IF – Part 1
Scripture: Genesis 18:26; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Proverbs 16:18; 29:23
This morning I am starting a new series that I have titled “If.” How many times have we made decisions in our past and looked back on those decisions and asked ourselves “what if?” What if I had made a different choice? What if I had handled that situation differently? What if, what if, what if? Sometimes we can truly answer that question because we can see the results of what would have happened if we chose differently. At other times we do not know what would have happened so we are left to ponder the best case scenario and wonder “IF” we have made the wrong decision. Wouldn’t it be great if when we are faced with “IF” situations we knew which decision to make? I mean we would never have to look back and say “what if” because when we faced the situation we made the right choice. Well, through this series I will show you scripturally how we can make the right choice when we are faced with those “IF” situations that truly matter.
As we go through this series of messages looking at different scriptural references, I want you to think about what the word “IF” truly means and how this word can define how we interact with God. Think about how many times have we said, “God if You do this for me then I will do that for You”? Think about what this statement says. This statement is placing a condition on something we are willing to do for God only after He first does something for us. “IF” is defined in the dictionary as “a conjunction used to indicate the circumstances that would have to exist in order for an event to happen.” In other words, only after the first thing happens can the second thing take place. The word “IF” applies pre-conditions for something else to happen.
This word is very interesting and is one of the most important words in the Bible because it speaks directly to our responsibility to God, NOT His responsibility to us! Most of the promises in the Bible have conditions and the word “IF” speaks to those conditions. We will see through this series that the conditions are never on God’s end – meaning He has to do something in order for us to do our part – it is always on us. How we respond to God’s commands directly affect our fellowhship with Him and what we receive from Him. You can say that how you walk in your faith with God is dependent on how many times you use the word “IF” when you are believing something He has told us in His word. For example, how many times you wonder “IF” God is hearing you; or “IF” God truly understands your situation. When we use the word “IF” when thinking about our relationship with God it speaks volume! When Jesus used the word “IF” in the New Testament, it was always on man’s side and never on God’s side. Why? Because God has made everything available to us but it is up to us to take advantage of it. In other words, “IF” we will do our part, “then” we will receive what God has already done for us on His part! Let me give you two “if - then” examples from the Old Testament.
In the eighteenth chapter of the book of Genesis, the LORD shares with Abraham His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Upon hearing the news, Abraham begins to plead with the LORD to spare the cities so that the righteous would not be destroyed with the sinners. Abraham starts by asking the LORD to spare the cities if He found fifty righteous individuals. Listen to what is recorded in Genesis 18:26: “And the LORD said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.’” The Hebrew word “IF” in this verse has a root meaning of something “being enough to cause” something else to happen or not happen. In this verse The LORD told Abraham “IF” He found fifty righteous people in Sodom then He would not destroy the cities. You know the story, Abraham negotiated with the LORD to spare the city if he found only ten righteous people in Sodom. The LORD agreed to spare the city if ten righteous people could be found – just ten. Lot, his wife, and his two daughters who were still living with him would be four. Then if you add in his other daughters and sons-in laws surely he could have found a total of ten people, but that was the case. Here is what I want you to see. The LORD stood by His word. The word “IF” laid out the conditions for which the cities would be spared. If those conditions were not met, and they weren’t, then the cities would be destroyed and they were. Let’s look at another example. Turn to Second Chronicles 7:14.
“If My people, who 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.” In this verse God gives the conditions that must be met “IF” He was to forgive their sins and heal their lands. The conditions were that the people had to humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways and “then” and only then would God hear them, forgive their sins and heal their lands. In these two examples, and there are many more, God sets the conditions for what must be done in order for us to walk with Him. We do not get to tell God what He must do in order for us to do something in response. That, my friends, is called PRIDE! Pride tells God that once He does what we want Him to do then He can expect us to do what He wants us to do and let me tell you that don’t work!
There are several “IF” references that we will examine in this series that will cover examples of if we are hearing and listening; obeying; having faith and believing, etc. The one thing that will impacts every example that we will cover is what I mentioned earlier, pride. If you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah pride played a role in Lot’s wife, daughters and sons-in-laws being destroyed. In Second Chronicles 7:14 pride played a role in how the Children of Israel responded to God. The word “IF” establishes the conditions and our pride determines how we respond to those conditions.
This morning there are two Greek words that we will focus on for this message. The first is “ei,” (pronounced “I”) and defines IF as “expressing a condition that is hypothetical.” We would say something like “IF you say so.” The person has nothing to go on but what was said about the situation. The second Greek word is “ean,” which “expresses a condition that can only be determined by experience.” We would say something like “So, IF I miss the #10 bus, it will be another 45 minutes before the next one comes?” The condition here is having to wait an additional 45 minutes for the next bus. I want you to keep these two examples in the forefront of your mind.
I was having a conversation with a co-worker last week and we talked about how we like to “help” God out in certain situations. You know how we think God needs our input into those things that we are depending on Him for (did I mention Pride already?) Anyway, during the conversation we both agreed that while we know God does not need our input and that our jobs are simply to walk with Him, it feels good to us when we give Him input – especially when it seems like our input impacts the outcome. This mindset is really a “me first” or “all about me” mindset. Here’s what I mean. When we live with a “Me-First” perspective, we will look and evaluate things based on how it will impact us first. In the process of this evaluation, we will sometimes mentally ask ourselves a question or questions to determine how what is being considered will impact us. And there is nothing wrong with doing that unless you are questioning what the Bible says and trying to determine “IF” what it says is right for you. You see, in order for us to respond appropriately to those “IF” situations in the Bible, we must address how we are processing what we are hearing.
I want to share two personal stories with you about pride that some of you have heard before. When I was in the third grade, I cheated on a math test. These tests were on vinyl record albums after the problem was stated we had a few seconds to write down our answers. The answers were written on the album cover and I copied them and placed the paper under my sheet. I thought I was good until the teacher walked around the room and caught me. What hurt most was her look of disappointment. That day I decided never to cheat in math again and it became one of my best subjects. What changed me? Mrs. Porter had pride in me and she was extremely disappointed in my cheating. It took some time to earn back the respect I lost that day. This happened in 1969. When I preached my first sermon in 1981 Mrs. Porter was there. She said I was one of her sons and she was very proud of me. The circle was complete and I had regained what I had lost.
When I was in graduate school I had to write a paper about leadership and I chose to write my paper about the military leadership style using my mentor, Walter McKinney. The professor was extremely easy on us since we were all active duty military people. I wrote the paper and got an “A”. When I showed it to my mentor, he was very disappointed; he knew it didn’t reflect my best work. It was not about the “A”, but the fact I had chosen not to give my best because I knew I didn’t have too – I didn’t take “pride” in my work. That was 32 years ago and I thought about that incident when I preached his funeral ten years later and I still think about his feedback. He was a man that taught me to have pride in everything I do. Pride, “IF” used correctly, can push us to higher levels of achievement. But did you notice I said “IF”? What about the other type of pride? The pride that keeps us focusing on ourselves regardless of what God is trying to do in our lives? I am talking about the pride that can lead to our destruction – especially when our responses to the “IF” situations are not what they should be. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Prides goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” Proverbs 29:23 says, “A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.” This is the pride that will hinder us from making the proper decision when we read the “IF” situations in the Word of God.
We all know that God does not like pride. Remember how in pride Satan rebelled against God and was kicked out of heaven? Isaiah 14:12-14 says this about Lucifer: “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recessions of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” And then Ezekiel 28:17 adds this about Lucifer: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.” When it comes to how we respond to God and the Bible, pride is very subtle. Remember what Tabari told us last week about the doors? Remember how he described the pretty door that we want to go through and the ugly door that God is sitting next to and beckoning us to come and enter through? He spoke about how our pride influences us to choose what is pretty and easy versus working through the obstacles to get to where God wants us. What Tabari talked about was that “Me-First” mentality which is another name for pride.
So let’s look at some examples about forgiveness and how our pride can influence how we choose to forgive according to the Word of God and how our response to “IF” as it relates to forgiveness impacts our relationship with God. Remember this is about how we respond to the Word. In these examples we are going to look at the Greek word “ei,” which is “IF” that is hypothetical. Turn to Matthew 6:14-15. It reads, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, you’re Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive your transgression.” The hypothetical truth that these verses are presenting is “God says if we don’t forgive He won’t forgive us.” Now why is this a “hypothetical truth” versus an “absolute truth”? It’s hypothetical because we will have to act, respond, or make a decision on what God said based on whether or not we believe what God said is truth. If we believe what God said is truth then it becomes absolute truth – truth without exception. However, like many, if we choose not to believe this truth, then we’re saying we don’t have to forgive – or there is some flexibility in how we forgive. Do you know that when we respond this way it a sign of pride? Turn to Mark 11:23-26. “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.” (Mark 11:25-26)
These verses are almost mirror images of what we read in Matthew with one HUGE addition. The Bible says that if we are not willing to forgive people, then our Father will not forgive us. What is added that we don’t see in Matthew is Prayer! New Light, the Bible says God cannot answer our prayers if we are living with unforgiveness in our lives. Why is this a “hypothetical truth?” It is hypothetical to some because the only thing they have to go on to make their decision about believing it is whether or not they have faith that what the Bible is saying is true. Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight, so we believe without proof. This is what I need you to understand, how we walk in faith is directly linked to our decision to release our pride. Pride is based on knowledge of self and an understanding of our value. However, when that pride expands to the point where we begin to feel superior, then we begin to question what is presented to us, by others and by the Word of God. When we begin to question, we begin to make the wrong decisions in our “IF” situations. I want to point something out to you that is absolutely critical. “IF” is a word that indicates faith because the hypothetical truth is only a possibility until it’s believed and acted upon. At the point of belief the hypothetical becomes absolute. Our responses to our “IF” situations will demonstrate how we are walking in faith! Likewise, “IF” can also be a pride word when the hypothetical truth is not believed or acted upon. New Light, when it comes to what we see in the Bible, we will always respond with faith when we believe that what we read is true or we will respond with pride when we disbelieve because we think we know better.
In part one of this series I have focused on how pride influences our responses to our “IF” situations. I want to close out this message by painting a picture for you so that when you leave here this morning and you are singing this song in your head, you can ask yourself “IF”. We sing this song during our praise service sometimes. I want you to hear the words of the song and then I will take you to the Scripture where the song supposedly originated. The song says: “Who am I that You are mindful of me, that You hear me when I call. Is it true that You are thinking of me, how You love me, it's amazing. I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me friend….” You remember that song? Now let’s read what the Bible says.
Jesus said, “You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. From now on I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (John 15:14-15) Do you see the condition in verse fourteen? Jesus said His disciples were His friend “IF” they did whatever He commanded them and that my friends also apply to us. We can sing the song and be happy doing it but the truth of the matter is just singing the song does not make it so. Singing the song does not make it an absolute truth that we are God’s friends! Jesus considered those who did His commandments His friends and therefore He withheld nothing from them. He said “for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” Are you listening? Let me seal this up for you nice and tight. Turn to James 2:21-23.
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? See how faith worked with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” (James 2:21-23) James was quoting from Isaiah 41:8 where God stated that Abraham was His friend. How did Abraham become a friend of God? He became a friend of God through obedience. He obeyed! When he faced his “IF” moments, he made the right decision! He was not perfect, but he chose to walk with God and follow His direction even when it meant leaving everything that he knew to follow God blindly. So IF we are truly friends of God, then we are following His commandments. We are accepting His Word. We are living by His Word. We are successfully passing our “IF” situations and that requires us to set aside our PRIDE! Next week we will continue with a focus on the “IF” situations pertaining to the heart.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
