Living Under the Tensions of the Plague, Pain, and Politics, Part 5
Matthew 11:28
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
In our last message in this series, we saw if we will only come to Jesus, accept Him as Saviour, and repent of our sins, He will give us rest and forgiveness, so that we can stand up and keep going through life.
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Finally, here is something else that Jesus does. It reminds us that at the center of the universe is a God who is concerned about the welfare of his children. Religion at its best does not look upon God as a process, not as some impersonal force that is a mere moral order that guides the destiny of the universe. True religion looks upon God as a person. He’s not limited like our personalities. God is much higher than we are. But there is something in God that makes it so that we are made in his image. God can think; God is a self-determined being. God has a purpose. God can reason. God can love.
Aristotle used to talk about God as “Unmoved Mover,” but that’s not the Christian God. Aristotle’s god is merely a self-knowing god, but the Christian God is an other-loving God. He reaches out with His long arm of compassion and love and embraces all of His children. It gives life a meaning and a purpose that it could never have without Him. Man has got to find something that he can worship and give his ultimate allegiance to. And I say this morning that the Christian religion talks about a God, a personal God, who’s concerned about us, who is our Father, who is our Redeemer. And this sense of divine companionship says to us, on the one hand, that we are not lost in a universe fighting for goodness and for justice and love all by ourselves. It says somehow that although we live amid the tensions of life, although we live amid injustice, no matter what we live amid, it’s not going to be like that always.
There’s a good dose of psychology there. And the slaves were the greatest psychologists that America’s ever known, for they learned something that we must always learn. And they said it in their broken language, ‘“I’m so glad that trouble don’t last always.” They had learned something in their lives. And that’s what real, determined faith in God gives you. Gives you the conviction that although trouble is rampant, that although you stand amid the forces of injustice, it will not last always because God controls the universe. And you can live without tension then. You can live under it.
Oh, I know all of us sometimes worry about our particular situation. But justice rules this world, love and goodwill, and it will triumph. They begin to wonder over the nation, how is it that we can keep living under tension? And we can cry out to the nation, “We can do it because we know that as we walk God walks with us.”
We know that God is with us in all of the experiences of life. And we can walk and never get weary because we know that there is a great camp meeting in the promised land of freedom and justice. Then it gives us this faith in God, gives us the assurance that in nothing we confront in life do we stand alone, for there is cosmic companionship. As we face our individual troubles, as we face our individual problems, there is a God that stands with us. And isn’t that consoling that at last long we can find something permanent, for we live in life and life is so elusive. As I’ve said it is this pendulum swinging between joy and sorrow, between disappointment and fulfillment, but there is something beyond all of that which is permanent. If we put our ultimate faith in that, we don’t worry about anything. Oh, when we get our ultimate faith in God, everything in life can come to us, and yet we don’t despair because we know that there is something permanent.
And I say to you this morning I’m not going to put my ultimate faith in these little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow. I’m not going to put my ultimate faith in a few dollars and cents and a few Cadillac cars and Buick convertibles. I’m going to put my ultimate faith in the God of the universe who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When all of these gods have passed away, He’s still standing. And He is the eternal companion.
And now I can understand what the old people meant. They cried out in their poetic manner, not being able to talk about God in philosophical and theological categories. They could only talk about him in terms of their particular poetic imaginations expressed in the scripture. They could cry out throughout all the ages, “He’s a rock in a weary land and a shelter in the time of storm. He is a lily of the valley and a bright and morning star.” And then when they gave out they wouldn’t stop there because they gave out a language and they just started crying out, “He’s my everything. He’s my sister and my brother; He’s my mother and my father. He’s all together lovely; He’s fairest among ten thousand. And I’m going to worship Him forever because I believe that He can guide us throughout life.” Come unto me, all ye that are laborers, beat down and burdened down because of the problems of modern life. Come unto me and I will give you the rest that will carry you through the generations. I will give you a peace that the world can never understand. My peace I leave with you, not as the world giveth, but a peace that passeth all understanding. God grant, if we will discover this, we will be able to live amid the tensions of modern life.
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PRAYER
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Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
BCNN1 WP 