“The Uncertain Future”
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
2019 is almost gone. 2020 is only a few days away. A lot of us feel like 2020 is going to be an usually significant year. I know it will be for me. I assume I will retire from being a pastor and go into a supporting role in my ministry – but I don’t know. I assume we will get a young, vibrant, excited, couple to pastor our church – but I don’t know. My finances are going to change drastically – one way or the other. I’m a little fearful over that. A lot of people think the Lord will return in 2020. I don’t, but I think it could be the beginning of the end. In 2020 we will see more clearly. Maybe 2020 vision is more than a cliché. Perhaps some of those prophecies we have read all our lives will suddenly become clear to us.
One thing we know for sure is that it’s going to be a year of negative political ads and repeated lies and slandering. It would be a good year to fast from TV and maybe the internet. It could be a great year of revival as our nation turns to God – or we could go downhill fast and lose our freedom and the prosperity we have known all our lives. Believe me, the seeds of our destruction are already sprouting. I pray that God intervenes and our demise is postponed for a few more generations. I think it could go either way and by the end of 2020 we will see more clearly.
The future has always been uncertain for God’s people. If you have done even a little study of Church History you know that is so. From the disciples getting martyred, to the Christians being fed to the lions and burned at the stake in the Colosseum, to Saints being persecuted and killed down throughout history.
Tertullian, one of the 2nd century Church Fathers wrote that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church", implying that the martyrs' willing sacrifice of their lives leads to the conversion of others. You can go to Wikipedia and look under “Christian Martyr’s” and find literally hundreds of names of people who gave their lives for their faith. It certainly is not uncommon. What is uncommon is how blessed we have been in America. I believe it has been because of our Christian forefathers who created a Christian nation. It has only been in my lifetime that we lost that distinction. One previous President said, almost gleefully, we are no longer a Christian nation – and he was right. And if we do not experience a revival we will go the way of all ungodly nations. But if we turn to God – listen to the blessings.
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
“…I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:8-10
In these uncertain times, as we close out this year, I want to leave you with three things you can do. First of all, 1. Pray. That should be our first instinct. That should be our first priority. That should be an ingrained daily habit. We just read, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…”. Prayer needs to be the first option. And yet, I don’t know about you, but I have to confess that when I am stressed or anxious or fearful of the future – I often forget to pray. I might wring my hands or pace the floor or something equally unproductive. My blood pressure goes up and my adrenalin spikes and I get grouchy. Sometimes if I pray, it is not as I should. My mind is foggy and dull. I have to make myself calm down, go for a walk or find a quiet place – and pray. The Bible says,
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." Psalm 55:22
“"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."
1 Peter 5:7
“"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
We know these things. I know these things. But often I forget to do them and suffer physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually because of it. Remember – before anything else – pray. Seek God’s face. That is key. I’ve been going through the books of First and Second Samuel in my Old Testament daily reading and have been amazed at how often David, a man after God’s own heart, blew it. He made bad decisions and big mistakes. Of course we remember the Bathsheba affair, but even at the end of his life he made a bad decision of counting the fighting men in Israel, showing a lack of faith in God, even after ignoring the advice of his generals. The result was that thousands of people died. Even the most spiritual leaders sometimes forget to pray. Pray first.
Secondly, Put your faith in Jesus. David errored by putting his faith in his fighting men. He had some mighty men of valor – but they were only able to do their great exploits through the power of the Lord. The Word says,
“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:17-18
“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:30-31
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Psalm 130:5
Faith is built on hope. Hope is the trusting expectation that God will keep His word. And it is a choice. We choose to expect God will keep His word. When we do then we can put our faith in Him. Part of faith is trust. Listen.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4
Do you understand how important it is to trust God? And yet David faltered. Gideon faltered. Elijah faltered. We probably will, too. When we come to our senses – remember to choose to trust your life and future to God. The Scripture says,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
We need more faith, don’t we? I hate worrying. I hate being anxious about the future. I hate fretting and stressing. It’s an indication of a lack of faith. If we really had the faith we should- we would experience that perfect peace that passes understanding. May God help us to put our faith in Jesus. We need to believe He loves us. We need to believe He cares for us. We need to believe He will come to our rescue. The Word promises,
“If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91:9-15
God’s promises inspire faith. Memorize His promises and grow in faith.
There is a third thing we need to do when we face an uncertain future. That is, 3. Persevere. Sometimes all we can do is endure. Sometimes we don’t have a choice. We are in trouble; we are in hot water; or we are trapped in an impossible situation – like a couple of frogs I read about. It goes ….
If you hang in there – who knows what will happen? Just persevere.
The Bible says,
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
Hope is so important. Remember we said faith is built on hope. But how do we get hope? By reading the Scriptures - and as we learn the promises of God and believe them, we will be encouraged, and that will enable us to endure whatever trial we may be going through. Here is the Biblical formula. Read the Bible and you will be encouraged by the promises of God which will enable you to endure your trials and inspire hope (the expectation God will keep His promises) and faith grows from that.
That changes everything, doesn’t it? We can see trials and troubles and our uncertain future as a blessing. The Bible says,
"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4
Perfect! Complete! Needing nothing! Wow! We should almost look forward to troubles in our uncertain future. It is an opportunity for great joy!
Well, fear not. Troubles will come. Trials will come. Temptations will come. And when they do – remember,
1. Pray! 2. Put your faith in Jesus! 3. Persevere. There is nothing you will face in the future that you and God can’t handle. And He promises He will not leave us alone. He said,
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:20
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb. 13:5 & Deut. 31:6
In this uncertain future – be certain – God will never fail you!
