Certainty in Uncertain Times, Mathew 7:24-29
Introduction
During an earthquake that occurred many years ago, the inhabitants of a small village were generally very much alarmed, and at the same time surprised, at the calmness and apparent joy of an old lady, whom they all knew. At length one of them, addressing the old lady, said, “Mother, aren’t you afraid?”
“No,” she replied, “I rejoice to know that I have a God that can shake the world.”
Transition
As we look around us we see serious economic concerns, political unrest in much of the world, drug abuse and domestic violence run unbridled even in our own streets. The world around us shakes and our hearts cry out for sure footing, for a sure foundation; for certainty in uncertain times.
This morning we’ll examine, from the Scriptures, five things which are uncertain in this life, and the one thing, the precious one, that is certain.
In times of uncertainty, we are not left without hope. As believers in Christ, we are not like so many sailors drifting at sea in the storm. We are not alone in the storms of this life. We have a sure footing and a sure foundation.
Exposition
Men’s Promises: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” (Psalms 146:3 NIV) We are living in an age of broken promises. It is a disheartening commentary on the state of families in this country that the divorce rate, depending on what survey you read, is as high as 50% in America. In the Church, where one might suspect the rates would be at least a little lower, the divorce rate is just as high. Men and women are making promises to one another, to their children, and then breaking them en mass.
The pressures that this society places on families are tremendous and is it any wonder that we see promises broken and families broken in the process? But this really should come as no surprise to Bible believing Christians because the Bible tells us not to place our trust in other people who cannot save us.
While the world looks men to save them, we know that it is only God who saves. No prince, no king, no local, regional, national, or global is able to save us. That power is reserved for God; it is in His promises alone that we must place our trust.
Riches: “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” (Proverbs 23:5 NIV) Time and again the Bible warns us in regard to placing our trust in earthly riches. The biblical message is not that money is innately evil, nor is it that we should not plan or save.
The message is that our ultimate trust and focus is to be on the provider not on the provision. Earthly riches are fleeting and unstable. Happiness is not found in wealth. God is our source of peace, contentment, security, and stability.
The Persians tell a story about an unhappy king. In an attempt to find the answer to his dissatisfaction, he consulted his astrologers who told him he could find happiness by wearing the coat of a perfectly happy man. Immediately the king set out on his quest. He knocked at the doors of the very rich, for it seemed logical to find happiness there, but in vain.
He visited the institutions of higher learning, thinking the erudite must be happy in their wisdom. That, too, proved a dead end. Finally he stumbled across a common laborer singing at his work who confessed he was perfectly happy. “Sell me your coat,” cried the king. “I’ll give you a bag of gold for it.” But the laborer only laughed and said, “I’d gladly give it to you, Sir, but I have no coat.”
This is only a legend of course, but it illustrates a profound truth. Achieving riches is not synonymous with achieving happiness. That doesn’t mean the rich have to become poor in order to be happy. The ranks of the happy include the poor and the rich, as well as those in between.
King Solomon had the right idea when he prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain” (Prov. 30:8, 9). Paul said it even more succinctly when he wrote to Timothy, "Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6).
The Future: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1 NIV) The future is uncertain. With all that is happening around the world there are many Christians and Bible Teachers who are wondering if the end of this age is soon to come.
The signs of the second coming of Christ seem to abound in every news report. Bible Prophecy experts warn us that the time of the end, the time of the coming of Christ is near.
It is true that much biblical prophecy has been fulfilled in this and in the last generation. In 1948 we saw the rebirth of the Nation of Israel. This was unprecedented in all of history. Never has a nation been removed from its homeland, scattered completely, persecuted on near countless occasions for two thousand years, and then been reborn; with its language intact no less.
In Mark 13:7-8, Jesus says, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.” (NIV)
Are we living in the days which will see the fulfillment of Mark 13:26-27, where Jesus says, “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” (NIV)
In the same chapter, Jesus says, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” (Mark 13:32-33 NIV)
The future is uncertain. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. So let us, as Christ commands, be on guard, be alert. Whether He comes back tomorrow or a thousand years in the future, let him find us faithful servants; doing His work on this earth. It is easy to comment on the problems of society and the uncertainty of the future and it is yet quiet another to do something about it.
When He comes, may He find us faithful, not quibbling over the day or the hour of His coming, but raising money for those in need, as we have done, loving the world around us, as we are doing, proclaiming every man’s need for the salvation found in Christ alone, as we must continue to do.
Life: “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14 NIV) Even the length and nature of this life is uncertain. We do not know what tomorrow will hold but we don’t even know what this day will hold.
The message is this: all we ever have is the moment in which we are living. All we ever have that can be grasped is the choices, the decisions, the actions that we engage in right now. Our experience of this life is comprised of an infinite number of moments strung together.
The only thing that we ever possess is the moment that we are in. It is one moment at a time that the breadth of our lives is measured. I once heard a story of a foolish man who declared he could fight the whole British army. When he was asked how he could draw so long a bow as that, he said, “This is what I would do. I know I am the best swordsman in the world, so I would go and challenge one British soldier and kill him, then take another, and kill him. In this way I only want time enough and I would kill the whole British army.”
It was a ridiculous boast, but there is something in it that I could not bring out so well in any other way. We must look at our lives in the units. Just as this man would destroy the whole British army one sword thrust at a time, so too our lives are lived out one moment at a time.
Life is uncertain but the certainty of Christ love in action in this moment, and now in this moment, and now in this moment, is source of strength and freedom.
Earthly Glory: “For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.” (1 Peter 1:24 NIV) Of all of the five things which we’ve discussed this morning which are fleeting and uncertain, perhaps none is more uncertain than earthly glory.
The saying in Hollywood says that you are only as popular as your last movie. So it is here in the real world. Earthly glory, riches, power, and prestige; all of these fade as quickly and as easily as they come because fame is fickle and unstable.
Emily Dickinson wrote that “fame is a fickle food served upon a shifting plate.” We do well to live for Christ glory alone as earthly glory fades effortlessly.
Application
There is but one Sure Foundation: “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isaiah 28:16 NIV) This passage of Scripture prophetic; pointing to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, time and again Jesus is referred to as the cornerstone.
In Mark 12, Christ calls Himself the measuring stone, or, as it is translated in our Bibles, the cornerstone. The cornerstone, in the minds of most Americans, is the stone that tells that a building was erected at a certain time, when a certain person was mayor, and so on. It is merely an exaltation of man.
But when the Bible refers to a cornerstone, it refers to the first stone laid for the foundation. The builders would get a stone from the quarry and chisel it carefully to get as near a right angle as possible. They would measure the placement of all the other stones against that cornerstone, that first measuring stone. It was the standard by which all the walls of the building were determined.
When Jesus Christ is called the cornerstone, God is saying, “I measure everything by Jesus Christ.”
We live in a world where the truth is often elusive, like shifting sand. Just west of Yuma, Arizona lay the imperial sand dunes. This is a system extends for more than 40 miles along the eastern edge of the Imperial Valley agricultural region. The dunes are really interesting phenomena of that part of the Arizona and California desert. Over the years the dunes shift.
The dunes are about 40 miles in length and much less than that wide. I remember once going to a local restaurant in Yuma. While I was waiting for the food I looked at several older black & white pictures on the wall and one of them said “Imperial Sand Dunes” and the most interesting thing is that the dunes were clearly only just outside of the city limits but in about 2002, when this was, the dunes were more than 10 miles away, across the border into California.
So it is with the things of this world. God measures all things according to the measurement of the chief cornerstone, Christ. It is firm. It is lasting. It is secure. Christ is certain and unchanging in a world of shifting sand.
The Unchanging One: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20b KJV) Regardless of the uncertainties of this life, Christ remains unchanging. Amidst the shifting sands, insecurity, and turmoil within us and around us, He is our refuge.
It is Christ love in us that keeps us balanced while our boats are tossed about on the sea. It is Christ love that keeps us in harmony with God amidst the clanging and clattering of the worlds many voices which seek to pull us this way and that.
Conclusion
Have you at sometime watched a symphony orchestra as a performance is about to begin? The musicians sit and stand about, strumming on strings, blowing into horns, beating on drums. There is a lot of noise, but no music. Then the conductor enters. He walks to his podium and steps up onto it.
His eye sweeps the scene before him – all the musicians and all their instruments. He lifts his baton, pauses there for a moment, and then he gives the downbeat. Instantly there is music; all instruments blend into one harmonious whole.
Our human spirits are a lot like symphony orchestras. Within us there may be discordant elements, warring factions that pull this way or that, and we are out of focus, out of tune – we are just not together within. As an orchestra needs a master control, so do we. When we turn the whole focus of our attention to our Lord and acknowledge that He is in command, our lives will give forth harmonious music as our lives ring out the truth of God.
In a world where promises are not always secure, where riches fail, where the future is unknown, where life is uncertain, and where earthly glory fades as quickly as it comes, Christ alone is our chief cornerstone; our certainty in an uncertain world; the steadfast measure of all things.
Proverbs 3:23-24 says, “Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” (NIV)
Amen.
