, then the answer to these questions has to be YES.  My times are in His hands, and I trust God.

OUR TIMES ARE BEAUTIFUL

Now, the first point was the most important, but this one is the most difficult.  It’s difficult because it’s hard to accept that troubling times are beautiful.  But the king Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Everything under heaven has its place - and God has made it beautiful.  I want to show you something that will make you sad.  



Honestly, it’s hard for me to see the beauty in the decline of the church in America.  The Church has been the mother of my Christian faith.  It is here that I have learned how and why to pray, to sing, to serve, to grow in the Holy Spirit.  If you’re like me, and you have a hard time seeing beauty in it - then we could probable use some good ole Job humility.  Do you remember Job?  He and his friends questioned God as to why he was suffering.  God waited until he was finished, and then he reminded Job that if he wanted to see from God’s view that he would need a lot of humility.  God reminded Job that it was Him who created this planet; set the stars in the heavens; and created all the plants and animals.  And that before we - part of the created order - try to question the Creator, we might want to humbly consider whose design this is.

The most difficult point this morning is seeing that our times are beautiful - but with a little humble faith we can recognize that God’s design allows for different seasons and each is beautiful.

OUT TIMES SHOULD NOT WORRY US

This point brings us full circle - back to Jesus’ teaching that we should not be troubled in a troubling world.

I want to show you a picture.  Is it a picture of a log sticking out of the lake, or a tree?  A better question might be why is that tree growing there?  



That tree has decided that it doesn’t matter what’s going on around it - he’s going to grow anyway.  Adapt and overcome is key to surviving and weathering troubling times.  Don’t be gullible or allow yourself to be taken advantage of.  Judge our times with your eyes wild open.  And not being troubled with help you have more patience with others.

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