If The Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can The Righteous Do?

IF THE FOUNDATIONS ARE DESTROYED

Ps. 11:3

INTRODUCTION

A. MOVIE: “Force 10 From Navarone”

1. In the movie, “Force 10 from Navarone,” the good guys (led by Harrison Ford and Robert Shaw) have to blow up a bridge in Yugoslavia that is vital to the Nazis. When they see it, they realize they don’t have enough explosives to do the job. Mission Over? Not hardly.

2. The men decide to blow up a dam upstream that will unleash a torrent of water that will knock out the bridge. Harrison Ford and Robert Shaw dress up as Nazis and go to the dam, find the right spot, put the explosives in place, and then turn to leave. The dynamite goes off, makes a huge noise, and nothing happens.

3. Outside the dam, the rest of the good guys hear the explosion. When the dam doesn’t disintegrate, the team turns to the demolitions expert who lights a pipe and says, “Patience. You’ve got to have patience.”

4. At the same moment, Ford and Shaw notice cracks forming in the foundation of the dam. Then water begins to spurt through the cracks. They run for their lives, barely making it out before the dam collapses, sending an avalanche of water hurtling downstream.

5. When it hits the mighty bridge, the columns sway, then begin to crumble, and finally the bridge collapses at the very moment the Nazis are crossing with their tanks and jeeps.

6. It’s a lesson in the power of cracks in the foundation. A little dynamite in the right place will do the trick. All it takes is a few cracks, well-placed, at the right moment, and the whole thing comes crumbling down. [keepbelieving.com 7/7/15]

B. TEXT: Psalm 11

In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain?” 2 For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. 3 When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. 5 The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. 6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. 7 For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face. Ps. 11:1-7 NIV

C. THESIS

1. David saw the moral foundations of his country cracking and he was very upset, as we are. His song to God about his concerns is instructive for us too. He has some advice for us.

2. The title of this message is, “If the Foundations are Destroyed.”

I. WHAT ARE THE CRUMBLING “FOUNDATIONS?”

A. APPLICATION IN DAVID’S TIME

1. Most commentators believe that in verse 2 David was speaking about the degenerating government of King Saul. Saul had the Spirit of God leave him and had an evil spirit on him. Saul’s course became ungodly. He was plundering, breaking treaties, and building monuments to himself. Under Saul, the very foundations of the theocracy were crumbling.

2. In addition, Saul had ordered “all his servants that they should kill David” 1 Sam. 19:1. Saul knew God wanted David to rule in his place and had malice toward David. So he had set spies on him, who were looking for opportunities to kill the one God had said should lead His people Israel.

B. CRUMBLING “FOUNDATIONS” IN OUR TIME

1. In our day, evil has gone much further, challenging the natural order laid down by God. God established societal order – including basics like gender, sexuality, & family structure.

2. These are clearly pictured in the Book of Genesis and promoted by Christ (Matt. 19:4-5), “Haven’t you read,” [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[Gen. 1:27] and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” These ideas are disputed today.

3. Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Righteousness is God’s pattern for people to strive for. Godliness is a good thing. There IS right & wrong. God laid out, in the Bible, the activities, thoughts, and motives that are considered sinful in His sight. If we do those we’re to repent and God will forgive us for them, but we must be seeking to stop doing them, or we have not really repented for them.

4. There is a heaven & hell and we will be accountable, before God, at the final Judgment for all the evil we do and don’t genuinely repent of. Faked repentance doesn’t fool God. Right WILL eventually triumph over evil. We don’t want to be on the wrong side in the end.