MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL
TEXT: Isaiah 55:9-12, Psalms 46 & 121, Romans 8:28, 2 Timothy 1:7
Two weeks ago I was looking forward to celebrating my 92nd birthday the next day. Then you all surprised me with a card shower & a very good birthday cake (but thankfully no candles).
Then that afternoon, when I opened up the cards & read all the notes you wrote I was overwhelmed by your expressions of appreciation & love. If ever I felt useless & no longer wanted, that feeling disappeared. With all sincerity I want to thank you, & seek in some way to return that love!
By the way, I won’t mention who passed along this story, & assure you that it has nothing to do with me since Ethel & I will soon celebrate 69 years of marriage. Anyway, here’s the story.
ILL. George, age 92 & Gloria, age 89, are excited about their decision to get married even though they were way up in years. They go for a stroll to discuss wedding plans & came to a drugstore. George suggests they go in & speak to the man behind the counter.
"Sir, are you the owner?" The pharmacist answers, "Yes". "Well, we’re about to get married. Do you sell Miralax & Ensure?" "We do."
"How about support hose & medicine for rheumatism & arthritis?" "All kinds." "Denture supplies, sleeping pills, Adult-size Depends?" "Absolutely"
"Do you sell canes, walkers & wheelchairs?" "We do." Then the store owner asked, “Why all the questions?"
George smiles & looks at Gloria who nods her head. "Well, we would like to use your store for our Wedding Registry."
Folks, you are a wonderful congregation, & I thank you for the opportunity to serve as best I am able.
I know that times are difficult. Just turn on the TV News & you quickly learn that much of our world is filled with anxiety about various conflicts. Every day seems to bring with it another wave of disheartening news.
In 1 Thess. 4:13, Paul encouraged believers who had lost loved ones, not “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” I believe that the apostle Paul would tell us who follow Jesus, not to live “like…men who have no hope.”
As Christians, this is not a time for us to live in fear - because we do have hope, a living hope through Christ Jesus our Lord.
There are just 2 Major points in this sermon. And to lead us into those 2 points I want to read Isaiah 55:9. “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways & my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
I’m convinced we are really in need of some ‘God thoughts’ this morning! So I will be calling your attention to a number of Scriptures, & 2 verses in Isaiah speak to the reason why.
Isaiah 55:10,11 says, “As the rain & the snow come down from heaven, & do not return to it without watering the earth & making it bud & flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower & bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
“It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire & achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
I’m confident God's word will accomplish His purpose. So in times like these we need to:
I REMEMBER . . . Our God is Still on His Throne. Isa. 6:1 begins with these words, "In the year that King Uzziah died…" Uzziah had been King of Judah for 55 years & most of that time he had been a good king. But what do you think the nation of Judah felt when he died?
With an enemy army at their border they were undoubtedly troubled about the future. Well, God knew that His people needed to see that He was still on His throne.
So Isaiah testifies (6:1), "I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high & exalted; & the train of his robe filled the temple.”
Again Isaiah 40:21 tells us, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He (that's God) sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.”
B. Our God Is In Control - So not only must we remember that God is still on His throne, but also that He is in control.
Do you remember what Jesus said to the apostles just before he gave them what we call the Great Commission? He told them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth.” Matthew 28:18
And the apostle Paul confidently said, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Rom. 8:28
The Gospel of Luke tells about Caesar Augustus issuing a decree for a census of the whole Roman world.
Now, Caesar Augustus must have thought it was all his idea. But it’s obvious that it was a part of God's eternal plan for Joseph & Mary to be in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, just like the prophet Micah had foretold hundreds of years earlier.
So at times like these we must remember that God is on His throne, that He is in Control, & that:
C. Our God Can Be Trusted
Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own under-standing; in all your ways acknowledge Him, & He will make your paths straight.”
Jesus Himself said, (John 14:1-3)“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.
"I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back & take you to be with me…”
At times like today we must remember not only that our God is on His throne, that He is in control, that God Can be Trusted, & that:
D. Our God Is Our Helper
ILL. Steve Malone told about a time when his first wife was terminally ill. He wrote: “The Psalm I am about to read has been a special Psalm to me since my first wife was battling cancer & was in ICU at University Hospital in Tampa, Fla.”
“She was not doing well. The meds were not working. She was uneasy, disorientated & hallucinating. Nothing the Doctors did helped.”
“Finally she looked at me & asked, ‘Where is my Bible?’ I grabbed it off the window ledge & handed it to her. She flipped feverously through the pages, then pointed to Psalm 121 & said, "Read this to me."
“I read it to her & instantly a supernatural peace & calmness swept over her.”
Folks, let me read a part of Psalm 121 to you. "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven & earth.
"The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade . . . the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming & going both now & forevermore."
Psalm 28:7 says, "The Lord is my strength & my shield; my heart trusts in Him, & I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, & I praise Him with my song.” Yes, God has truly been Our Helper.
Now I could go on listing things the Bible tells us about God - that Our God is great & good, God is faithful, God keeps His promises, God is the King of Kings & Lord of Lords, He is the Father of Compassion, & the God of All Comfort.
II. A. THEREFORE, We Will Not be afraid. Isaiah 43:1-2 says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
“When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. … For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
B. THEREFORE, We Will Not Worry - Jesus said in Matt. 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, & yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?”
ILL. Said the robin to the sparrow, “I should really like to know, why these anxious humans rush about & worry so.” Said the sparrow to the robin, “Friend, I think it must be that they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you & me.”
Instead of focusing on all the bad news each day, follow the advice of the apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8.
"…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”
In these troubled times, remember that Our God is still on His throne; He is in control, & can be trusted, & is our helper. Therefore - We will not be afraid, we will not worry, and:
C. We Will Consider It Pure Joy - James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature & complete, not lacking anything.”
There is a purpose behind every difficult time - so if you have trouble seeing times like these as an opportunity for joy, ask God to give you the wisdom to see it that way.
D. We Will Be A Light For Him - Jesus says, "You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works & give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14,16)
Right now the world really needs to see how Christians can live. Not stupidly, nor living in fear & worry. And we may have opportunities to turn our conversations into God conversations.
Peter wrote: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have.”(1 Pet.3:15)
In these troubled times, we must remember that Our God is still on His throne, He is in control, He can be trusted, & He is our helper. Therefore:
E. We Will Show Compassion - Matt. 9:35-36 says, "Jesus went through all the towns & villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom & healing every disease & sickness.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed & helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." We must care about people’s fears & needs, too. So be looking for opportunities to serve others..
III. FINALLY, It Will Be Worth it All! There is a beautiful hymn that says,
Life’s day will soon be o’er, all storms forever past;
We’ll cross the great divide to Glory, safe at last!
We’ll share the joys of heaven: a harp, a home, a crown;
The tempter will be banished. We’ll lay our burdens down.
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ.
One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase.
So, bravely run the race till we see Christ.
So Fix Your Eyes On Jesus - Not on any crisis - Not on the news media - Not on fear & hopelessness - but on Jesus. He is my Savior, & He wants to be yours too!
LET US PRAY
