Sermon for 11/11/2001
Is there a Cause?
1 Samuel 17
Adapted from an outline by Tom Walker on The Preacher’s Corner
Introduction:
A. One of my favorite children’s stories is the Emperor’s New Clothes. It is the tale about an Emperor who was swindled by a supposed tailor. The man claims to sew a new, special suit for the Emperor. It is special because only those who are wise and cultured will see the clothes, while those who are foolish and uncultured will find them invisible. Not wanting to be labeled a fool or behind the times, the Emperor pretends he can see the suit, pretends to put it on, and then proceeds to walk around the castle in his underwear. Not wanting to be considered fools all his advisors and servants pretend to be able to see the clothes as well and comment on how beautiful they are. As the Emperor leads a parade through the city, his loyal subjects "ah" and "oh" over clothing they cannot see. Everyone is lying, because they are afraid to tell the truth. If they admit they see the Emperor in his underwear, all their neighbors will certainly ridicule them. But, finally, one young boy exposes the deception. He blurts out that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes and his words encourage others to speak the truth as well.
WBTU:
A. (Psa 10:2 NIV) In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.(Psa 10:3 NIV) He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.(Psa 10:4 NIV) In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
B. There is no room for truth and there is no room for God in the hearts of many people.
C. Tell the story of David and Goliath:
1. 1 Samuel 17
2. The army of the Philistines and the army of Israel marched out for battle. The armies were on two mountains with a valley in between. Someone had to make the first move but no one did.
3. Instead of leading a charge, the Philistines had their giant Goliath march into the middle of the valley and challenged any Israelite to fight with him to decide the outcome of the battle.
4. Goliath was 9’ 9’’ tall. He would have made a great basketball center. He had scaled body armor that weighed 125 pounds. The point of his spearhead weighed 15 pounds.
5. Someone is supposed to go out and fight this man. Without these weapons, this man probably would have torn anyone apart. Boxing, wrestling, anything else would have been ludicrous.
6. Naturally, Saul and the army of Israel were filled with fear. For 40 days Goliath taunted the Israelites and blasphemed the God of Israel.
7. The little boy David comes on the scene loaded with food from Jesse, his father, to take to his 3 older brothers who are serving with Saul in the Israelite army.
8. Goliath comes out as before and taunts the Israelites and curses their God.
9. David sees this and becomes angry and he begins to ask questions of why this is occurring.
10. David’s oldest brother Eliab tells David to be quiet and tells him that he is filled with pride.
11. Then David asks this question, "Is there not a cause?" In NIV it says Can’t I even speak? "Is there not a cause?"
12. David was sickened by how the Lord was being made fun of and he wanted to do something about it. However, his brother thought that he was being arrogant.
D. A cause speaks of a "reason or motive for human action."
E. Recently we have seen the terrorist tragedies in Washington, Pennsylvania, and New York. Most of the world now is certainly tired of terrorism and needless mass killings. There is a cause now for America and the world to unite to deal with the terrible menace called terrorism. The terrorists and the countries that harbor and train them must be dealt with very severely and deliberately.
Thesis: What is there a cause for today?
For instances:
I. There is a cause for contemplation.
A. Approximately 5,000 Americans had been slain by evil men in the last few days.
B. Our leaders need our prayer more than ever before for God’s direction in their decisions.
C. However, this is a time for contemplation for thinking about what we believe. There is a battle going on right now not in Afghanistan but for the heart and soul of America. The terrorist attacks have caused many people to rethink their beliefs.
D. We have been taught for many years in public school system, in universities the ideas and thoughts of postmodernism. Many people think that this view is new. No, it is not new; it is as old as the New Testament.
E. This whole view can be summed up in the words of Pontius Pilate when he was questioning Jesus Christ: John 18:37-38
F. Norman Geisler- Pilate’s words ring with the cynicism of a man who has searched for it but never found it. His implication is that there is no such thing. Pilate is not alone. Many have followed the same road, so that what is taught in the schools is the same cynical conclusion: There is no truth.
G. Truth is what you make it. What is true for you may not be true for me. Do not even suggest that there is such a thing as absolute truth.
H. If we suggest such a thing we get reactions the same that David did from his brother Eliab.
I. When you are witnessing to someone about Jesus Christ and what he has done in your life have you ever gotten the response, "I’m really glad you found something that works for you."? What good does it do to tell someone about Jesus if he doesn’t realize that you are saying, "This is true for everyone, everywhere, at all times, and it is not compatible with any opposing system of beliefs"?
J. Another way to describe postmodernism is relativism. There is no absolute truth so everything is relative or subjective. We will never be able to find out the truth because there is no such a thing, so we might as well define truth for ourselves.
K. This view says that truth is relative to time and space (it was true then, but not now), and truth is relative to persons (true for me, but not for you)
L. On the other hand, absolute truth implies at least two things:
1. Whatever is true at one time and in one place is true at all times and in all places.
2. Whatever is true for one person is true for all persons.
M. Absolute truth doesn’t change; relative truth changes from time to time and person to person. A person who believes in postmodernism does not believe in such a thing as absolute truth.
N. Before a person can be saved, he must love, respect, and believe the truth. He must recognize its value for what it is and especially in contrast with that, which is false. Christ said I am the way, the truth… Christ was the embodiment of the truth, and the Word of God the revelation of it. If we do not love and appreciate the truth, we will lose it. Then delusion and error will take its place.
O. In our information age, we are bombarded with a great deal of information. Some of it is true and some of it is error. Our society is multi-cultured with hundreds of denominations and non-Christian religions. Couple that with the mindset of postmodernism, and we really have a mess. The unique and distinctive edge of truth is knocked out as truth and error are merged together to make up the mixed up, modern mindset. In such a context, truth and error are equally esteemed. The distinguishing of truth from error doesn’t seem to enter the average person’s mind. "I’m okay, you’re okay" is the great American way. "It doesn’t make any difference what you believe, just as long as you are sincere." Truth is not loved and esteemed as the truth, and, therefore, truth is lost.
P. This leads us to today. If we follow these maxims out, then we must say that Osama Bin Laden is okay. That the Al-Quida network is a noble institution because it works for them. That the Taliban believes some weird things, but it makes no difference because they are so sincere. If you were to say these things in all seriousness in our day, watch out because people are going to hate you and label you as evil.
Q. The President has declared Osama Bin Laden as an evildoer. The Al-Quida network as a murderous institution. The Talilban and their followers as the embodiment of falsehood. We have acknowledged something here that there is such a thing as error and truth. Not just the President believes this because about 90% of the population have wholeheartedly endorsed the Presidents statements.
R. We have acknowledged that taking commercial airplanes and slamming them into buildings is wrong. It was wrong 50 years ago and it will be wrong 100 years from now. It is wrong for all people, in all times, in all places. We have acknowledged absolute truth. Why? Because God made us that way.
S. We have a sense of justice against evil and falsehood. We have a sense of justice because God has put within us a longing for truth and the right side to win.
T. People who have honestly believed in postmodernism have to reevaluate their beliefs or suffer from serious depression because they cannot live out these beliefs in the real world.
U. The death of postmodernism was on September 11, 2001.
V. There is a cause.
II. There is a cause for closeness.
A. A house divided against itself cannot stand; it will surely fall.
B. It has been great to see Americans pull together out of our great hurt and even anger.
C. All who believe in a free society must pull together.
D. (Psa 133:1 KJV) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
E. What a wonderful time! What a time of patriotism!
F. We as a society need to acknowledge that there is such a thing as absolute truth. This will keep us united. Sin is the greatest thing that divides people. Acknowledge sin as sin and work against through the power of God. No other way.
G. Herbert London- The Post-Vietnam generations has stripped the gears off of moral judgement. Tolerance of everyone’s views is in direct opposition to any denunciation of evil. When Hamas leader Sheik Hasan Josef says in reference to Islamic martyrs: "We like to grow them from kindergarten through college." The postmodernist has no answers. This is not evil. Not good for the world, but not evil.
H. If we don’t stand for something we will fall for anything. Need to take a stand against evil. But what is evil? The postmodernist says that there is no such thing as evil. The Bible defines it. Anything else is just too subjective. Situation ethics have replaced any moral concept.
I. Tom Brokaw said one time that we have taken the Ten Commandments and made them into the Ten Suggestions.
J. You can worship any Higher Power you want to, any way you want to. You can cuss. It helps get your point across. You can be a good person and not go to church. You can hate your parents and treat them bad in some situations because they deserve it. Murder is acceptable when it is committed against an unborn baby and against the elderly. Those who are no longer productive for society. It is okay to commit adultery. Hey, in the end it may even make your marriage better. You can steal especially against people who have robbed you. You can lie and have to lie to get ahead in this world. You can slander anyone as long as it helps to promote you. Coveting is good because it helps to strengthen the economy. Everyone wants to keep us with the Jones’s.
K. We as a society need to acknowledge that there is such a thing as absolute truth. This will keep us united. Sin is the greatest thing that divides people. Acknowledge sin as sin and work against through the power of God. No other way.
L. (Prov 14:34 NIV) Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
M. People unite around a cause. What greater cause can there be than the cause of Jesus Christ? To help deliver people from sin and set them free to do good through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
N. This is a time for closeness and patriotism. Getting back to the basics of a Christian society. Honest pursuit of what is right and wrong, and the truth.
III. There is a cause for courage.
A. Little David was courageous because he believed in the cause.
B. If we do not believe in truth, then there is no cause worthy of a great sacrifice. The only cause worthy of a great sacrifice is ourselves because we are our own gods and we determine what is truth for us.
C. To sacrifice for the good of our country is an inconvenience.
D. Tom Brokaw wrote "The Greatest Generation". In this book he says that they sacrificed so much because they believed in absolute truth, they believed in a cause above themselves. They believed that Nazism was evil, they believed that sacrificing all the Emperor of Japan was wrong.
E. If 5,000 soldiers come back from Afghanistan in body bags see how public opinion changes. There is a high price for freedom. On bulletin board.
F. In our society we are cowards because we do not believe in any cause that costs us a lot. We are spoiled children and if it costs us a great deal, we are not supporting it.
G. The same is true in the church. Many people do not commit to Jesus or the church because they believe it will cost them too much.
H. David was willing to die for the cause.
I. Jesus died for us. How much do we love our country, how much do we love the church?
Conclusion:
A. Today is Veteran’s Day. Many people paid a great price for our freedom.
B. Greater love has no one than this…
C. I am the way, the truth, and the life.
D. Are you a seeker of truth?
E. John 18:37
