Romans 8:18-27 PLUNGING TO MURKY EARTH
A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad had been puttering out by the boat house. Two of his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was supposed to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted. The 3 year old, little Billy, thought that would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock. So he went to the dock and put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water, which was about 5 or 6 ft deep.
The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a piercing scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to see anything, came up for air. Sick with panic, he went right back down into the murky water, and began to feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn’t feel anything. Finally, on his way up, he felt little Billy’s arms locked in a death grip on one of the posts of the dock, about 4 ft under water. Prying the boy’s fingers loose, they burst up together through the surface to fill their lungs with life-giving air.
Finally when the adrenaline had stopped surging, and nerves had calmed down a little bit, the father asked his son, “What on earth were you doing down there hanging onto the post so far under the water? And little Billy’s answer was a classic, laced with the wisdom only a toddler could give. He said, "I was just waiting for you, Dad. Just waiting for you."
Friends, this month we celebrate that 2000 yrs ago, the God of the universe left the glory and the splendour of Heaven, a place where there was no pain and no sickness, no accidents, no hurt, and no death. He plunged into this dark, murky world on a rescue mission: a rescue mission for all who are drowning, a rescue mission for all who are barely hanging on, a rescue mission for all who are lost in the darkness.
Have you, like Billy, been waiting for Him to rescue you? But what is it that you are hanging onto so tightly that He has to pry your fingers loose?
There are many wonderful things on this Earth that capture our hearts and our minds, and some, not so wonderful. Some people put their trust in government; “The right government is the answer to all our ills.” Others rely on friends and family to help them through the tough times. Some are confident in themselves; their jobs, their skills, their investments. The only trouble with all these answers is that they don’t work.
When’s the last time a government came through for the people? They often make minor adjustments to look good, especially near election time, but it seems most of them are in power for only one reason—to look out for themselves. That’s why we need to keep remembering them in our prayers, asking God to guide them. No. Government isn’t the answer.
Family and friends are wonderful encouragers and supporters—sometimes. But sometimes, they too, are in deep trouble, usually when you need them most. With enough motivation, or enough duress, brothers have been known to betray brothers, or sisters, or mothers, or fathers. The Bible talks about a time that’s coming when people will think they’re doing God a favour by turning in their Christian family members. (Mk 13:12)
We have had friends at the top of the heap, CEO’s of their companies for over thirty years, and in a moment, they were unemployed. Oh, yes, they got a good severance package, but they weren’t ready to retire. They couldn’t afford to. They had lived a lavish lifestyle, and spent all they made. Now, at fifty plus, they needed work, but nobody hires someone fifty plus—especially not for the kind of money they were used to.
The smart ones have invested wisely, and have a good nest-egg tucked away. But markets vary, radically at times, and the economy fluctuates with them. We were in Mexico over Christmas one year. We went to a bank machine to get some money, and, when Amy saw the pile of pesos come out, she said, “We must be rich!” Well, we had a lot of pesos, but we were far from rich. I believe it was 350,000. pesos to rent a Volkswagen for a week—not that we would dare to drive down there! The day after we left, they devalued their currency one thousand times. A 1000 peso bill was worth only one peso the moment the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1991. Millionaires became paupers overnight, much like the stock market crash of 1929.
War, too, has a tendency to do funny things to the job market, the economy, and life in general, especially if your side loses.
The other day, down a side aisle in Wal Mart, two young three or four year old girls were beating on the head of a plastic, three foot Santa, and calling out to their father, “Look, Dad, this isn’t really Santa.” “He’s not real.” Just seeing that plastic Santa wasn’t enough. They had to physically beat on him to prove it to themselves. To them however, there was a real Santa, but they knew this one wasn’t it.
In the same way, there is a real source of hope. People instinctively know it, and keep searching for that something real to hold onto. Often, though, they have to try all the other things that their neighbours have already tried and proven untrue, before they
finally ask Jesus to show them the way.
“Lighten up a bit, Dan. That’s all pretty negative.” Yah. I know, but there are folks you know that have staked their whole existence on such fleeting things. Their hands need to be pried loose from all this stuff, and fastened to something more reliable. What! You mean there is something more secure than government, than investments, than family?
I surely do! And it’s free for the asking, but it’s not cheap. Now, that doesn’t make sense!
Well, God supplied a free retirement package for Christians that is ‘out of this world’, but it cost Him dearly to give us that guaranteed hope. What does that mean, “A guaranteed hope”?
Well, let’s back up a bit first. I am told that you can live 48 days without food, and 8 days without water, but only seconds without hope. Everyone needs something to give them hope. But if they put their hope in the wrong things, they’ll be sadly disappointed, and worse off than if they had had no hope at all. The whole purpose for Jesus coming to Earth was to bring hope. (Rom 15:3) says, ‘Jesus…didn’t make it easy for Himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. "I took on the troubles of the troubled," is the way Scripture puts it.’ Do you suppose that almighty God has no idea how bad it is down here? Wrong. He watches everything that goes on, and, sometimes, He shudders.
Listen to this verse from Romans 15:4, For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
There is no bed of roses for the Christian; I think we all know that already, and we shouldn’t expect one. We are called on to endure. Endure what? All the garbage that selfishness and hate, lust and greed, and rebellion and wickedness have produced all around us. And in the midst of this wretched garden of sickness, we are to shine like moons, reflecting the beauty and peace of Jesus Christ, the babe in the manger.
Was the world as messed-up and hateful in His day? You’d better believe it. Things have not changed substantially, and there is a reason. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”. The verb ‘fall short’ is a word from archery, in the original language. You can picture someone shooting an arrow at a target, and missing, not just the bull’s eye, but the whole target. That’s how God sees us, and no matter how good we appear to others, in His eye, we’ve missed the target. That’s what the Bible calls sin-missing the target of God’s plan for our lives. And there is a penalty. Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
God doesn’t enjoy enforcing the death penalty; He’d rather we accepted His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Romans 3:22 says, “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.” And Rom 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” THAT IS THE HOPE OF THE CHRISTIAN. It is guaranteed by the blood of Jesus Christ, who came as a baby in a manger, was tortured and murdered 33 years later, and then came back to life to prove that He is God, and that He can forgive sins. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”(Rom 15:4) That is the guaranteed hope of the Scriptures. And it is written in the blood of the Baby from Bethlehem.
But the guarantee has two parts. Not only did He come to rescue us in the midst of our present difficulties: to forgive us, to encourage us, and to fill our hearts with hope and peace; He also made a promise to return and take us to be with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit forever, in a wonderful place called Heaven. He didn’t tell us when; but He told us to be watching, and waiting, and sharing His hope with others who have lost their way in this murky darkness, and need rescuing too.
----- ‘Twas The Night Jesus Came
‘Twas the night Jesus came and all through the house, not a person was praying, not one in the house...
The Bible was left on the shelf without care… for no one thought Jesus would ever come there...
The children were dressing to crawl into bed, not once ever kneeling or bowing their head...
And Mom in the rocking chair with babe on her lap, was watching the Late Show as I took a nap...
When out of the east there rose such a clatter, I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter...
Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and lifted the sash...
When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Angels proclaiming that Jesus was here...
The light of His face made me cover my head, it was Jesus returning just like He’d said...
And though I possess worldly wisdom and wealth, I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself...
In the Book of Life which he held in his hand, was written the name of every saved man...
He spoke not a word as he searched for my name, when He said “it’s not here,” my head hung in shame. The people whose names had been written with love, He gathered to take to his Father above...
With those who were ready, He rose without sound, while all of the others were left standing around...
I fell to my knees but it was too late, I’d waited too long and thus sealed my fate...
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight, Oh, if only I’d known that this was the night...
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear, the coming of Jesus is now drawing near...
There’s only one life and when comes the last call, We’ll find that the Bible was true after all...
B Basic
I Instruction
B Before
L Leaving
E Earth
Kevin Furness >>>>furness16@yahoo.com
Prayer: Thank You, Father for your great rescue plan. Thank You that it is free, for none of us could ever afford it. Thank You for the hope we now have that we can get out of this world alive! And thank You for the promise of a Paradise where we will spend Eternity with You. Thank You that we can KNOW we’re on the way. Thank You, Father, for this blessed hope.
Perhaps you are not sure that you’re on the way; maybe you have lost hope, and have begun to despair; possibly, you have never asked God to forgive you, or you’ve fallen away from what you know is right. I would invite you this morning to turn your life over to God. Trust Him to rescue you from your distress, whatever it might be. Receive from Him a fresh helping of HOPE. He wants desperately for you to have it.
I’d invite the whole congregation to follow me out loud in this short prayer. Let me pray it through once, and if it expresses the desire of your heart, pray with me as I pray it again.
Dear God, I know that I am not perfect, that I have missed the mark. I’m sorry that I have failed to please You. Please forgive me for all my wrongs, and give me your hope. Help me to know today that I am on the right path--the path that leads to Heaven. Thank You for hearing my prayer, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer for the first time this morning, tell someone. Romans 10:9,10 tell us, “9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
And if you are a Christian already, take this message to those you meet this week. Many are searching desperately for hope. They don’t know where to look. You can help with God’s rescue mission.
Benediction:
“May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may overflow in hope.”
