QUAKES THAT SHAKE
Psalm 46:1-3
INTRO.- Quakes that shake.
ILL.- A pretty big one shook Redmond, Washington, and the surrounding area last Wednesday, Feb. 28, near 11 a.m. The quake measured 6.8 on the Ricther scale and caused over $2 billion worth of damage, and injured about 410 people.
It was the most powerful quake to hit the state of Washington in 52 years.
ILL.- Bonita Menendez of Federal Way, WA, said, “I was in the housewares department of a local department store when I heard a rumbling, then things just started flying off the shelves. I yelled, ‘Earthquake!’ and started running to get away from the glass. You can always tell who is from California — they’re the first ones out the door in an earthquake.”
That earthquake was bad enough, but could have been a lot worse.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE EVER? The biggest earthquake ever recorded hit Chile on May 22, 1960, and measured 9.5.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE IN THE U.S.? The biggest quake ever record hit Alaska on March 28, 1964 and measured 9.2. It was also the second largest in the world.
It’s a good thing it didn’t hit central Illinois or there would have been a whole lot more devastation and destruction than what happened in Alaska.
Quakes that shake. Quakes shake people up. They unnerve us. They cause fear and panic. Earthquakes are not the only kind of quakes that shake us up.
ILL.- There was a certain doctor who had a problem with a leak in his bathroom that just kept getting worse and worse. And finally, at 2 a.m. the doctor called his plumber.
“For Peter’s sake, Doc,” said the plumber, “This is not the time to be calling about a plumbing problem!”
“Well,” the doctor said sarcastically, “you’ve never hesitated to call me in the middle of the night when you’ve had a medical problem. Now it just happens that I’ve got a plumbing emergency.”
There was a moment’s silence and then the plumber said, “Well, you are right about that Doc. What’s the problem?” Then the doctor explained about the leak in his bathroom.
“Tell you what you do,” the plumber said. “Take two aspirins every four hours and drop them down the drain. If the leak doesn’t stop by morning, then call me at the office.”
Plumbing problems. Quakes that shake.
Brethren, a plumbing problem would be considered by most people as a minor quake. Perhaps a .5 on the Ricther scale.
But there are many things that do happen to us in life that could be considered as “major quakes,” which really shake us up. Maybe a 7.5 or higher on the Ricther scale.
ILL.- Dr. Thomas Holmes did some research in the matter of human stress. He published what is called the “stress test.”
- The death of a spouse rated 100 points. Major quake.
- Divorce rated 73 points. Another major quake.
- Marital separation 65 points.
- Death of a family member 63 points.
- Getting fired from your job 47 points.
- Health decline 44 points.
- Financial difficulties 39 points.
- Death of a close friend 37 points.
- Change in job 36 points.
- Arguments with spouse 35 points.
Quakes that shake. Or stress that messes with our hearts and our heads.
All of us experience stress. All of us experience quakes that shake us up. And we have to learn how to deal with them or else they will deal with us. They will do a number on us and leave us in bad shape mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes physically.
How do we respond to the quakes that hit our lives? Some people get very angry. Others get very cynical. Some get down and depressed. Still others run away, but smart people run to the Lord.
Ps. 121:1-2 “I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
When troubles or quakes come into our lives some people don’t know where to go for help. They don’t know what to do or where to turn.
And I contend that the right thing to do is to turn to the Lord! Always and in everything!
Ps. 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea...”
God, our Creator and Heavenly Father, is our helper and our strength in life! He is our helper when we’re faced with both minor and major quakes! And when we’re faced with earthly quakes and spiritual quakes!
This Scripture doesn’t need to be interpreted. It needs to be trusted. Believed in. Counted on. Taken to the bank.
If God is all-powerful, all-wise, all-holy, and all-loving, etc. then He is our refuge and strength whether we realize this or not. He can protect us from evil, keep us safe, and provide for us in every situation of life. In big and small troubles. In powerful and puny quakes alike.
PROP.- I want us to think about some of life’s quakes and how our loving and powerful God can help us during these times.
I. AGING AND DISEASE
ILL. - There are four ages of man: 1) when you believe in Santa Claus, 2) when you don’t believe in Santa Claus, 3) when you are Santa Claus, 4) when you look like Santa Claus.
ILL.- Seven Ages of Man
6 weeks--all systems go
6 years--all systems "No!"
16 years--all systems know
26 years--all systems glow
36 years--all systems owe
56 years--all systems status quo
76 years--all systems slow
ILL.- The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.
ILL. - Interviewer: "I see your birthday is May 5, Ms. Beale. May I ask what year?" Ms. Beale: "Every year."
Old timer to neighbor: "I’ve reached the age where the happy hour is a nap."
Brethren, the truth is: both aging and disease come to everyone if we live long enough.
ILL.- Some years ago I took my mom to a doctor in her hometown of Webb City, MO. While sitting in the waiting room I thumbed through a magazine on aging. I think it was “Modern Maturity.” And one quote hit me rather hard. It read something like, “Everyone over 60 gets arthritis, but some people aren’t bothered by it.”
And I thought, “I wished I hadn’t been bothered by it!”
Brethren, it may be arthritis or allergies, dandruff or diabetes, pneumonia or Parkinson’s, but everybody gets something.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 gives us a picture of aging and it’s not a pretty picture, BUT IT HAPPENS TO ALL OF US IF WE LIVE LONG ENOUGH!
Eccl. 12:3-5 “Your body will grow feeble, your teeth will decay, and your eyesight will fail. The noisy grinding of grain will be shut out by your deaf ears, but even the song of a bird will keep you awake. You will be afraid to climb up a hill or walk down a road. Your hair will turn as white as almond blossoms. You will feel lifeless and drag along like an old grasshopper...”
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS QUAKE IN OUR LIVES?
First of all, use your common sense: Take care of yourself. Get your rest. Eat right. Don’t eat too much fat. Don’t eat beef or you’ll get ‘MAD COW DISEASE,’ etc. (That’s a joke for some, but not for those in England) Get some exercise. Observe general health principles.
Age gracefully. Grow in Christ. Become a mature person in Christ, because that will help you to age gracefully more than anything else you can do.
Second, CAN OUR GOD HELP US WITH THIS QUAKE? Well, of course, He can!
Heb. 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Aging and disease can be prayed about. Don’t you realize that God is interested in everything about you?
Don’t be afraid to pray, “God, have mercy on me. I’m hurting. I feel bad. I need help. Direct me to some good doctor who can help me with this problem. Bring healing if this is what You want. If not, give me the strength and grace to endure and keep going.” Aging and disease.
II. DEATH AND SEPARATION
ILL.- A bank in Binghamton, New York, had some flowers sent to a competitor who had recently moved into a new building. There was a mix up at the flower shop, and the card sent with the arrangement read, "With our deepest sympathy." The florist, who was greatly embarrassed, apologized. But he was even more embarrassed when he realized that the card intended for the bank was attached to a floral arrangement sent to a funeral home in honor of a deceased person. That card read, "Congratulations on you new location!"
Brothers and sisters, death is a certainty.
Heb. 9:27 “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
We have to face the death of our loved ones and face the fact that someday our death is coming. How do we handle these quakes?
Be thankful if your loved one died in Christ! And be at peace! Rejoice and thank God! THEY HAVE A NEW LOCATION AND IT’S BETTER THAN THE ONE WHERE THEY USED TO LIVE!
ILL.- Many years ago when I was a student in Bible college we young men who were studying for the ministry were encouraged to attend as many as funerals as possible in order to learn how to preside at them.
And I remember attending the funeral of the father of Don DeWelt who was one of my college professors. Don preached his own father’s funeral and it was like none I’d ever heard. Brother Don preached with a smile on his face and with great confidence about his father’s salvation. PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE WERE WEEPING, BUT DON WAS SMILING! He knew where his father had gone! He trusted in the grace of Christ!
Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed.” There is glory that is going to be revealed and it will be revealed to those who die in Christ.
Rev. 14:13 “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
The person who dies in the Lord will experience a glory, a rest, and a reward in the next life.
ILL.- NO DISAPPOINTMENT IN HEAVEN
There’s no disappointment in heaven,
No weariness, sorrow or pain;
No hearts that are bleeding and broken,
No song with a minor refrain.
The clouds of our earthly horizon
Will never appear in the sky,
For all will be sunshine and gladness,
With never a sob nor a sigh.
We’ll never pay rent for our mansion,
The taxes will never come due;
Our garments will never grow threadbare,
But always be fadeless and new.
We’ll never be hungry nor thirsty,
Nor languish in poverty there,
For all the rich bounties of heaven
His sanctified children will share.
There’ll never be crepe on the doorknob,
No funeral train in the sky;
No graves on the hillsides of Glory,
For there we shall never more die.
The old will be young there forever,
Transformed in a moment of time;
Immortal we’ll stand in His likeness,
The stars and the sun to outshine.
I’m bound for that beautiful city
My Lord has prepared for His own;
Where all the redeemed of all ages
Sing “Glory!” around the white throne.
Sometimes I grow homesick for Heaven,
And the glories I there shall behold.
What a joy that will be when my Savior I see,
In that beautiful city of gold!
- F. M. Lehman
Brethren, there will be no disappointment in heaven. Thank God if your loved one is with the Lord! Praise Him!
Now what about your own separation from this life, your own death? What are you to do?
ILL.- Gen. William Nelson, a Union general in the Civil War, was shot in the chest. He was near death. He had faced many battles, but the fatal blow came while he was relaxing with his men. As such, he was caught fully unprepared. As men ran up the stairs to help him, the general had just one phrase, "Send for a clergyman; I wish to be baptized."
He never had time as an adolescent or young man. He never had time as a private or after he became a general. And his wound did not stop or slow down the war. Everything around him was left virtually unchanged--except for the general’s priorities. With only minutes left before he entered eternity, the one thing he cared about was preparing for eternity. He wanted to be baptized. Thirty minutes later he was dead.
What about your own separation from this life in death? Preparation is the key word. Give your life to Christ. Do whatever He wants you to do! Don’t delay!
God is our refuge and strength, even in death. ESPECIALLY IN DEATH!
1- Aging and disease
2- Death and separation
III. INCOME AND OUTGO
In it comes and out it goes, and often faster than it comes in! And, of course, I’m talking about money.
ILL.- A man said, “A couple of weeks ago I was listening as my Dad talked about what it was like to live on a fixed income now that he is retired. ‘Fixed income,’ I said, ‘I’d love for my income to be fixed. It’s been broken for a long time.’”
This is true for many of us.
ILL.- Young Families in Debt: Spending habits of young married couples with children (both spouses 18 to 25): Average after-tax income, $19,783. Average annual spending, $21,401. They are spending around 8% more than they make. USA Today, 1991 With the economy the way it is, it’s easy to overspend.
ILL.- And if you think you’re situation is bad, listen to this one. Do you remember my Christian brother Ruben Casas from East Los Angeles, CA? How would you like to live in Los Angeles, CA? Do you know what it costs to live there?
Brother Ruben, his wife and two children live on about $500 a week and they drive a 1993 car.
He said, “We do without a lot of things like going out to eat, buying new clothes and shoes, but believe me, it is much better this way than it was back in my homeland.” Meaning Mexico.
Brethren, $25,000 a year is not a lot of money for a family of four and especially, in California! In fact, I don’t know how they do it, but apparently, they are very frugal.
Most of us face some financial difficulties in life. It’s a quake that shakes us up. What are we to do?
Work hard. Work more sometimes. There may be times when we will have take on a second job in order to make it. Mow yards. Try to get a different job. Sometimes you got to do what you have to do in order to make a living.
Most of all, we need to put our trust in God who owns everything and ask Him to help us, to take care of us, to provide for us!
Prov. 3:5-6
Prov. 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your wealth (income), with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing...”
Mal. 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse...
Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
God is saying that if you will honor me in your giving, I will bless you and take care of you! I WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU!
Do we believe that God is going to take us to heaven because of His son Jesus Christ? More than likely. Then we must also learn to trust Him in regard to material provision.
ILL.- Seth Wilson said, “Christian faith and Christian stewardship often transcend reason and logic. Don’t expect to understand how God takes hold of your money matters and improves them. Perhaps you love God and feel the need of giving more to your church and to missions, but without the faith to undertake tithing. Instead of trying to reason your budget, merely step out on faith. Throw logic out the window in this matter and walk by faith.”
We must keep on giving as God has asked to. He promises to give to us as we give back to Him.
And we must keep on praying about things like this: “Lord, I’m having a tough time. I’m having to rob Peter to pay Paul. Please help me. Provide for me somehow. I know you can do it. I trust you to do this.”
Phil. 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
God has promised to provide for us and we must believe Him.
CONCLUSION-------------------------------------------
ILL.- Preacher Vance Havner once told a story about an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles--both real and imaginary. Finally, someone in her family tactfully told her, "Grandma, we’ve done all we can for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest." A look of absolute despair came over her face as she replied, "Oh dear, has it come to that?"
Havner commented, "It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!"
Havner was right. All of us are going to be faced with quakes that shake us. Why not learn to trust the Lord and commit everything to Him in the first place instead of waiting until we’ve failed or blown it?
