ARE YOU SECURE IN CHRIST?
If there is one thing that the tragedy in Walkerton has taught people it is that we really take our water for granted. We never thought twice about taking a drink from our taps or taking a bath – or letting our kids play in the sprinklers – but this Ecoli thing has all of us scared. It shook up our confidence in the system, shook up our confidence in the water controls in place, it shook up our confidence in the people in charge. Truly this tragedy in Walkerton has upset a lot of people, in more ways than one and has had a ripple effect in all the communities across our province as people stopped taking their access to clean water for granted.
What has probably been the greatest fallout from this tragedy is not the months that the people of Walkerton have had to wait and will probably wait for the water system to be cleaned up and for the water to be declared "safe". It is not the flared tempers and the ruined relationships with government officials. It is not even the tremendous financial losses incurred. The greatest fallout from this tragedy is the tremendous loss of security now felt among the people of Walkerton. They can no longer feel secure about the place they live, the businesses they own, the life they live in that town.
This security issue is a big thing in our human lives. We struggle through our existence here on Earth for the ever constant search for complete security! We want to have secure families, a secure income, a secure retirement, a secure world, a secure life. From the time we are babies our life is shaped by "how secure" we are. No matter who you are or from what walk of life you have I am confident to say tonight that there are people here who either are feeling very insecure about something in their life right now and/or are struggling to find and keep secure about some area in their life.
You see, the truth is – even though we live in a relatively "secure" part of the world, there is still so much unpredictable things that go on that make our lives hang on the circumstances of what tomorrow brings.
IN the cartoon "Peanuts" Linus says of his security blanket "Only one yard of outing flannel stands between me and a nervous breakdown"
Indeed many people have had nervous breakdowns because their security has been swiped from under their feet. The problem is, there isn’t too much in this world that we can find complete security in! I don’t know if you have noticed it or not – but there has been a tremendous increase in the amount of bottled water being stocked in the shelves of grocery stores – not only in our area but across the country. If you look at the daily news stories there is lots for us to feel insecure about. Sometimes I feel really insecure about the price of gas!
Here are some safety tips for living in our "secure" world – Don’t ride in an auto – they cause 20 percent of all fatal accidentsDo not stay at home – 17 percent of all accidents happen there.Do not walk in the street – 15 percent of all accidents happen to pedestrians.Do not travel by air, rail or water – 16 percent of all accidents result from these activitiesOnly .001 percent of all accidents happen in church!
We can’t find security in relationships, we can’t find security in our possessions, we can’t find security where we live, we can’t find security sometimes even in ourselves! Perhaps one of the greatest areas in which people find themselves facing insecurity is when we start to talk about death. Nobody likes to talk about death – you know why? Because a lot of people don’t know what happens when we die and hence there is no security in it.
Tonight, I’d like to take a few moments to tell you about how you can be secure in your life and also be secure about your future after this life. Tonight, I want to take a few moments to tell you about a security that is not found anywhere in this world. It is a security that far outweighs all the insecurities of our world and the times we live in and exists for eternity. It is a security that you can have.
Tonight I’d like to share with you the good news of Jesus Christ. Immediately when I say that name there are all sorts of different thoughts rising up in your minds. For some of you that name is nothing more than a swear word, for some of you that name invokes a feeling of, "Oh no, here we go again – another preacher telling me to get a religion"; For some of you the name of Jesus brings up memories of a youthful acquaintance that you have grown "out of"; But for some of you and for me this name means so much more – this name means forgiveness, this name means peace, this name means love, this name means strength, this name means fulfillment, this name means contentment, this name means joy AND THIS NAME MEANS ETERNAL SECURITY.
Yes there is a way to obtain security in this crazy world we live in – there is a way to obtain security about your destination should you die tonight.
The reason why we live in such a crazy world is not because God doesn’t care, or God has abandoned the world or because there is no God. The reason why we live in this crazy world is because of the sinful nature of mankind. It all stems from man’s decision to create security for himself rather than relying on the security that only God can provide. Unfortunately, it is this very sin that separates us from the love of God and keeps us from having the kind of relationship (not religion!) with God that He wants to have with us! The famous passage John 3:16 describes how God has dealt with the sin of the world so that mankind could have the opportunity of returning to him:
John 3:16 (NIV)
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
You see the truth of the matter is that for those who don’t get sin dealt with in their lives they are choosing death over life, insecurity over security, emptiness over wholeness. When Jesus Christ came to the Earth, he came with a mission to see the lost found, to see the hurting healed, to see the brokenhearted comforted, too ultimately see sin resolved justly and righteously so that people may find all those things in a restored relationship with Him. But sin required a price and it was a price that Jesus was willing to pay. It was his own death that purchased that opportunity:
Romans 5:7-8 (NIV)
7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
How many of you know of someone who mistreats you, ignores you, and displays little love toward you that you would die for? Jesus Christ died for you. But not only did Jesus die – the Bible records that he rose again to life three days later showing his victory over death and sin and displaying the secure knowledge that in Christ there is life!
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God wants you to have the secure knowledge of His love for you tonight – He wants you to have the secure knowledge that no matter what happens to you in your life that He is in control and that there is something greater to hope for – He wants you to have the secure knowledge that should you die tonight or tomorrow or 50 years from now that you will merely step into the next stage of eternal life – one that is free from the insecurities of this life. You can gain all this if you will accept his gift to you tonight. But rest assured – if you so choose you can refuse this gift and claim that this is a bunch of hogwash – or the ramblings of an idiot – or that you’ll think about it. This isn’t a bunch of hogwash – that is a lie that you have been decieved by – I am secure in the knowledge that I’m not an idiot for I know security in my own life that nobody can shake from me – and as for putting things off while you think about it – this could be your last chance to make a decision.Several years ago one of the astronauts who walked on the moon was interviewed and asked, "What did you think about as you stood on the moon and looked back at the earth?" The astronaut replied, "I remembered how the spacecraft was built by the lowest bidder."
Those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour can rejoice that the work of salvation did not go to the "lowest bidder" but was performed by an infinite God. We can rest in the security that His word is true and that there will never be a deficiency in His work.
The question remains tonight, What is your choice? Are you satisfied with the insecurities of this world – of your life? Or do you want to find the only true security that can be found – in Christ?
This sermon was preached by Darren Ethier at Hanover Pentecostal Church. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
