2017 started and ended on Sundays. It's amazing to start and the end the year in worship and to have the privilege and honor to preach God's Word as "bookends" to the year.
Both messages will focus on the same theme - "HOPE" - and both messages will bring us back to the truth of Jeremiah 29:11-13;
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
In this early hour of the final day of the year I sit and contemplate this passage and encourage you to do the same.
Various questions come to mind as I contemplate the words of this passage;
Do you trust that the Lord has a plan for you?
Do you trust that the Lord's plan is one that will prosper you?
Do you trust that the Lord's plan will bring you hope and a future?
Are you seeking the Lord?
Are you seeking the Lord with all your heart?
Are you finding the Lord?
I read this passage again this morning;
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
And more questions strike me;
Have I trusted in the Lord's plan for my life this last year that I have been able to rest in His hope for me - His future for me?
Have I found that Lord is such a profound way that I know Him better at the close of the year than I did at the start of it?
Have I pointed to Jesus - helping others to find Him and His plan - His hope and future - for their lives?
Again, I read;
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
And I ask myself;
In 2018, how will I seek and find the Lord more passionately?
In 2018, how will I trust more in His plan for my life?
In 2018, how will I help others do the same?
I stand by the door. I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out. The door is the most important door in the world - It is the door through which men walk when they find God. There is no use my going way inside and staying there, When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the wall where the door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind men, With outstretched, groping hands, Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Yet they never find it. So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world Is for men to find that door - the door to God. The most important thing that any man can do Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks And opens to the man's own touch.
Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter. Die for want of what is within their grasp. They live on the other side of it - live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, And open it, and walk in, and find Him. So I stand by the door.
Go in great saints; go all the way in - Go way down into the cavernous cellars, And way up into the spacious attics. It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements, Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms And know the depths and heights of God, And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. Sometimes I take a deeper look in. Sometimes venture in a little farther, But my place seems closer to the opening. So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them; For God is so very great and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry. And the people way inside only terrify them more. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled. For the old life, they have seen too much: One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more. Somebody must be watching for the frightened Who seek to sneak out just where they came in, To tell them how much better it is inside. The people too far in do not see how near these are To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door But would like to run away. So for them too, I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in. But I wish they would not forget how it was Before they got in. Then they would be able to help The people who have not yet even found the door. Or the people who want to run away again from God. You can go in too deeply and stay in too long And forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there, But not so far from men as not to hear them, And remember they are there too.
Where? Outside the door - Thousands of them. Millions of them. But - more important for me - One of them, two of them, ten of them. Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I shall stand by the door and wait For those who seek it.
'I had rather be a door-keeper So I stand by the door.
There are three different scenarios when it comes to believers and sin.
First, there are professing believers who overlook sin because of hardened hearts.
Second, there are professing Christians who believe the lie that we are all by nature sinners, that the blood of Jesus is powerful enough only to free us from the penalty of sin, but not from bondage to it.
These two groups, being given to sin, are like kryptonite in the body of Christ, bringing weakness to the entire body because of their willful disobedience to Christ.
However, there is a third group—believers who are in a struggle to get free from sin [and recognize that freedom from sin is possible and promised through Christ].
The truth is, the first-century Christians were the superhumans of their day, and the world stood in awe of them. Here are just a few of their exploits found in Scripture:
No one in their communities lacked anything—no one had physical needs of any kind, and there was no one on government assistance (Acts 4:33–35). Entire cities came to Jesus in a moment, and the gospel swept through entire regions in a matter of years (Acts 9:32–35, 19:10).
God’s power operated through them so much they had to convince people they weren’t gods (Acts 10:25–26, 14:8–18)—think about that for a few seconds. They had worship times so powerful they shook the ground (Acts 4:31). And as a result of those things, they had a reputation of being people who had turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).
What should really challenge us is that God makes it clear in His Word that the Christians of the last days will do even more than these early believers.
When we come out of Egypt we are called by God to freedom, total freedom, true freedom, eternal freedom.
But in order to become free - what a task, what a struggle, what a purging!
Liberation from the clutches of the senses is no small thing for sensual creatures like us.
To reach the "night of the senses" - the time when we become rulers of our own passions and are able to resist the extravagances of taste in physical pleasure - that take some fasting!
But this is nothing yet. This is only the beginning-baby stuff, you might say.
There's more to come!
There is another darker, much more painful night.
It is the "night of the soul", the night in which we chatterboxes have to learn to keep still.
We who are so ready to ask for things - now we shall not dare to ask.
We fall silent, thunderstruck with the grandeur that confronts us: God.
The night of the spirit is the mature ability of a human being to love God in the dark, to except the design even without seeing it, to bear the distance without complaining, even when love thrusts us towards him until we writhe with longing.
This evening - minutes into a project in the garage - I smacked my thumb with a hammer. I immediately felt the pain shoot through my left hand and into my wrist. Although there was little pain in my thumb, I could feeling the throb.
Dropping the hammer on the floor, I walked to the far corner of the garage to assess the damage. Momentarily I waved my hand in the air and grit my teeth together in pain, Then, I calmly exclaimed (to myself), "That really hurt!".
Walking over to my workbench I decided to grab a pry bar. Except, in the moment, I couldn't remember what a pry bar was called. What's more, I couldn't remember where my pry bars were located. I probably stood in front of my workbench for two minutes trying to gather my thoughts. As I rummaged through a cabinet - and then a shelf - I continued to struggle with my thoughts. Looking directly at my pry bar I asked myself (audibly), "What am I looking for?".
Seconds later - finally with a pry bar in hand - my mind cleared and I came to a realization. I was unable to think clearly because of the momentary pain that I was dealing with.
The reality is that when we face pain - momentary or long-lasting - we struggle to think and act in a rational way. Think about it, if you have ever faced overwhelming pain - physically, emotionally, or otherwise - your pain takes precedence. Soon the thought of your pain is unshakable and it begins to overshadow all other rational thoughts. You may even find that your normal actions are overcome by the reality of your painful experience.
And when we consider the reality of our world today it is undeniable that countless people are hurting. So many individuals are dealing with the painful scars and experiences of their past, struggling with the painful reality that surrounds them, fearful of the painful and uncertain future that awaits them.
Could it be that the pain that is overwhelming our world today is causing many to think and act in confusion? Could it be that the anger and aggression that we see so prevalent in our world today is brought about by the pain that so many are dealing with every day?
This pain is leading to more hurt.
And this hurt is leading to more pain.
And this pain is leading to more hurt.
Which will only lead to more pain.
And this will continue to build more and more.
Until someone steps up and stops the cycle.
At some point someone must step forward and absorb the hurt of the world.
I believe that this is the particular call of The Church around the world today. You see, as followers of Jesus, we are the only ones equipped to step up to absorb the hurt. Because, as followers of Jesus, we are the only ones that do not have to keep the hurt of society - the pain of the world in our lives.
As followers of Jesus are given the supernatural ability to absorb the hurt and then to turn it over to Jesus.
Will it be painful? Yes. Will it cause us pain? Yes. However, the hurt - and the pain - that we face is temporary and - as we walk with Jesus - it will only draw us closer to Him as we turn it all over to Him and as He takes it all away.
This scene from "The Green Mile" is a visual illustration of the way we - as The Church - can take the pain of a hurting world and turn it over to Jesus in a spiritual way.
So, are you prepared to absorb the pain?
Who do you know that is hurting right now?
Who are you praying for God to lead you to?
Someone must step forward and absorb the hurt of the world.
