Rambling Rev

Scripture:  Luke 12:13-21
(Preached at FBC Nitro, April 15, 2012)

Today marks the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  For generations this tragedy has captured the hearts, minds and imaginations of people from all walks of life.  100 years later fascination with this incident is still strong.  The Internet, television and print media are filled with news of a Titanic memorial voyage, complete with passengers on the ship dressing in outfits that are designed according to the fashions in 1912 and what was worn by the passengers back then.  A blockbuster movie was released several years ago, and now has been re-released in 3D.  What was in 1912 a horrible, heart-breaking disaster has now been romanticized into something it never was.  From a spiritual standpoint, what we have in the Titanic is a Divine object lesson.  We know that God didn’t cause the Titanic to sink and all those people to drown in the icy North Atlantic.  The core issue in behind this tragedy and all other human tragedies that have occurred throughout history is our sin.  Because the human race has rebelled against God and has insisted on having our own way, horrible things happen.  When Jesus returns He will make all wrongs right, and He is already beginning to do so through the freedom from sin found in Jesus Christ.  Until that time, we continue to serve Jesus and to wait for His second coming.  In this particular tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, we see three things that still plague each one of us today.  These things are nothing new – they are also outlined in our passage for this morning, which was written nearly 2000 years before this massive boat was even built.

First of all, a titanic tragedy happens through arrogance.  Verses 16-17 say, …“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’”  People at the turn of the 20^th century wanted luxury, and to say that’s what they found in Titanic would be an understatement.  Not only was Titanic the largest man-made moving object in the world, it was also the most luxurious ship the world had ever known.  It was a floating palace loaded with fine amenities; a five-star hotel on the sea.  Never before had anyone seen anything like it.  The Titanic was a symbol of everything man could achieve and she was truly beautiful vessel.  The major error was that God was forgotten in the process.  Legend has it that one crew member even boasted to a boarding passenger, “God himself could not sink this ship!”  It had all the latest innovations in ship-building technology, including 15 watertight doors.  Most people really did believe that the ship was unsinkable.  As for the lifeboats, the Titanic’s owners were so convinced that the ship could never sink, that they only included lifeboats for less than half those on board.  Without as many lifeboats the deck looked much better and was far less cluttered.  The passengers on the Titanic felt no disaster threatened them – tragedy happened to other people, but not to them.  The rich fool of our Bible passage for this morning thought the same thing – tragedy happened to other people, but not to him.  We have this tendency over and over again to think our lives are secure, that we are doing just fine apart from God, thank you very much.  We insist on maintaining control, we insist on saying that the wages of sin is not death, that we can ignore God, pushing Him down and down on our list of priorities and suffer no consequences.  Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  Throughout the Bible are accounts of proud men and women who refused to humble themselves and acknowledge God.  They built monuments to themselves and their achievements, they trusted in their own abilities, possessions and self-efforts, rather than relying on God’s provision.  All of them sooner or later came to a tragic end. You’d think we humans would “get it” by now, but we don’t.  1 Peter 5:5 tells us, “…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  A titanic tragedy happens through arrogance.

Then, a titanic tragedy happens through apathy.  Verse 19 of our passage says, “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’”  A titanic tragedy happens not only when we think we are nearly invincible, but when we become apathetic in the face of danger.  We don’t really care when other people speak to us about our need to right with God or to put Christ first in all areas of our lives for the sake of our children and grandchildren.  We are told that that our families need to be godly families, but we are too busy in pursuing temporal things that spiritual matters lose their importance to us.  We become apathetic, we lose the passion we once had in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  As we drift further away from God and His people, the danger grows greater whether or not we are aware, or whether or not we care.  Passengers on the Titanic enjoyed a tranquil crossing on their way to New York and, in fact, crew members remarked they had never seen the Atlantic more calm.  Everything was super.  On Sunday, April 14, 1912, the ship was making excellent speed and most of the passengers spent the day indoors because the weather had turned suddenly cold.  Captain E.J. Smith held church services that morning, which would have been traditionally followed by a lifeboat drill for passengers and crew, but on this day, there was no drill, because no one could imagine any danger.  The people likely met together, sang a few hymns, heard some nice words, and then went to attend to important matters like the elaborate luncheon awaiting them in the ornate dining room or the amusements awaiting them in the recreation area.  The people were apathetic about any existence of danger.  Iceberg warnings were being received via wireless telegraph all day and evening but were generally ignored – the Titanic pressed forward toward disaster.  A sense of apathy to any kind of danger was present in the rich fool in our Bible passage, it was present among the crew and passengers on the Titanic, and it is present among us today.  Among non-Christians we are not concerned about having our sins forgiven and entering a relationship with Christ.  It’s not that most folks are adamantly opposed to the idea, it just doesn’t really matter to them.

Among Christians, we tend to lose any concern about modeling a Christ-centered life and sharing the message of Christ with future generations.  We have a tendency to feel that as long as we are happy and as long as we are content, then everything will be okay.  Teachers and preachers have said again that the church is one generation away from extinction.  We see church buildings all around us empty or nearly empty.  Churches are declining and dwindling in attendance and participation because of lack of interest in godly things.  We see the threats all around us, but surely no danger can be present to us, so apathetically we continue to plod forward.

There are many stories that are told about the last moments aboard the Titanic.  One that has not been in the movies is that of John Harper.  He was the newly called Pastor to Moody Church who was on his way to Chicago. After the collision with the iceberg, he got his 6-year-old daughter into a lifeboat, but apparently made no attempt to save himself.  Instead, he ran throughout the ship yelling, “Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!”  Survivors report that he began witnessing to anyone who would listen, and even continued to preach after he had jumped into the water, clinging to a piece of wreckage.  Harper’s final moments were described by a survivor four years after the disaster.  He said, “I was drifting alone on a spar that night, when the tide brought Mr. Harper, also on a piece of wreck, near me. ‘Man,’ he said, ‘Are you saved?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I am not.’  He replied, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’ The waves bore him away, but strange to say, brought him back a little later, and he said, ‘Are you saved now?’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I cannot honestly say that I am.’ He said again, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,’ and shortly after, he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper’s last convert.”  He was also one of only six people to be picked up out of the water that night.  John Harper was not apathetic – he was not only aware of the physical danger, but also of the spiritual danger.  Do you care about the danger that approaches if a person doesn’t know Jesus Christ?  Do you care about the danger that approaches if we have no priority for our relationship with Him, and little if any passion?  A titanic tragedy happens through apathy.

Then, a titanic tragedy happens through avarice.  Webster’s dictionary defines avarice as, “excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain:  greediness.”  Verses 18-21 of our passage say, “And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Those aboard the Titanic booked passage in first class, second class or third class (steerage) accommodations.  First class passengers enjoyed the most luxurious surroundings, rivaling the most posh hotels in the world. First class suites even included their own private promenade decks, sitting rooms and lavatories.  It was said that the second class accommodations on Titanic were better than first class on all other ships of that time, and even steerage passengers had it better than any other ship.  When the passengers were being evacuated from the ship, many of the wealthy on board refused to leave without their valuables.  Some of them went back to their staterooms to collect their belongings, and in doing so missed the only lifeboat available.  Saving their treasure was more important to them than saving their lives, and in trying to save their treasure they lost both.  Matthew 16:26 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”  In the 100 years since that horrible night, all kinds of artifacts have been brought from the wreckage of the great ship.  These things help to tell the story, and allow us to better understand what happened that night. We’ve seen pieces of the ship, personal belongings, even letters, menus and tickets.  We’ve experienced underwater cameras giving us pictures of the watery grave for so many people.  Do we really understand what happened?  Have we learned anything all from this horrible accident?  Jesus tells of a tragedy in our passage for this morning, today is the 100^th anniversary of another tragedy?  Have we learned anything at all?

Jesus has a better way than living in arrogance, in apathy or in avarice.  He wants to give you personal humility, spiritual passion, and eternal treasure.  All of these things come through a close relationship with Him.  Will you draw near to Him this morning?  The Bible says if we “draw near to God, He will draw near to us.”  He has a better way of living – trust Him today.

Scripture:  John 20:24-29
(Preached at FBC Nitro, Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012)

It’s very important to be clear on why we should all be here this morning.  It isn’t because of the Easter bunny.  It isn’t because it is a traditional thing to do, to go to church on a Sunday designated “Easter.”  It isn’t because it is a family thing, and many our family members gather at church on this holiday before doing lots of other things.  We should be here this morning because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  The most radical, sensational claim that we make as followers of Jesus is that he emerged from a borrowed tomb three days after His body was placed there, and He will never die again.  That’s the claim we make, but many of us have problems truly believing that claim in the way that we live each day, 365 days of the year.  Many of us actually wonder how an event of such ancient history can have any significance for us today in the 21^st century.  We are modern people, we are sophisticated, and the world is a much different place than it was in the first century.  So if we are really honest with ourselves we may often wonder,

“Why on earth should we make such a big song and dance about the Resurrection?  Apart from tradition, what does it matter?”  If we take that thinking a step further, do we really believe Jesus is risen?  Do our thought patterns, our values, and our lifestyles reflect our conviction that He has conquered death and will never die again?  If there has been someone in the course of history who has overcome death and has attained immortality, then that is big deal!  For us to ignore it, or to assign it to a place with folklore and ancient myths, would make no sense.  For the early Christians, the ones who are described in our New Testament, the Resurrection was central to their message.  Luke, in the book of Acts, describes Peter and John of preaching “Jesus and the Resurrection.”  Paul had the same mindset when he spoke with the philosophers in Athens.  The people there in Athens mocked him.  The main issue they had with his preaching was the Resurrection.  It would have been one thing to have spoken of a great leader who had died.  To say however, that a great leader had died and then had been raised from the dead, never to die again, was too much for them.  When Paul summarized his message, here is what he said, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” So the resurrection is at the very center of the heart and soul of what it means to be a Christian – do we really believe Jesus is risen?

It is also important to be clear on what the Resurrection means, according to the Bible.  We’re not talking about the survival of Jesus’ legacy.  We can make that statement about many people who have died and still influence others through their memory and works.  We’re also not just talking about Jesus’ spirit going to the God the Father.  D.L. Moody once said, “One day you will read in the newspaper that D.L. Moody is dead.  Don’t you believe a word of it.  At that moment I shall be more alive than I am today.”  Moody is now in the presence of God, as are many other believers who have died in Christ.  In that sense, he and many other believers live

That’s not what we mean we say Jesus is risen.  The resurrection is also not resuscitation.  It doesn’t mean that He was brought back to life, only to die again.  There is a very popular book on the market entitled, “Heaven is for Real.”  It is an account of a small child who died, went to be with God, then was brought back to life.  The book is amazing, but that young boy will die again.  The Bible tells us about Lazarus who was raised from the dead.  It is a powerful account of one of the greatest miracles of Jesus.  Lazarus however, died again.  He was resuscitated, not resurrected.  So as we talk about Jesus being risen we are not talking about His legacy, His spirit going to be with the Father, or his being resuscitated.  We are talking about His resurrection.  With Jesus God performed a historic, unique act – Jesus was rescued from death, his body was transformed, and he became immortal, never to die again.  What God did in Jesus and His resurrection had never happened prior to that time, and it has not happened since then.  So when we really believe Jesus is risen, there are at least three things that will characterize us.

First of all, when you really believe Jesus is risen, you are assured of God’s forgiveness.  Forgiveness is one of the absolute best gifts God gives to us.  One psychiatrist has said, “I could dismiss half my patients tomorrow if they could be assured of their forgiveness.”  The ugly truth is that all of us have a skeleton or two in a dark closet at home – something we’ve done, said or thought, of which we are deeply ashamed.  Our conscience will nag at us, it will torment us, and may even seek to condemn us.  If we are really honest with ourselves, we are each ashamed of things we have done in the past.  We don’t want them to be public – we’d rather just keep them under wraps, but we still know they are there.  John R.W. Stott has said, “Nobody is free who is unforgiven.”  Instead of looking God in the face or looking one another in the eye, we want to run and to withdraw when our conscience troubles us.  The good news of Jesus however, and it is very good news, is that there is forgiveness with God.  A number of times in His ministry Jesus said to people, “Your sins are forgiven.”  In the upper room during the Last Supper, Jesus spoke of the cup being his blood that “was shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  God’s forgiveness and His death were linked.  Paul said, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  So Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins, but how do we know that it worked?  How do we know that the sacrifice was accepted?  How do we know that the goal of Jesus to forgive us of our sins was achieved?  If there was no resurrection, we’d have no assurance.  The Bible says, “…if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins”  (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17).  The truth however, is that Jesus has been raised.  The resurrection validates the death of Jesus for our sins.  When you really believe Jesus is risen, you are assured of God’s forgiveness.  So there is no need to worry about your sinful past or to fret over your sinful past.  I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Then, when you really believe Jesus is risen, you are transformed by God’s power.  For me, I need more than just forgiveness of my past sins.  Forgiveness of past sin is a wonderful thing, but what is to keep me from committing the same sins over and over again?  I need more than forgiveness in the past – I need power in the present.  Is God really able to change human nature?  Can a sexually immoral person be given self-control and chastity?  Can cruel people be made kind?  Can sour people be made sweet?  Can a hot-tempered person be placed on an even keel?  Can an individual who is dead to spiritual things be made alive?  Wouldn’t it be great if you could be given a new disposition, a new mindset, a new way of living that departs from the sin of the past?  Because Jesus is risen, that is exactly what is yours.  In Ephesians 1 Paul speaks of “having the eyes of your heart enlightened,” and experiencing the immeasurable greatness of God’s power that he worked in Christ when He raised him from the dead.  The point is that the resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to each one of us today who call upon Jesus.  He can raise you from the death of sin and alienation from God to a close, personal relationship with Him.  He can raise you from the death of rebellion against God to a life of service to God.  He does as we call upon Him.  It is a transformation.

Powerful transformation is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  In our society today, and in many of our churches, we believe that being a follower of Jesus Christ has only to do with personal identification with Christ.  “I identify myself as a Christian, I wear a cross around my neck, I go to church when I’m not too busy with other things, and I might even say grace before a meal.”  “Because I identify myself with Christ, I am a Christian.”  Becoming a Christian however, in the Biblical sense, is not just about identification, it is about transformation at the deepest level.  Becoming a Christian and being a Christian is nothing less than a resurrection from a spiritual death to live a life that is continually becoming new in Jesus.  1 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  God transforms us.  When you really believe Jesus is risen, you are transformed by God’s power.

Then, when you really believe Jesus is risen, you are confident in God’s triumph.  It is wonderful to know our sins are forgiven and we are transformed in the present, but what about the future?  A friend called me the other day and wanted to get together and talk.  We did, and he asked me the question, “Dave, what is this world coming to?”  He was advanced in years and had seen changes in society and in people that disturbed him.  He was looking for hope for the days to come.  Because Jesus is risen, we have that hope.  One of the great differences between Christianity and other belief systems of the world is what we believe about the days ahead.  We offer hope, others do not.  Some people sink into despair when they consider where the human race is headed.  Bertrand Russell, a prominent atheist of the last century wrote, “When I die, I believe that I shall rot, and that that is the end.”  He continued, “All the labors of the ages – the inspiration, the noonday brightness of human genius – are destined to extinction.  The whole temple of man’s achievement must inevitably be buried in the debris of a universe in ruins.”  In other words, there is no hope for us when it comes to the future.  Others believe that there is a future, but that it is only one that moves in a circle.  Everything is repeated continuously in a cycle of reincarnations.  Christians, on the other hand, are confident about the future of the human race.  Jesus is going to return at the end of history, not in humility in weakness as He did the first time, but in incredible power and unmatched magnificence.  The second coming of Jesus goes beyond our fondest dreams and wildest imaginations.  When He comes, He will bring history to an end.  All wrongs will be righted.  He will raise the dead, He will judge all people, and He will make everything new.  Romans 8:22-24 says, For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved…”  One day there will be a new order of things and a new world.  In that world there will be perfect justice – all wrongs will be righted.  There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  Joni Eareckson Tada is a well-known Christian author.  She is a quadriplegic, having broken her neck in a swimming accident when she was young, athletic teenager.  She writes in one of her books, “I have hope in the future.  The Bible speaks of bodies being glorified.  I know the meaning of that now.  It’s the time after my death here when I, the quadriplegic, will be on my feet dancing.”  We are going to have a new body and live in a new world where all is as it should be.  We may think, “Now wait a minute.  Aren’t we just being overly optimistic about the future?  Isn’t it quite a stretch to believe that God is going to do all those things?  Is there any evidence at all for holding to such a promising outcome for our lives and for the future of the planet?”  Yes, there is evidence – I’m so glad you asked.  The evidence is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His resurrection is the beginning of God’s new creation – it continues in our lives as we trust Him, then one day will transform and triumph over the entire earth.

Do you really believe that Jesus is risen?  Will you allow Him to forgive you of your sins, to transform you by His power, and to give you confidence in the future?  The power that raised Jesus from the dead can raise you from the death of your sinfulness and selfishness, and make you alive to God.