“Look Ahead in 2020”
Deuteronomy 34:1-8
“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.”
Luke 4:1-8
“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
It is not unusual to look ahead. God allowed Moses to see what he was missing because of his rebellion and Satan showed Jesus what could be His if He only rebelled against the will of God. Satan was showing Jesus a short-cut that avoided the cross and the pain that lay before Him. It was a real temptation to Jesus. His fleshly side was tempted. But He said the same thing to Satan as He was to say to Peter for tempting Him with the same thing, “Get behind me, Satan!”
As we face this New Year ahead of us, I would like to see with 2020 vision- but unlike Moses, my eyesight is not so good. I cannot see into the future. What I know of the future is only what God has revealed in His Word. I don’t know what tomorrow brings. But because I know who holds the future – my heart is full as we embark on this adventure. It is 1. Hopeful; 2. Joyful; and 3. Faithful.
First of all, it is 1. Hopeful. Hope is the expectation that God will keep His Word. Hope is the expectation that God will do as He says He will. We can depend on Him. He is immutable. He is unchanging. The Word of God says,
“I, the Lord, do not change…” Malachi 3:6
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
James 1:1
“God will hear and answer them-- Even the one who sits enthroned from of old—(Selah) With whom there is no change...” Psalm 55:19
As I look ahead, I am confident that God has everything under control. He always has – and He isn’t going to change now. God has revealed Himself to us as being loving and kind and patient and forgiving. He has shown Himself to be strong and mighty. He lifts up the needy and defends the defenseless. He hears our prayers and works on our behalf. And He saves the best for last. We talked about that last week. Remember Abram? He was 75 years old before God called him to his grand adventure that resulted in him becoming a father of nations. Job went through his trials and tribulations but God saved the best for last. He blessed the later years of his life more than the former years. God restored his wealth and reputation. After his trials he had seven sons and three beautiful daughters. He lived a long and prosperous life. God saved the best for last.
I noticed in my daily devotions this week that in Jesus’ very first miracle He alluded to that fact. He gave a little hint of that truth. Remember Jesus’ first miracle? It was changing water into wine. In verse 10 the Scripture says,
“Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
John 2:10
God does that. He saves the best for last.
Prior to the end coming, there is going to be a lot of bad stuff happening. Wars and rumors of wars; earthquakes in many places; persecution of Christians; and on and on it goes. It’s going to get bad for a while – but it will get better. John’s Revelation has a lot of scary stuff in it. Plagues strike mankind and evil triumphs over Christians for a while. But I have read the end of the Book! And it talks about how all this will pass and there will be no more crying or pain or death. Jesus will reign and rule. He will bestow honor and glory on us. It will be worth it all! All we go through will be worth it. The Bible says,
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17
“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” 1 Peter 1:4
God saves the best for last – and that is why I can enter into this New Year hopefully. And because I am hopeful – I can be 2. Joyful.
I think it is impossible to experience joy without hope. If you are hopeless – you are joyless. But even if thinks look bleak; even if you are in pain; even when the world turns against you – if you have hope – you can experience the ‘joy of the Lord’. Nehemiah, the godly leader of the Israelites, had Ezra, the godly old priest, read the Word of God to the people who had come to rebuild Jerusalem. What do you think their response was? They wept. They grieved. They were ashamed of themselves. And Nehemiah said,
“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
“The joy of the Lord is your strength!” Why did Nehemiah say that? The Bible tells us.
“Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” Nehemiah 8:12
Knowing God Word; understand God’s will brought them great joy. As we face our future we can enter it hopefully and even joyfully. We know that God will be with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. This is the third week in a row that I have reminded you of that. Jesus said He will be with us to the end of the age. This is the third week in a row I reminded you of that. We need to know that. We need to believe that. Then we can face ahead with confidence -with hope in our hearts and joy on our faces. Hope does not disappoint and joy is our strength.
Lastly, as we face the great unknown, we are faithful. Paul said,
“For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
That is how we ought to live. That is the only way to please God. But what does that look like? What does a person living by faith look like? The Faith Chapter gives us some examples of living by faith and then concludes with,
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:32-40
God does not count you a success by how big of a bank account you have or how much stuff you have accumulated or how many people know you or how good of a reputation you have. It is not even doing miracles or building big churches or religious organizations or casting out demons from people, Jesus said. What is success in Jesus’ eyes is the one who is faithful; the one who knows the will of God and does it. Success is being in the center of God’s will. Success is walking faithfully.
Job sat on a pile of ashes in agony scraping his wounds with a broken piece of pottery – but would not give up his hope in Him. He said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him…” Job 13:15. Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den – yet would not stop praying to God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a fiery furnace and would not disobey God. Peter was beaten and jailed and would not stop preaching the Gospel. Stephen, with his dying breath, prayed for his persecutors.
As we face the future – let us be faithful. My prayer is that I would be found faithful. I know we are a small church – but we serve a big God. We may be a small church but there is so much love in this place. You are faithful. Because you are hopeful – you can be faithful. The results is the joy of the Lord. And therein lies our strength.
Don’t worry about tomorrow. God has never failed us and He won’t start now. He takes care of the flowers of the field and the birds of the air and knows every single hair on your head. Nothing is going to catch Him by surprise. He promises to not allow more on us than we can bear – and what He does allow He promises to be there for us. So be strong. Keep your hand in the nail scarred hand of Jesus. Seek Him first and walk in obedience – and we will make it through – Hopefully, Joyfully and Faithfully.
