Memorial Day Sunday

Memorial Day Sunday

Dr. Wiley Hughes

Text: Isaiah 33:5-6

SUMMARY: God is the ONE constant in a world of conflict, confusion, and chaos and we should turn to Him in worship and prayer when there is trouble around us.

In elementary school a tornado warning was issued, and I remember getting really scared. Our teacher had taken the whole class outside so that we could either get on the bus to go home or be picked up by our parents. There wasn’t a bus that went by my house so my mom would pick me up and drop me off at school each day. This day, however, there was no sign of my mom. I was so scared, and the orange sky made me think the world was coming to an end. Just when I was about to get really upset, I saw my grandmother. My mom had to work so she sent my grandmother to get me from school when she got the call about the tornado warning. I remember how relieved I felt when I saw my grandmother. She gave me stability in that uncertain moment….oh and Ice Cream!

On this Sunday before Memorial Day we are reminded of the many brave men and women who chose to run to the conflict, confusion, and chaos of this world to help others and ultimately lost their life in the process. We honor them for their sacrifice. “War is not pretty,” to borrow the title of Episode 9 of Survivor, and facing it is a brave decision…but the fact is, God gives the stability we need as human beings to face everything, even the very difficult things.

Isaiah 33: 5-6 says; The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

These were encouraging words for God’s people in the Old Testament. They had been attacked by the Assyrians and the negotiations with the Assyrian Monarch, Sennacherib, had proven futile and he was threatening to attack again but here a prophecy against Assyria foretold their deliverance. These words by Isaiah were not a threat against Assyria and Sennacherib but a reminder to the people of God about how dependable God is when His people are in trouble.

I hear some people criticizing about all that is wrong in our nation whenever there is a tragedy like the ones in Texas and New York recently. There is much room for improvement, this is true, but the Christian’s response to loss is not reaction, retaliation, or reprimand. It is our responsibility to remind and remember. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” a statement we use during communion, but it also applies to our daily life. Matthew 28: 19-20 (The Message) states, “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

Let’s look at 3 things to remember about God. Let’s Remember WHERE He is, WHAT He does, and WHY He does it.

1). Let’s remember WHERE He is.

Isaiah 33: 5 says; “The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high…” The original word translated “exalted” in this verse specifically points to the Lord’s loftiness and inability to be attacked. God has strategically positioned himself out of the reach of all your enemies. Whenever you experience loss, whenever you suffer, whenever you are attacked just remember…God is above it all. He holds the high ground over your enemies, and over your suffering, and over death.

In the Marvel Movie “Avengers Endgame” (spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it) Thanos, the narcissistic adversary who seeks to destroy the universe attacks the avengers and rains down gunfire on the avengers from his spaceship. Just in the nick of time, Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, comes down from above the enemy’s spaceship and destroys it. If you can imagine that picture you can get an idea of WHERE God is. He is always ABOVE your enemy.

In Ephesians 1:22 the Bible says God placed Jesus at His right hand, in the heavenly places “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet,”

Haven’t you noticed that we often worry less about things we can step on. A bear is scarier to me than a bug. Whenever you are worried just think of the problem as something God is able to step on. No matter what it is…it is “under his feet!”