Each year at around this time various periodicals, newspapers, blogs, they begin
to summarize the key events that have taken place in this past year, and they
try to predict, somehow, the trends that will appear in the year to come. In my
lesson this morning I'd like to comment on some of these, and show that in a fast
changing world, where technological and social pressures are remaking the
society that we all live in, our faith in God, through Christ, is still the mighty
rock where we can find security and peace, no matter how much or how quickly
things change. First of all, let's look at the trends that are often mentioned,
trends, the authors say, that will change the way we live in America and how we
view other nations. First of all, I think we recognize, in the last several years,
that America is now the only superpower. Despite what they say about these other
countries, those people who are in the know, know that America is really the
only superpower. For most of us growing up, we knew exactly who our enemies were.
I mean, for the first half of the 20th century it was Germany and its allies.
For most of the second half of the century it was communist Russia, the
nation that former President Ronald Reagan called the evil empire. After 9/11
and up to this day the main threat has been from radical Islamic terrorism. The
biggest problem faced by our military leaders is how do we prepare for the
next threat? What kind of equipment should we have? How should we train our
people? How do you defend against a terrorist who brings a catastrophic
biological weapon into our country in a suitcase? I mean, how do you defend against that.
What is truly disturbing is that for many Americans
the real enemy is our own government. The trust in politicians is at an all-time
low, and no wonder, when most of what we hear and see from Washington is a
never-ending battle for control and power, and very little effort to work for
the common good of all citizens, regardless of their party. There was a
time when our fears were well-focused on a clearly defined enemy, but in the year
2017 the enemies are largely unseen, may well be in the camp. A second trend, a
multicultural society in America is now a reality. There was a time in America
where white anglo-saxon Protestantism was the norm, and the rest were
exceptions. That time is no more. Today, one out of four Americans come from
other nations, and as we head into the next year, that percentage will increase.
This is according to the Migration Policy Institute. The multicultural
society is now a reality. If you don't believe this, go to Los Angeles or New
York or Texas or Atlanta or Miami, and you will see how ethnically diverse we
are becoming. Now it doesn't matter how the nation became this way: part
of the reason slavery; part of the reason is a vigorous immigration policy for the
last hundred years or so; part of the reason is prosperity and the millions of
people who left the war and poverty of their own nations to find a better life
here; part of the reason is that it's cold in Canada, but we won't discuss that now.
Whatever the reasons, America has become a multicultural society. How we
deal with this reality will determine what type of society we have in the
future. The biggest problem will be to accept
the fact that the melting pot idea, where all nationalities automatically accepted
white Christian traditions, that doesn't work anymore. The danger will be that
many will assume white supremacy or priority, and this will cause problems.
For a time, Native Americans assumed supremacy and priority, when the settlers
first came, but soon were overcome and dispossessed. In the years to come,
America will become racially diverse and culturally mixed, and this will cause an
identity crisis about who we really are and what we really stand for. And we're
going to have to deal with that. A third major trend, a shift to the information
age. As America goes from searching outer space to cruising cyberspace, we need to
find a way to deal with the incredible amount of information that is
overwhelming us through radio and television and magazines and books, and
of course now the exploding field of internet communication. The average
person in America is exposed to more information in one week than the average
person was exposed to in a lifetime a hundred years ago, a lifetime. There was a
time when if you had a PhD, you pretty much knew everything that you had to
know about your very specific subject. No more. That time is gone. Now this is great,
all that information. I mean, I have a news service thing on my computer that sends
me, I don't know, 17, 20, different news sources. I'm at the point now that I
don't read - I don't even read the articles anymore, I just read the
headlines. Oh yeah, I know what that's about.
Uh-huh, over here, over there, over here, over there. I read some lefties. I read
some righties. I read some middles. I read some out of this world's. I mean, all this
is great, but what do you do with this mountain of facts and information that
threatens to bury us? And the trend is to even more facts, more information
coming at you even faster. And then, a fourth trend that continues: America is
prosperous. We are by far living in the most prosperous nation ever in the
history of mankind. We are by far living more comfortably and enjoying more
physical pleasures than any nation and most kings in all of history.
We are so prosperous that our politicians fight over how to spend the
tax money the government has or doesn't have. We are so prosperous that the
number one problem that the average American faces on a daily basis is the
struggle not to eat too much. Can you imagine that. We've got to be careful not
to eat too much. Unemployment's at 4%, inflation negligible, mortgage rates, what,
4%, easy credit, easy payments, easy living.
America is prosperous, but each year millions of babies are aborted, children
shoot each other in cold blood, one in two families fall apart in divorce,
sexually transmitted diseases spread at an endemic proportion. America is
prosperous, but there's a disconnect between what we have and what we feel,
not the same. Our prosperity has made us wealthier, but
not made us happier. And so, as economists continue to try to predict the future of
our economy, the personal misery and emptiness of our nation goes largely
unseen and without comment. The biggest news being the sexual misadventures of
politicians and movie stars. I mean, really, is that what's going on in the
world? I'm amazed when I can read an entire newspaper, I can hear an entire
news brief, if you wish, a news program, and not a mention, nothing, about what's
going on in India. Can you imagine? You have a 30 minute news show and 11 of
those minutes are about the sexual misadventures of politicians and movie
stars. You mean there's no news coming out of India or Africa or
Indonesia? Really? You call that world news? So my
lesson today is about the living Christ and how He is relevant to the trends and
challenges that we face as a nation, as we head towards another year.
You see, our world is changing in ways we can barely understand, let alone control,
but as Christians, we have a Lord who provides us with the resources we need
to meet these changes with confidence. And the first of these being a
changeless faith. Yes, things are changing in the world, but we have a faith that
does not change. In Romans chapter 10, verse 17, the Apostle says, "So faith comes
"from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Christ gives us faith as we live
in this changing world. Our faith, our changeless faith, is what
helps us survive every twist and turn of this word
we live in. For example, it helps us with the problem of power. We know that
absolute power corrupts, especially when it is in the hands of sinful men, but not
when it is in the hands of God. We know through faith that God knows how to
wield His power, even if man does not know how to wield his power.
We know that regardless of our military superiority, it is still God who keeps us
safe. In Psalm 127 the writer says, "Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman
"keeps awake in vain." As Christians we understand that the government is a
servant of God on behalf of the people, Romans 13:1-7, and will be judged
accordingly. As Christians, our faith teaches us that an orderly society
begins with an orderly home and an orderly family. We know where power comes
from and how it should be used. We also know that God holds the final power and
the final judgment. Believe me, the judgment on politicians is not at the
ballot box, it's at the throne of God. And He will exercise that judgment. In this
scary world of mindless violence and radical terrorism, it is our faith that
leads us to the source of all power, and the only place where there is eternal
safety and peace and justice. Our faith also guides us in adapting to
multiculturalism. Racial mix often brings about social strife, as each group vies
for resources, acceptance, and a share in the decision-making process. With this
clash of cultures and ideas brewing, it is more important than ever to
promote the biblical truth that a nation whose God is the Lord is blessed. It
doesn't say in the Bible, a nation of similar cultures under God is blessed.
It isn't having the same skin color that makes us blessed. It's a nation whose God
is the Lord, that is blessed, regardless of culture. Isn't it wonderful that
Christianity is not based on culture or language, but rather on love and grace
and hope. Things that people of every race desperately need and are searching
for. Regardless of the social changes in our nation, our mission, you and I, our
mission always remains the same. In the end, as Christians, we understand that the
only way to live successfully and peacefully in a multicultural
society is to evangelize it. These people that say, they ask
these questions, how many angels on the head of a pin, these people that ask you
what would you do. What would you do, all of a sudden, if
the terrorists took over America. We were living - and they even have
shows, they have TV programs that imagine that the
Nazis won the war. Imagine if the Nazis won the war, and they were ruling.
What would you do then? And I say, well, exactly what I'm doing now: sharing my
faith, going to church, encouraging people to believe in Jesus, writing books,
preaching the gospel online. It'd be more dangerous. It'd be underground,
but it wouldn't change. My mission, it would be the same. Your mission would be the same.
Your objective would be the same: to live faithfully, to die faithfully.
You might die sooner. It's not how long you live, it's how faithfully you live, that's
important. Our challenge is to develop means and ways to reach every tongue and
every culture with the good news of Jesus Christ.
The successful future of the nation rests not with language laws or
immigration policies, but with an effort to re-evangelize America, so it can truly
be one nation under God again. Our faith also helps us, you and I, helps us wade
through the Information age. In order to maintain our balance and perspective,
while being deluged with information, we need to know what is true. David, the
psalmist, said, "The sum of thy Word is truth."
Psalm 19:160. Paul the Apostle says, "Every scripture is inspired by God, and
"profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction." Second Timothy 3, verse 16.
The danger of the information age is that it threatens to make cynics or doubters out
of everybody. Our world informs us of changes, opinions, new discoveries,
new ideas, at an ever-increasing rate, that it's becoming impossible to
assimilate the information. We either shut it off or we become cynical and
doubtful, thinking that there's no use accepting anything as true or lasting,
because tomorrow something new will come along to displace it. That's a hard way
to live. That's a scary way to think. But Isaiah the prophet says, "The grass
"withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord lasts forever." Isaiah 40, verse 8.
In the face of the information avalanche, God's Word continues to lead
us into salvation, to discern what is right, to comfort us in suffering, and
provide a true hope for the future. Why? Because it is true. Why? Because it never
changes. That's why. Jesus is the Lord today, tomorrow, yesterday, forever. That
never changes. Belief in Him guarantees eternal life. That never, never
changes. Let's not be afraid or discouraged if we can't keep up. Through
the gospel, we have learned the one important fact that we need, and that is
Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. The information age will not swallow us up
if we put our faith in the Word of God and not in the web. And finally, in the
face of blinding prosperity, let us remember that along with great
prosperity comes the temptation to forget. Wealth and abundance of material
goods tempts us to forget God and focus on things. To forget the spirit and
pursue the things of the flesh. To forget the poor in the quest of getting our
share of the American Dream. In this decade of incredible blessing, our faith
teaches us to promote praise and thanksgiving each day in ourselves and
in our children. It teaches us to manage the wealth for the good of not only
ourselves, but for the well-being of other people. And it also teaches us to
not become so involved with material things that they own us, rather than the
other way around. In Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus describes the great judgment
scene, we are all warned that how we use or misuse our resources on behalf of
others will be a key factor in our judgment. The era of great wealth will
either be our opportunity to do great things in the name of the Lord, or it
will be an occasion of stumbling into sin. We get to decide which one and which
way we take. How we handle what God has provided, will determine the outcome.
And our faith guides us in this area as well. I want to be optimistic
about the future. This lesson is not meant to be a doom and
gloom sermon, taking the joy out of blessings and good times that we
experience in our nation. God allowed a godless and violent nation like the
Roman Empire to last for 500 years, because it suited His overall plan. He
permits entire continents and entire cultures to survive and prosper for
centuries, who do not recognize the name of Christ, but bow down to other gods and
other religious leaders. And God has blessed America with stunning growth and
success for almost three centuries, and can sustain that position until the end
of time if He wants to. My lesson this morning is a reality check, a wake-up
call to our little corner of the world. With the news that the world is changing,
and our nation is changing, and these changes will put pressure on the church
to change as well, in the face of this upheaval, we will survive and continue
the course set for us by the Lord if we remember - the world, in its mad dash for
cash may forget, but we must remember that our rock, our security, in good and
bad times is Jesus Christ and His word. We must always remember not to repeat
the mistakes of others who denied Jesus or abandoned the church, like the Jews or
Demus, when they were tempted or pressured by the world. And we must
always remember the source of our blessings and give thanks and thought as
to the best way to serve the Lord with what we have been given. Let us maintain
the changeless faith of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and David and
Jesus and Peter and Paul, who through 5,000
years of change never wavered in their trust that God would be true to His
promises. And as we head toward the end of this year and into the beginning of a
new one, in only a few weeks - what is it, 28 days to Christmas? Let us also
be the children of Abraham. Let us be the spiritual Israel. Let us be the true
disciples of Christ and hold fast to the promise of God, that regardless of the
times, He will never abandon us. He will never forsake us. And He also promises
that all those who confess the name of His Son Jesus Christ in repentance and
baptism, will be forgiven for all sin, will receive the Holy Spirit, and when
Jesus returns, will ascend into heaven to be with Him forever.
That is a promise for today, tomorrow, and every tomorrow. Let us hold on to these
promises brethren, and never let them go, no matter what. And let us, at every
opportunity, hold out these promises to everyone who
would have them. If you wish to take hold of the sure promises of God this morning,
then we encourage you to let us know what your needs are, as we stand and as
we sing our song of encouragement. Shall we stand.