“New Year – New Adventure”
December 30, 2012
Romans 8:18-23; 31-39
“What we are suffering now is nothing compared with the glory that will be shown in us. Everything God created looks forward to the time when his children will appear in their full and final glory. The created world was bound to fail. But that was not the result of its own choice. It was planned that way by the One who made it. God planned to set the created world free. He didn’t want it to rot away completely. Instead, he wanted it to have the same glorious freedom that his children have.
We know that all that God created has been groaning. It is in pain as if it were giving birth to a child. The created world continues to groan even now. And that’s not all. We have the Holy Spirit as the promise of future blessing. But we also groan inside ourselves as we look forward to the time when God will adopt us as full members of his family. Then he will give us everything he has for us. He will raise our bodies and give glory to them.”
“What should we say then? Since God is on our side, who can be against us? God did not spare his own Son. He gave him up for us all. Then won’t he also freely give us everything else?
Who can separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or hard times or harm or hunger? Can nakedness or danger or war? It is written, “Because of you, we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be killed.”
No! In all these things we will do even more than win! We owe it all to Christ, who has loved us. I am absolutely sure that not even death or life can separate us from God’s love. Not even angels or demons, the present or the future, or any powers can do that. Not even the highest places or the lowest, or anything else in all creation can do that. Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.”
Well, here we are! The last Sunday of 2012. A lot of people didn’t think we would make it. A lot of people were scared to death. Some wept in fear. Some considered suicide as the solution. Some moved to safer places. Many stockpiled supplies and build bunkers. After all, the experts said,
Mayan Calendar Ends, Planet X Returns, the Milky Way Aligns with the Earth and Sun - all on December 21, 2012! There could be
SOLAR FLARES, MEGA EARTHQUAKES, GALACTIC ALIGNMENT, HONEYBEES DISAPPEARING, INCREASED NATURAL DISASTERS,
It kind of reminds me of when we went through the Y2K threat. Remember that one? The computers were all suppose to crash – the experts said. With no computers, planes would crash, power would be shut down – everything would come to a dead stop. What happened? Nothing much. Not even a little hiccup. Things continued on quite normally. But Y2K was nothing compared to the fear generated by the threat of the world ending on December 21, 2012. Movies were made about it. Businesses were started because of it. People’s lives were disrupted because of it. And what happened? Not much. Someone wrote, “The apocalypse was quite disappointing!” It sure didn’t live up to it’s billing, did it?
But don’t despair, you pessimists! The world will end. The Bible says,
“First of all, here is what you must understand. In the last days people will make fun of the truth. They will laugh at it. They will follow their own evil longings. They will say, “Where is this ‘return’ he promised? Everything goes on in the same way it has since our people of long ago died. In fact, it has continued that way since God first created everything.”
Long ago, God’s word brought the heavens into being. His word separated the earth from the waters. And the waters surrounded it. But those people forget things like that on purpose. The waters also flooded the world of that time. It was destroyed.
By God’s word the heavens and earth of today are being reserved for fire. They are being kept for the day when God will judge. Then ungodly people will be destroyed.
Dear friends, here is one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. He is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. Fire will destroy everything in them. God will judge the earth and everything in it.
So everything will be destroyed. And what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives. Live like that as you look forward to the day of God. It will make the day come more quickly. On that day fire will destroy the heavens. Its heat will melt everything in them.
But we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. Godliness will make its home there. All of this is in keeping with God’s promise.”
2 Peter 3:3-13
So the end predicted by the Mayan Calendar and others NOT happening is just more ammunition for the scoffers. The end WILL come. And we ought to live our lives with that in perspective. Jesus said,
“No one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.” Matthew 24:36
He said, “So keep watch. You do not know on what day your Lord will come. You must understand something. Suppose the owner of the house knew what time of night the robber was coming. Then he would have kept watch. He would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you don’t expect him.” Matthew 24:42-44
Peter asks and answers a question, “Since everything will be destroyed. What kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives. Live like that as you look forward to the day of God.” (2 Peter 3)
This morning, as we face the great unknown of a new year, I want you to remember three things. First of all, I want you to remember the past. David said,
“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Psalm 37:23-25
I can say the same thing as David, “I was young and now am old – yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken. I have never seen them or their children having to beg for bread. I am in my fifth decade as a Believer; Bob is in his 80th. We can testify to you that we have never seen God fail His people yet.
The Bible says, “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced” (Psalm 105:5)
As I think back over the years I can remember facing many discouraging trials. There was the threat of my wife and baby girl dying when I was only in my 20’s; there was fear for my son when he was in the military; there was a heart attack in my 40’s, and I could go on and on. God has brought us through ever trial, tribulation and temptation. We serve a MIGHTY God. Remember that as we face this New Year and new adventure. Remember the past and be thankful. Praise God for His unending love and mercy. He has seen us through every trial in our past and because of that we can face the future with confidence.
Secondly, as we face the great unknown – prepare. The Bible says,
“The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools devour all they have.”
(Proverbs 21:20)
Jesus said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘this person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.” Luke 14:28-32
A great way to alleviate stress is to be prepared. I told my grandkids last week, if they want to reduce the stress in the mornings before school – prepare the night before. Lay out the clothes. Make the lunch ahead of time. Preparation reduces stress in daily lives.
As most of you know, I lead an action group in our local Tea Party. It is on emergency preparation. The areas I came up with that we need to be prepared in are - 1. Financial, 2. Vehicular, 3. Food, 4. Personal, 5. Spiritual.
Facing an unknown future is not nearly as stressful if you have an emergency fund. In may be thousands of dollars or only a few hundred. Even a couple of twenties hidden away help.
As you travel these icy roads, if you are prepared with emergency supplies they are not nearly as dangerous. The Office of Emergency Services says that everyone ought to have at least 3 days worth of food stored up for emergencies. If you are personally prepared for an attack on yourself or family it alleviates fear. Personal protection is taking self defense classes and/or becoming proficient with a fire arm. It builds confidence in you that you can take care of your family and it instills a sense of protection to them. If you have a problem with that you ought to at least be prepared mentally as what you would do in an emergency situation. Otherwise you will panic and be helpless to yourself and family.
The last area I mention to be prepared in is the spiritual. You can be prepared in all these other areas – but if you aren’t prepared spiritually – it doesn’t mean a thing. Even if you save your life but lose your soul – what good does it do?
In this area of preparation, some people go a little overboard. The spend hundreds of dollars, some- hundreds of thousands of dollars. Their preparation is based on fear. Preparation ought to be based on faith. Don’t be so prepared that you eliminate the need for God. Better is a little preparation with God in it that a lot without Him. I remember an incident in the Old Testament where a king was well prepared to go into battle but a chance arrow happened to pierce his armor between the plates. We ought to be prepared enough to reduce stress and discomfort for our families in the event of an emergency – but trust in the Lord for the keeping of our bodies and souls.
One last thing I want you to remember; and that is to remember God’s promises. As we face an uncertain future with the threat of going off the fiscal cliff and the threat of the debt ceiling crashing down on us, and the threat of Armageddon looming over us – we need to remember God’s promises. Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
The Psalmist said, “The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” Psalm 37:39-40
Do you have a storehouse of God’s promises locked away in your memory banks? I don’t mean in your computer. I mean in your mind. God’s promises builds hope. God’s promises are the foundation of hope – and faith is build on that hope.
If you have a small foundation – you will have little hope and little faith. The Scripture says,
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
If you want to please God; if you want to be a man or woman of faith – you need to hide God’s promises away in your heart. They inspire hope – faith is trusting and believing and acting on that hope and those promises of God.
If we believe those promises of God – what does the future hold that we have to be afraid of.
A man found himself in the midst of a giant earthquake. He prayed, “Good Lord, come and help us. Come now; come yourself; because this ain’t no time for boys.”
The times in which we are living are difficult and they may get even tougher. This is not a time for spiritual boys or immature spiritually kids. We need big help to make it in life. WE NEED GOD HIMSELF. And the only way for Him to come to us is for us to walk with Him.
If we want God to guide us and protect us and take us to glory - then we need to live and walk with Him right now, every day! We all need to make that our decision and commitment. We walk Him and He will walk with us.
1. Remember the past – how God has never failed you. 2. Remember to do your part and be prepared. 3. Remember God’s promises. Let me end with one.
“In all these things we will do even more than win! We owe it all to Christ, who has loved us. I am absolutely sure that not even death or life can separate us from God’s love. Not even angels or demons, the present or the future, or any powers can do that. Not even the highest places or the lowest, or anything else in all creation can do that. Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.” (Romans 8)
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