Jesus For The If In Life

“IF”

“Jesus for the IF in LIFe”

By

District Elder M.L. Maughmer, Jr.

2nd Chronicles 7:13-14 “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.

There is an insurance company called “Metlife”. The actual name is Metropolitan Life Insurance, but it’s called Metlife for short. Metlife has commercials on T.V. that say “For the IF in life – there’s metlife”.

The commercials go something like this: IF for such a small word it packs quite a wallup.

IF I live to 100.

IF social security is not enough.

IF my heart gets broken.

IF she says yes.

IF in the blink of an eye my 6 year old turns 16.

IF my families future means the world to me.

IF I can’t count on a goof pension.

IF your life is full of things that need to be protected.

IF you get in a fender bender.

IF your identity goes sailing without you.

IF your savings is lost.

IF you have health issues.

IF you need money for college or home improvements – there’s Metlife.

They go on to say that together we can build a safety net or a launching pad for all those IF’s in life. One commercial even says guarantees for the IF in life.

From that commercial and this text I like to use for this subject “Jesus for the IF in life”.

The word IF as mentioned a moment ago is a very small word yet it packs quite a powerful wallup. Not only is it a very powerful word. It is a conditional word. In school we learned that the word IF is a conjunction. Thanks to Saturday morning cartoon, when cartoons were cartoons and not this mess they have on now, we learned that a conjunctions function was to hook up words, phrases and clauses. Remember the Saturday morning School House Rock said Conjunction Junction what’s your function hooking up words, phrases and clauses. So we know that it is a conjunction; however, I said that the word “IF” is a conditional word. Unlike the word “BUT” that negates whatever precedes it, the word “IF” means that there is an effect or consequence that is to follow.

Let me give and example of this: Romans 6:20-22 “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things [is] death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Romans 7:5-6 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter. Romans 8:5-6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace 8:13 For IF ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but IF ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

See the conjunction “BUT” negates everything that preceded it; however, the word “IF” is a conditional word that produces a result.

In the technical or computer field for example the “IF” statement is called “Conditional Programming”. It simply says IF this happens then the effect or result will be this. It is the most basic of control flow statements. It tells the program to execute a certain code or result IF a particular circumstance is performed.

Let me give a little example: On your computer key board there are 85 different keys. Each key has a code to it and IF you press a certain key then a certain result will happen. For Example: IF you press the letter M on your key board the letter M will be seen on the computer screen because a condition was met which then produced the result of the letter M to appear on your screen. Now IF you press the letter M on your keyboard and the letter Z appears on your screen the IF statement condition was not properly met; therefore, it produced the wrong result.