Through it All
Blake Heffner August 27th, 2006
“Through it All” August 27, 2006
Texts: Psalm 125 & Isaiah 54:1-10
INTRO: Change has been on mind. Maybe it’s been on yours too. If so, you’ll enjoy the message that someone sent to me via email this week: It’s titled: “To All The Kids Who Survived the 1930’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s!!” Perhaps you’ve already come across it. It’s a light-hearted look at how different we thought and behaved just a few decades ago.
“First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick-up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-Aid made with sugar, but we weren’t overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. [Sports weren’t all organized like they are today: we chose different sides for every pick-up game, and there were no refs or umps!]
We did not have PlayStations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms…….
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house, knocked on the door or rang the bell, or, just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW to deal with it all! If YOU are one of them . . CONGRATULATIONS!”
Times have changed so many things, but you have to wonder what we’ve gained. Year’s ago this was a copier: carbon paper. Now we have machines that will run off 100 pages a minute. We used to have adding machines and typewriters; now we have pcs and laptops, mp3 players and ipods. The newest computers don’t even have floppy disk drives anymore – because in the future our data will be stored right on CDs and little memory sticks. Everything’s faster and smaller, but is it better? Wise old King Solomon became quite cynical: “There is nothing new under the sun!” he lamented. We find new ways of doing things, but they are not always an improvement on the older ways. So, what’s the point of all this commentary?
Lately, I’ve looked into the eyes of a student going off to a new university and I saw fear. Real fear and trepidation. I hear it in many voices about the church here – are we better off now, or are we in trouble? Honestly, I’ve seen it in the mirror. I have moments of doubt and anxiety. So, for any of us who have been feeling a little bit troubled, I offer two points:
1. Change doesn’t necessarily mean improvement or progress. Things may or may not be better; they are just different. The good old days had their own set of trials. But, years ago we knew nothing about child predators. Pornography was something you had to go out of your way to find – now it’s available at the click of a mouse. People have always abused alcohol and tobacco, but who ever dreamed of all the kinds of drugs available today? Folks had tough economic times in the past, but – up until the past twenty years - those who were employed enjoyed relative job security and company loyalty. Workers usually got medical insurance and pension benefits. And they could be fairly confident about Social Security when they retire. No longer! Today’s young adults face a future with no guarantees. Our world presents more dangers and temptations than ever, and we face them with less confidence, less security & less hope. In the fifties we believed that every day things were getting better and better; today we are sure they are not. Where can we find solid ground, a place to stand strong?
2. Get a piece of the Rock - Trust in the Lord!
Prudential Insurance used to say: “Get a piece of the Rock.” The psalmist heartily agrees:
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time on and forevermore.
Friends, you must have heard this before – maybe a hundred times. But the question is, when you and I find the very ground beneath our feet shaking, what do we do? Do we reach out for friends – or a bottle of pills – or do we take hold of the Rock of Ages – Who cannot be moved?
When we feel confused and bewildered – racing down the river of current events, seemingly without a paddle – to whom do we turn? Have we learned to trust in the One who surrounds us, like the mountains around Jerusalem? Have we learned to trust in Jesus Christ like Andre Crouch - who composed the beautiful song Don sang for us?
I’ve had many tears and sorrows;
I’ve had questions for tomorrow;
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong.
But in ev’ry situation God gave blessed consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong.
Chorus Through it all, through it all,
(Oh,) I’ve learned to trust in Jesus;
I’ve learned to trust in God.
Through it all, through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
Friends, have you come to the point (with Andre Crouch) where you can sincerely thank God for your troubles – and see His hand at work in the storms of your life?
I thank God for the mountains
And I thank Him for the valleys;
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through;
For if I’d never had a problem,
I wouldn’t know that He could solve them;
I’d never know what faith in God could do.
It is times like these we are living in right now – challenging, trying times – when we have golden opportunities to discover “what God can do” – that God is near to the brokenhearted, that his love is not fickle but steadfast, and that his power is able to overcome any obstacle, even mountains!
At the very lowest point in Israel’s history, the Lord spoke those marvelous words of promise to Israel: “The mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed!” This is why Anne Graham Lotz says, “We have everything when we have Jesus - a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The old gospel hymn we love to sing proclaims this!
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand – All other ground is sinking sand…
In ev’ry high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil…
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand – All other ground is sinking sand.
Friends, have you come to the place where you know that “through it all” Jesus Christ is the solid Rock on which you stand? If so, please stand and sing that great hymn as our statement of faith – No. 404!
Invitation to Prayer:
If you are not sure that you are standing on the solid rock of Christ, that you are wholly leaning on his name, then I invite you to become sure this morning. I invite you to build your hope on the One who doesn’t change with the times. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever. You can be assured of “forever” – an eternal life with Christ and all the saints, by simply offering yourself to him.
Pray with me…
Lord Jesus, I am so rattled. Some days I can’t tell which end is up, whether I am coming or going. I am confused about so many things. I am afraid too. I have had so many doubts. But you understand me and you love me – with all my doubts and sins. You gave your life for me on the cross of Calvary. You shed your blood in order that my sins might be washed away and I might inherit a brand new life – and eternal future, with you and all the saints. Lord, I offer myself to you today – with all my shortcomings, all my failings, all my tears. Have mercy on me, forgive me. Pour your Holy Spirit into me and fill me with your love, joy and peace. Raise me up with new confidence, enable me to walk in your light and serve you in the world – for it is in Jesus’ name I come and in his precious name I pray. Amen.
- Sermons
- Comments(0)
Loading ...