What's The World Coming To?

WHAT’S THE WORLD COMING TO?

ACTS 10:34 - 44

1. INTRODUCTION

You can’t have a conversation in England without talking about the weather – perfectly understandable when we seem to have all the seasons in one day – except for summer of course! Similarly it seems we can’t have a conversation with other believers without talking about how evil the world around us is.

With our newspapers and television full of pictures and stories of mans incredible cruelty we have a global overview of all that is wrong with our world today. Standards must have declined dramatically as even the secular press have commented recently that Mary Whitehouse was right all along, complaining about the ever decreasing standards and the unacceptable language and violence being broadcasted today. What can we do?

2. IT’S NOTHING NEW!

Can I suggest its nothing new? Ecclesiastes 1:9 says:

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”.

Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve decided they knew best and rebelled, refusing to obey God, evil has been with us in this world. Even to the extent that in the first human family, Cain murdered his brother Abel. Furthermore by Noah’s day things were so bad that God was grieved that He had ever made man and flooded the world. He started all over again with Noah. Yes, and he sinned too!

I wonder if perhaps our world seems worse today because we have an increased population so there are more people to sin! We are also inundated with the latest information via our media and are more aware than ever of all the ever-increasing atrocities worldwide. We even seem to have invented new ways of sinning with modern technology such as the internet. What can we do?

3. JESUS OUR EXAMPLE

What was it like for the Lord when He lived here? After all He has been here and knows all too well how evil this world is. Well, surprise surprise it wasn’t too different in the time of Jesus. He lived in occupied territory with one of the most brutal and efficient governments of the day. He knew what it was to go hungry, to be hated, to be ill treated and rejected, not to mention death by the most excruciating methods ever invented by man, crucifixion.

Did He give up? No, we read this testimony about how He lived during His time; He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power and went around doing good. We are told to live as He lived (1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did”). So what can we do?

4. SO WHATS THE ANSWER?

We are God’s answer! Do you remember the story where someone was so disturbed by the suffering they saw they asked God why He didn’t do something? Do you remember the answer God gave? “I made you!”

A friend once told me how he came across a very elderly man who he found wandering around very confused and unsure where he was. It turned out this man had been very recently widowed. “Why?” Jeff asked me. I told him I didn’t really know why things are like they are. But I reminded him of the time he bought a pair of trainers for a person he had cared for who had learning difficulties. “See Jeff, that’s what you did, and sometimes that’s all we can do, do something to help someone while all these others things go on”. Maybe it wasn’t much of an answer especially to someone who doesn’t believe in God, and was so obviously disturbed by all the suffering and unfairness he saw in the world. Yet he had done something to help someone else. I believe that’s God answer. Do something. Something Good.

5. TAKE HEART!

We too can so easily be overwhelmed with all the evil that we see around us. And feel so helpless. But take heart. Jesus has overcome this world. John 16:33:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We can make a difference ~ it may be starting with something small. That’s OK. Just step out in faith. We can pray, we can give, we can love, we can share the good news, we can do a kindness especially to people we don’t like! Lets make a start ~ today! And remember:

Poem

All the water in the world, however hard it tried, could never sink a ship unless it got inside.

All the evil in the world, the wickedness and sin, can never sink your soul’s fair craft unless you let it in.