Good Things
Notes
Transcript
Our fortress
Our fortress
psalms 46 reads:
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
I imagine many of you have walked through these doors with something or many things weighing on you. I know there are many watching right now who are feeling weighed down. As pastor Don and I have been attempting to communicate to you these past 4 Sabbaths in the midst chaos in the world, we have been struck by the resiliency of so many of you uplifting Jesus’s name because of the blessings He has given you and hedge of protection He has sent you.
Some of us are still waiting on answers. As I alluded to a couple weeks ago, some are wondering aloud, “Is God listening?”
We at the Spartanburg SDA church want everyone here to know, its okay to not be okay when entering these doors. However we hope what we offer to you, can serve as a shelter to the chaos, a refuge from the pain, and for you to gain courage and strength in knowing Jesus offers all of this to you.
God has a whole lot of good things to give you, much more than on your most memorable Christmas day. God has good things for you.
Today we are going to look at some tough experiences in stories, filled with good things. You might even add a few books to your amazon wish list by the end of the message, but before we go further, lets pray.
Prayer
If any of you here have followed the NFL, you would likely know of Coach Tony Dungy. Known most for his years as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts, the latter of which he led to a Super Bowl victory against the chicago Bears.
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In his autobiographical book “Quiet Strength” Dungy shares an early experience as the head coach in Indianopolis. Following his first season in 2002 with the team. The team’s talented kicker Mike Vanderjact was interviewed following the season and remarked with high criticisms to the leadership of the team. He questioned whether or not Coach Dungy was the right man to lead them to a super bowl and if quarterback Peyton Manning had the skillset to lead them to a victory of the big game.
Obviously Coach Dungy was not pleased with his kicker’s remarks. In fact in his book he writes he was ready to have his kicker released. Sitting with his family and in particular his son James, he mentions rather cavalierly, that Mike was going to be released soon. Knowing about the comments that had been made, he expected his family’s support in this decision. However his son, James spoke up and said, “Don’t release him Dad”…”why not? his father replied. James said, simply… “He’s my friend!”
Coach Dungy attributes his son advicating for Mike Vanderjact to remain the kicker for his team, who would go on to stay with the team and go on to have his best season connecting on a perfect 37 for 37 in field goal tries. He mentioned his son had the ability to see the good in people, and had always been a forgiving soul.
Dungy shared this story following his son’s death by apparent suicide a while after turning just 18 years old.
“He was a Christian and is today in heaven. He was struggling with the things of the world and took his own life. People ask how I could come back to work so soon. I’m not totally recovered, I don’t know if I ever will be, it’s still ever-painful,” he said, wiping back a tear. “But some good things have come out of it.”
He said he has received dozens of letters from people who heard him speak at his son’s funeral or at a Colts news conference on the peace and assurance he has in his son’s salvation and eternal destination. Dungy told of two people having received the gift of sight from his son’s donated corneas and of the youth to whom he has talked who are wrestling with similar problems as his son.
But Dungy used the most important lesson to drive home his point before the packed ballroom full of former NFL players and coaches, league officials and fans.
“If God had talked to me before James’ death and said his death would have helped all these people, it would have saved them and healed their sins, but I would have to take your son, I would have said no, I can’t do that.
“But God had the same choice 2,000 years ago with His Son, Jesus Christ, and it paved the way for you and me to have eternal life. That’s the benefit I got, that’s the benefit James got and that’s the benefit you can get if you accept Jesus into your heart today as your Savior.”
On a personal note this response struck me. Even in losing his SON. Coach Dungy noted the good things, and the good things that had happened as a result of the tragedy and the good things that had happened as a response to his son’s life. He mentions in his book. He doesn’t know the demonic pressure that was put on his son causing him to take his life but he was comforted in believing his son’s salvation was sure.
Dungy’s response is one I believe each of us need to equip ourselves with also in times of grief and tragedy. Opening our eyes to the good things God does in response to what the Devil would cause and use for evil. change slide
“Why does God allow pain in our life?” Dungy asked in his emotionally charged speech. “Because we’re loved by God and the pain allows us to head back to our Father.”
You know the Devil gets a lot of credit for distorting, disrupting, corrupting, and perverting God’s plans and His creations. But we don’t give God enough credit for taking the things the devil would use for evil, and setting into motion good things.
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Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
As parents can often see through a lens with greater vision than their children, meaning they have a larger scope of perspective, God sees the endgame in the midst of our clouded vision. We see the present. God sees tomorrow.
What I am getting at from these verses in Psalms is that when we rest in knowing God is our fortress and not ourselves we can be open to the good things He has for us even in the experience of tragedy, even as dark as the experience of what the Dungy family went through.
Some of you may wonder how certain individuals cope with tragedy so well and others struggle. Is there something wrong with those of us who can’t get over it or find peace when we experience dark moments? How do others handle it so well?
I can assure you of a couple things. There is nothing wrong with you if you are struggling in tragedy. However our comparing culture is not healthy. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, none of us really know what trials or struggles another person is going through.
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Many of you were present or watching online my pastoral ordination a couple months ago. One of the guest elders from my previous church in Boone Mark Heisy came, and it meant a great deal to me. Mark at one point was riddled with 70% percent of his body filled with lymphoma cancer. The fact that he is walking around today, is a testament of God’s goodness. I remember visiting him in the hospital. This humble man filled with so much faith was partly wondering what more God had in store for him to do. At one point when we had had an annointing service for him, He had said very matter of factly, “I feel I can die now.” Obviously God had other plans.
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Throughout that year of going through chemo the most difficult stretch of his life Mark decided to reflect on his experience and actually wrote a book entitled, “How Cancer Cured Me.”
Let me put it out there, I am not a fast reader, but it took me just a weekend to get through this beautiful sharing book. Its lessons extend beyond coping with cancer but any difficulty or sting you may be going through. One point he makes in chapter 9 is, “The String holding the kite down is the string holding the kite up.” I immediately thought of the time I had visited there home on a sabbath afternoon. He and his wife and their adult son and daughter in law live in 2 houses on the same mountain side property. They took me up to the top of their backyard, known as pond mountain, then pulled out a kite with a 2000 foot string....the kite was so high at times we lost it in the clouds.
In his book he writes of a similar kite flying experience. “The kite would catch air currents and disappear over the side of the mountain and then reappear in an updraft. We didn’t have a lot of control, but the string’s function was crucial, enabling the kite to rise on the wind rather than fall and crash.
He writes: “Blame it on the confinement, chemo brain, depression, or a combination, but its easy to feel like you are spiraling downward.” What could help me soar again? I knew the connection between mind and body is incalculable and unbreakable, for “as man thinks in his heart, so is he?” Proverbs 23:7
He goes on to describe the string of a kite’s importance the same as him (in his case) strengthening his immune system. For us it could be any number of things that are vitally important to our own wellbeing.
The following are his abc’s for keeping the string strong.
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A. A “wholesome mental diet.”
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Whether its the media or entertainment you consume. Or the spiritual food of scripture, hymns of praise, you are not consuming enough of. Feed your brain with healthy things.
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B. A clear conscience:
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Guilt can be one of the worst vices holding us back from experiencing or even seeing the good things God is giving you. Mark writes “be quick to relent and repent of sin. Not presuming upon God’s goodness and assuming your own.
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C. A forgiving Spirit
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Walking around with the baggage of anger and resentment cripples us. It even cripples our own experience of forgiveness.
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D. A merry heart
All the days of the afflicted are evil,
but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
“For the Joy of the Lord is my strength.” Neh. 8:10
Many will turn to alchohol or drugs for this alternative merriment which has the potential to turn to ugliness. Finding merriment can come from the people you spend time with such as family and friends. Wholesome humor. There is the old saying, it takes 72 muscles to frown, but just 12 to smile.
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Lastly E: A “DO NOT WORRY” attitude
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
When God is our fortress and has promised to be with us, WHO CAN OPPOSE US THAT POSES A THREAT.
With God strengthening your string, your kite can and will soar.
Danger in Passivity
One of the Saddest of all the saddest stories in the history of God’s people comes shortly after the dramatic Exodus from egypt, as they stand on the brink of a whole new life in the land God had promised.
“Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ’ Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God,
“Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.
John Eldridge, author of the acclaimed Christian men’s book “Wild at Heart” writes in a sequel follow up book, “The Way of the Wild Heart” an interesting commentary of this story.
“We often cite the part of the story, talking about our own wilderness experiences embracing the wilderness saga as if it were inevitable. No, that is not the lesson at all. We have forgotten it was avoidable. The reason they took the lamentable detour into the wilderness was because they would not fight....it was a consequence of refusing to trust in God...” pg. 144
I think it might be plausible we need to TRUST God’s presence and leading even in the face of the literal and figurative giants of opposition.
It’s trusting God’s vantage point and vision beyond our own. How far would you be willing to trust in God’s vision for your life? When His vision seems to contradict your own?
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I’m reminded of a scene in the movie Indiana Jone, and the Last crusade. Indiana jones is attempting to make it through 3 deadly obstacles on his way to find the Holy Grail which would heal his father.
The third obstacle was taking a seemingly blind step over a ravine.
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Indy must then trust his dad’s notes of taking a leap of faith.
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For those of you who have seen the movie, know there was a camouflage bridge in front of him enabling him to cross.
God has the vantage point of seeing the good in front of us.
This vantage point, I would suggest, based on scripture, asks his faithful to take leaps of faith to which there doesn’t appear to be an explanation.
Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Shadrach, Mishak, and Abednego, in the face of a burning painful death sentence refused to bow to image of Gold the king had commanded.
Job, lost everything, yet refused to curse God,
Hosea knowingly married and loved a woman who caused him nothing but pain and the sting of betrayal.
Is that the result or reward of faithfulness?
While I will never be a prosperity gospel preacher. You will never hear me preach because of your faith, your bank accounts will be full. I do believe God cares about your present suffering and present circumstances. I do believe He comforts us in the midst of our brokenness. He offers us peace in spite of the giants in the promised land. God is aware of what you are seeing and experiencing.
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For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
As Paul writes, he pleads his listeners to endure, because something is coming which makes our suffering not even compare
compare to good things that is.
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For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
In life’s darkest or toughest moments, are you willing to trust someone with a vantage point you yourself cannot see?
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If you have never read the book “A Thousand Shall Fall” you are missing out on one of the most amazing world war 2 stories of heroism and faith. Franz Hasel’s experience is one that is very parallel to that of Desmond Doss, noted Conscience Objector and winner of the medal of honor for bravery. Hasel’s experience though was not being drafted into the American Military but that of Nazi Germany. Having already served in WW1 as a decorated soldier and being in his mid 40’s, he thought he would avoid being drafted again, but this was not the case. He was also a Seventh Day adventist who did not want to leave his family and did not wish to take life.
Many will note part of Desmond Doss’s story is that he eventually by protest as a concience objector was given permission to serve without carrying a gun.
Hasel, was also a conciencious objector, actually carved out a wooden gun and had thrown his real weapon into a pond in the middle of the night. If this was found out. He would have been executed. Like Doss, God protected Hasel, whose company was most dangerous building bridges for front line troops. Out of his original company only he and one other survived the war in its totality.
During World War 2, Franz Hasel - a soldier in the German army - was sent to the front lines. He was placed there because he was a conscientious objector. He didn't want to fight in the war but was prepared to serve his country, so they thought they could get rid of him very quickly on the front lines.
During that experience, he received a command from his commanding officer, to come into his makeshift office and he was asked a very pointed question. "Do you think Germany is going to win this war?"
Hasel had been giving some Bible studies to some of the other men and his commanding officer had learned that he was telling them that there were some questions whether Hitler was going to win this war or not. And he wanted to know.
Hasel paused for a moment. He didn't exactly know how to answer it because it could have ended up in his court martial or perhaps even death. He prayed for a moment and then he suddenly had an idea. He asked his commanding officer if this was an official question or an unofficial question. His commanding officer responded by taking his hat off and saying, "Well, I'll let you answer it unofficially."
They had an unwritten code in the officers’ group that you could do that. Hasel took his own hat off, pulled a small black Bible out of his shirt pocket. He opened it up to Daniel 2 and started going very carefully through the prophecy that we've just been reading here.
He had a small piece of paper, which he unfolded. It contained that image of the head of gold and the arms and chest of silver.
Hasel went through the whole prophecy and when he was finished with the prophecy and got down to the feet of clay and iron that did not cleave one to another. He said, "This is Europe, this is the time in which we live in today. " He said, "And just as iron and clay do not cleave one to another, I can be sure that Hitler cannot win this war, there will not be a Third Reich that lasts a thousand years."
There was a long pause in the office and his commanding officer asked him for his Bible, requested that he come back the next morning and dismissed him.
He went to sleep and the next morning at 9:00 AM he was in the commanding officer’s makeshift office and there were two other high ranking officers that had joined him, who he didn't recognize.
At that moment his officer took his hat off, told everyone to do the same, and said that nothing that would transpire in that room would ever be repeated. He handed Hasel back his Bible and said, "I want you to tell me everything with these gentlemen here, that you told me yesterday. Don't leave a detail out."
Hasel opened up again to Daniel 2, went through the entire prophecy, and when he got down to the feet of iron mixed with clay he said, "Hitler will not win this war. This is not a Third Reich that will last a thousand years."
Hasel was dismissed and as he was heading out the door, his commanding officer said, "Oh by the way, I should introduce you to the two men who are here." He introduced him to the officer that was on his right, and said, "This officer before he became an officer in the military was a history professor at a very prestigious university. He has confirmed all the dates and all the kingdoms that you have described in your study.
This gentleman here was a high school history teacher and he has also confirmed the sequence of events. I thank you Herr Hasel." He said, "You are free to go." Hasel left rejoicing that he had had a chance to share God’s word with these influential men.
He knew that God was faithful. Six months went by and the war had ended, and now the task was to get back from the heartland of Russia to Germany, a journey of a couple thousand kilometers.
Unbeknownst to Hasel, his commanding officer had begun 6 months earlier to save and ration every bit of gasoline possible, because he had been convinced in that Bible study that Germany wasn't going to win the war and they would need the fuel to make it home. Hasel was one of the first ministers back on duty serving the Lord in Germany after the war ended.
For Hasel, at receiving orders to report to an army with allegiance to a power he did not believe in, and having to abandon his family for years at a time, was a dark and difficult reality to have to embrace. The good things in this could not be perceived. Because of his faithfulness and willingness to trust that Jesus was indeed his fortress and his protection no matter the outcome, many others have chosen Jesus as well. In fact his Son Gerhard Hazel went on to become one of the leading theologians in the seventh day adventist church and was a professor of my father in seminary. Gerhard’s son Michael was a professor of mine when I was an undergrad student at Southern AU.
What legacy do we leave leave when we are willing to trust God to a point of blindness. Trusting Him in darkness where we see no light but know ultimately our God is leading. The God is who is leading us today is the same as He always was. He is the God of good things. He will bring us eventually to his vantage point. Until then let us press on and follow him no matter what is still to come.