Wise King Solomon wrote 3000 years ago that there is nothing new under the sun. He realized that history has a way of repeating itself. What this means is that we can have a fairly good idea of what will happen in the future based on what has happened in the past.
For example: Last year winter was followed by spring and spring by summer. So we can be sure that this winter will end and that warmer days are ahead.
In the 1970s rising fuel costs lead to inflation and recession and a slowing of the economy. We have every indication that this now the trend.
Older people succumb to a variety of illnesses and disease and die and we can be sure that we will also weaken and die.
As students of history, we can be sure that our future will contain the same challenges that other generations have faced in many ways.
As we look to the future, we begin to realize that in spite of the tremendous advances in medicine and technology, that potentially dark days are ahead. Jeremiah refers to this by describing the heat and drought that the tree will face in the future. What dark days may be in store for us?
· Economic: Rising energy costs are putting a strain on personal savings and threaten to slow down a once booming economy and cause rising prices across the board. The stock market is weak and many are losing equity in their investments at an alarming rate.
· Political: There is growing concern over tensions in the Middle East between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The new leader of Israel, Ariel Sharon, does not hold to previous agreements. His election by some has been noted as the biggest mistake Israel has ever made. (Crucifying Jesus would have to be the biggest one.)
· Social: Family values continue to erode, loss of support groups.
· Safety: More people are afraid to walk outside in their own neighborhoods at night.
· Health: No cure for AIDS which continues to spread at an alarming rate. More virulent strains of flu, spread of illness and disease.
· Church: loss of direction and adherence to God's Word as more and more people flock to churches that teach what people itching ears want to hear instead of the pure word of God. The love of many is growing cold.
We face an uncertain future. It is uncertain because we aren't so sure of good things ahead and the prosperity that we have enjoyed. All that seems to be certain are death and taxes. And so we ask . . .
How to Prepare for Future Security
1. Trust in Man and be Cursed.
2. Trust in God and be Blessed.
The result for many is that they are filled with fear, anxiety, worry and flee to drugs, alcohol, pleasure or give in to depression and withdrawal.
But is this all that the future holds? Is the future one dark and uncertain road of misery and poverty which can only end in death.
For some its is. For those who trust in man, who depend on flesh for his strength, who rely on technology, medicine, luck, or money to see them through; God tell s us that they will be cursed.
Illustration: The picture is that of a plant that depends on its own resources or the wrong resources for strength. Cut off from its real source of strength (water supply) such plants are parched, scrubby, dried brush in a wilderness land of salt and dry sand.
Application: Even the best man made supports can fail. Our physical strength will fail. Our senses become dulled (how many wear glasses or hearing aids?), money loses its value, clothes and cars rot and rust. Countries rise and fall. The eternal forecast for those who trust only in man is even more bleak. Isaiah tells us that all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags and Ezekiel says that the soul that sins, it will die. "Cursed is everyone who does not do everything contained in the book of the law."
Examples: See what lies in store for those who trust in themselves from the Bible. The tower of Babel, Goliath, the demise of Israel. History also shows the fall of such empires as Rome, Germany, and the Soviet Union. True to form, the words of Jeremiah that those who trust in man are under a curse are proven to be true over and over again in history and will continue to ring true for all who trust in mortal man who cannot save.
Transition: But this is not the future for the one who trusts in the Lord. Here Jeremiah also uses the illustration of the tree and water. The tree that sends out its roots to the stream of water and relies on this source of refreshment is blessed. Its leaves are lush and it bears abundant fruit. In arid lands you see this much more dramatically than in Wisconsin. Near water you see trees and lush vegetation. Away from the water all is dry and parched. The contrast is striking.
God promises that those who trust in him are like trees near a stream and that we are blessed.
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Isaiah 44:2f
This is what the LORD says-
he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.
As Christians we are to trust in the Lord and rely on the power of the Gospel in the Word and Sacraments. Those who are deep in the word can withstand the troubles of life and hold fast to the hope they have in the Lord. This is true for daily strength and for eternal security. We can be sure that God will as Luther says, "Defend us from danger, and guard and protect us from every evil" and finally as St. Paul says, "Take us safely to be with him in his heavenly kingdom."
Conclusion: Our congregation has members who are young men and women who are strong, vital, and who are well off in many ways. We have children who are growing stronger and maturing physically every day. We also have older members who are physically weak and financially strapped and who future does not appear to be very bright. The world would say that the young are strong and that the old are frail. God takes a different view and we should too. I marvel at the hope and trust that our older members show in the Lord when calamity threatens or strikes. I am reassured that what Jeremiah said is true. Those who send out their roots into the stream of God's word (Those who trust in Him) do not fear and do stand firm. The spiritual pillars of our congregation in many ways are the faithful senior citizens who strive to be in God's house to worship him in spite of the limitations they face due to declining age and health. Their dedication to worship God and to support his work generously are an inspiration to all of us.
May all of us, young and old, rely more on the Lord to strengthen us with his Word. Then, when the dark days of the future approach, we can face them in complete confidence and know that those who trust in the Lord are blessed and will receive one blessing after another both in time and in eternity. Amen.
