[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 29th of October, 2017. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
King David truly was a remarkable man. Even though he sometimes strayed from God’s law, God still loved him and watched over him. And David knew this love, he felt this love. So many times he seemed completely out of control. Enemies pursued him, even those from within his own family, his sons. Yet he never lost faith, he never gave up on God, he fully trusted in the Lord to see him through. He didn’t worry about events surrounding him, and he tells us that we don’t have to worry either, if we just trust God.
Listen and follow along as I read from King David’s Psalm number 37, verses 1 through 18, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Listen and follow along as I read from King David’s Psalm number 37, verses 1 through 18, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
16 A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
--Psalm 37:1-18 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, just as You loved David even when he sinned, You love us. You love us and don’t want us to worry about things going on around us. Forgive us, please Father, when our faith is shaken, when we doubt that You truly are still in control, when we wonder about all that is going on and worry about how it will affect us and our loved ones. Speak to us this morning, Father, and help us better understand Your message and Your sovereignty. In the blessed name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
A very nervous airline passenger began pacing the terminal when bad weather delayed his flight. During his walk, he came across a life insurance machine. It offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight, and the policy was only $3. He looked out the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home. For that price it seemed foolish not to buy, so he took out the coverage.
He then looked for a place to grab dinner. Airports now carry a good variety of eateries so he settled on his favorite: Chinese. He enjoyed a relaxing meal… until he opened his fortune cookie. It read, “Your recent investment will pay big dividends.”
I can't be certain of the author, but someone once wrote:
Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat. Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles. A dense fog that covers a seven-city-block area one hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of water divided into sixty thousand million drops. Not much is there but it can cripple an entire city.
Que sera, sera. What will be will be. The future’s not ours to see. Do you remember that old Doris Day song? Such a simple little tune, but the message rings so true with what God provides us in scripture. It really all comes down to faith, to trusting in the Lord and in what He tells us.
Today is Reformation Sunday and this year we mark the 500th anniversary of the movement that gave birth to Pilgrim church, among so many others. 500 years, and it all really began when Martin Luther read and pondered over a passage of scripture. He was reading the 1st chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, when verse 17 stopped him in his tracks. Let me read verses 16 and 17 to you from the 1st chapter of Romans…
The power and righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, from faith to faith. And the clincher for Luther came from Paul’s quote of the prophet Habakkuk: the just shall live by faith. The righteous person trusts in God, and through that faith lives.
King David trusted in God, lived by faith, and so was able to live without overly worrying about everything that seemed to be going against him. Martin Luther lived by faith and did not worry about standing up to the religious authorities of his day, almost as Jesus did in His day. Do you think Jesus worried about it? Of course not! He had special insight into how the story ends. And He knew what all would happen as that story, as God’s plan, nears completion.
Listen to a short discussion between our Lord and His disciples, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 24 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 8…
Jesus doesn’t paint a very pretty picture there, does He? First He tells us not to be deceived when false prophets and antichrists make claims that sound realistic and plausible, for this will happen – they will indeed come forward and try to fool us.
Other things will happen, too, and not necessarily good things. There will be wars, and threats of wars. We are at war right now with Islamic extremism, and North Korea all but threatens war nearly daily. Nation will rise against nation, family against family, brother against brother. Famines and droughts will occur more frequently. Disease will spread across the land. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other disasters - natural and man-made - will sweep across the globe.
And Jesus warns this is only the beginning. But He tells us all this for a reason! He tells us ahead of time so we won’t worry so much when it happens, when His word comes to pass!
Yes, we may get caught up in some of all this nastiness. Yes, we or our loved ones may lose everything, may even lose our mortal lives. But if we truly trust in God’s word, we know that our future, in the kingdom of heaven, is assured and we will be richly rewarded for our faith! The Apostle Peter bears this out in his first letter to the scattered church, chapter 3, verses 13 and 14, when he says…
If we are followers of the good, of Jesus, then who can really harm us? Sure, we may have to suffer, maybe just because we get caught up in some cataclysm or maybe because of our faith, our belief. But even then, we are still blessed simply because of our faith!
So don’t be afraid of the threats of the wicked. Don’t let all the mess going on around us trouble us. This is what Jesus wants us to remember. He warns us about all that will happen so we’ll be prepared for it and not have to worry. In the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14 verse 27, Jesus reassures us with these words…
Don’t let all this trouble you, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry, be happy. Happiness comes from our confidence in God’s word. For God says these things will happen! They will happen because they must happen! And they must happen because God said they would. What will be will be, and no amount of worry will ever change that. Worry only doubles our trouble.
Trust in God, have faith in His word. And don’t worry. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You are firmly in control of Your creation. And You are working out Your great plan to save mankind. Help us, please Father, to remember You are sovereign. Help us to understand that everything that happens must happen, that it all happens for a reason even when we cannot grasp what that reason might be. Forgive us when we have our doubts, when we question You because we just don’t see all You can see, when we fear what is going on around us and let the world trouble us so.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our disobedience, seeking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, You warned us about what the future holds and what must happen, just so we would be prepared and not worry when the bad stuff comes. You comfort us, telling us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid because You give us Your peace, a peace that transcends this world, a peace that lasts. Help us, Lord, to trust in You and our Father God. Help us to have faith sufficient for the times in which we live. Help us to not be so worried because what is happening must indeed happen as our Father continues His great plan toward its fruition. Grant us Your peace.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
A very nervous airline passenger began pacing the terminal when bad weather delayed his flight. During his walk, he came across a life insurance machine. It offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight, and the policy was only $3. He looked out the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home. For that price it seemed foolish not to buy, so he took out the coverage.
He then looked for a place to grab dinner. Airports now carry a good variety of eateries so he settled on his favorite: Chinese. He enjoyed a relaxing meal… until he opened his fortune cookie. It read, “Your recent investment will pay big dividends.”
I can't be certain of the author, but someone once wrote:
Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat. Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles. A dense fog that covers a seven-city-block area one hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of water divided into sixty thousand million drops. Not much is there but it can cripple an entire city.
Que sera, sera. What will be will be. The future’s not ours to see. Do you remember that old Doris Day song? Such a simple little tune, but the message rings so true with what God provides us in scripture. It really all comes down to faith, to trusting in the Lord and in what He tells us.
Today is Reformation Sunday and this year we mark the 500th anniversary of the movement that gave birth to Pilgrim church, among so many others. 500 years, and it all really began when Martin Luther read and pondered over a passage of scripture. He was reading the 1st chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, when verse 17 stopped him in his tracks. Let me read verses 16 and 17 to you from the 1st chapter of Romans…
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
--Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)
King David trusted in God, lived by faith, and so was able to live without overly worrying about everything that seemed to be going against him. Martin Luther lived by faith and did not worry about standing up to the religious authorities of his day, almost as Jesus did in His day. Do you think Jesus worried about it? Of course not! He had special insight into how the story ends. And He knew what all would happen as that story, as God’s plan, nears completion.
Listen to a short discussion between our Lord and His disciples, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in chapter 24 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 8…
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
--Matthew 24:1-8 (NKJV)
Other things will happen, too, and not necessarily good things. There will be wars, and threats of wars. We are at war right now with Islamic extremism, and North Korea all but threatens war nearly daily. Nation will rise against nation, family against family, brother against brother. Famines and droughts will occur more frequently. Disease will spread across the land. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other disasters - natural and man-made - will sweep across the globe.
And Jesus warns this is only the beginning. But He tells us all this for a reason! He tells us ahead of time so we won’t worry so much when it happens, when His word comes to pass!
Yes, we may get caught up in some of all this nastiness. Yes, we or our loved ones may lose everything, may even lose our mortal lives. But if we truly trust in God’s word, we know that our future, in the kingdom of heaven, is assured and we will be richly rewarded for our faith! The Apostle Peter bears this out in his first letter to the scattered church, chapter 3, verses 13 and 14, when he says…
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”
--1 Peter 3:13-14 (NKJV)
So don’t be afraid of the threats of the wicked. Don’t let all the mess going on around us trouble us. This is what Jesus wants us to remember. He warns us about all that will happen so we’ll be prepared for it and not have to worry. In the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14 verse 27, Jesus reassures us with these words…
27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
--John 14:27 (NKJV)
Trust in God, have faith in His word. And don’t worry. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You are firmly in control of Your creation. And You are working out Your great plan to save mankind. Help us, please Father, to remember You are sovereign. Help us to understand that everything that happens must happen, that it all happens for a reason even when we cannot grasp what that reason might be. Forgive us when we have our doubts, when we question You because we just don’t see all You can see, when we fear what is going on around us and let the world trouble us so.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You straight from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, repenting of our disobedience, seeking Your forgiveness…
Lord Jesus, You warned us about what the future holds and what must happen, just so we would be prepared and not worry when the bad stuff comes. You comfort us, telling us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid because You give us Your peace, a peace that transcends this world, a peace that lasts. Help us, Lord, to trust in You and our Father God. Help us to have faith sufficient for the times in which we live. Help us to not be so worried because what is happening must indeed happen as our Father continues His great plan toward its fruition. Grant us Your peace.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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