(The Future Belongs to God)

Text:  Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Because this sermon is the first I am privileged to preach in 2007 I want to mention some problems we are facing and encourage you to keep your trust in God.

As my text indicates, His laws were given for a reason. They were intended both to make His people obedient and to improve their quality of life.  He knows the future, we don't.  He understands our need to live above the world.  He can guide us around evil influences. Why should we bump up against the "secret things" of the future to our hurt?

Follow Christ

I hope 2006 was a good year for you, especially in the spiritual realm.  And I hope you will fare even better in this New Year. I imagine you will too if you allow the Lord Jesus to guide you. He wants to lead you in the paths of righteousness, for His name's sake and for your own good. (Psalm 23:3). Then, no matter what happens, this year, next year, or twenty years from now, you will be in the center of His will and you can claim the promises of Psalm 91. If you are not familiar with Psalm 91, perhaps you should memorize it. However, as good as they are, its promises apply only to those who “dwell in the secret place of the Most High.”

Gone

I won’t waste time reviewing our accomplishments or our lack of them for last year. What's the use?  The past is gone.  We cannot recover it for good or bad. There is no way we can successfully recall our fumbles and there is no point in allowing them to haunt us.  Hopefully, we will remember enough of our successes to encourage us, and enough of our failures to avoid repeating them.

Future?

Jesus promised to return for His own. Are you looking forward to another year to prepare for the event? Have you considered the possibility you may not have another year? Your witnessing opportunities could be curtailed severely or your capabilities diminished drastically - even if He delays His coming for many more years and you survive all of them. However, while the timing for that event has been the subject of endless debates over the years, human lifetimes have always ended before it actually occurred. (Except for Enoch and Elijah).

Let go

Many Christians need to let go of things that stand in the way of their commitment to God before they can become worth much to Him. Some are asleep spiritually, seemingly content to settle for    earthly pleasures they can afford. Others, having been misled by prosperity preachers, think only of accumulating more.  If either condition describes you, begin to let go now, before the New Year gets any older. Determine to serve Jesus His way - until He returns or until you go to Him.

Reiterate

Chapter 29 Of Deuteronomy says, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Although God does not usually reveal His secrets directly He did outline future events in the Bible - along with hints as to when we can expect them. Some occurred during our Lord’s first advent. Others are taking place today. So, if you read your Bible carefully and pay attention to current events, you should believe He is due. I’ll name two examples:

1. Israel. After a very long absence, She is again occupying part of Her land. But She is beset by a world that hates her. (Luke 21:17) and by surrounding armies intent on destroying her. (Luke 21:20). Since she was reborn as a Nation, in 1948, She has had only one real ally. Now that may change. Our pledges to defend her against her enemies are under threat. Some of our so-called statesmen advocate abandoning Israel’s interests to gain favor with Iran and Syria, and Israel is rightfully concerned. (The Iraq Study Group Report.)

The radical Moslems have one goal; they intend to rule the world. They plan to kill all Jews and anyone else who gets in the way – and they say so repeatedly.  Will Israel be forced to defend herself? Will she try to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat alone and bring the wrath of the entire Middle East upon her? Would there be enough left, after such a holocaust, to sustain life as the West knows it? Any real chance of that appears to be either “slim” or “none.”

      2. Us. The Roadmap for Peace we forced on Israel caused her to give up territory she needed for survival and it continues to demand more. Our coercion earned us only God’s promise to retaliate against those who harm His people. (Genesis 12:3). How soon will his wrath fall on our nation?

Israel’s enemies want to destroy us and they are working at it. Will God allow them to bring us down ahead of Her in one way or another? We have already suffered much physical and financial harm from radical Islam and they intend to inflict us again - as soon and as often possible. Can our economy survive the threats it faces? Consider the costs of war. Ever-rising oil prices and attacks on our dollar might end our ability to act as the world’s policemen.

If Christ doesn’t return soon Christians had better learn to pray. God hating people, at home and abroad seem equally determined to devour us. One serious threat involves the use of nuclear weapons to destroy our transportation and communication systems nation-wide. The blast would destroy many transistors. Electronic appliances would be ruined, including your automobile, your telephone, your radio, and your television set. How would you get to the grocery store, if you could find one stocked and open for business as usual?

History

Chapter Twenty-nine of Deuteronomy records Moses review of a Covenant God made with Israel to deliver the obedient from bondage in Egypt to a new home in what is now called Palestine. Are born-again Christians, who anxiously await the return of Christ, about to be delivered to heaven? We can hope but I wouldn’t count on it soon. What if we don’t escape the worst tribulation ever to overtake the world? Are you prepared to trust God for deliverance in that awful circumstance? I would really like to believe the pre-tribulation rapture theory is correct. However, the hope of glory is not in a rapture of believers; it depends on Christ in us. (Colossians 1:27). Jesus spoke to His own when He promised to be with those who endured “to the end” (Matthew 10:22), however that end manifests itself.

Halfway home

At the time Moses spoke to encourage Israel she was already free from Egypt and well on her way to the Promised Land. The land East of the Jordan River was conquered; two and a half tribes claimed inheritances there. But Moses was about to die. What would happen next?

Joshua would replace Moses as Israel’s leader. Since only three adults remained in the entire nation, God restated His covenant to the younger generation. He spoke of His past care and warned them not to disbelieve. He said: "Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” (Deut 29:9).

Moses also warned them: "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."  (Deut. 30:19-20).

God’s intention

God wanted to lead the Israelites into a future known only to Him. He gave them opportunity to follow His rules and reap the benefits of obedience. They were not forced to obey but the blessings of the covenant would be limited to those who did. Will the same be true for us? Think Psalm 91 again. Are you dwelling “in the secret place of the Most High?” Have you placed your trust in God? Are you dependent on Him alone as your refuge and your fortress? Perhaps only those who anxiously look for Christ’s appearing will be delivered from the wrath the rest of the world must endure? (2^nd Timothy 4:8). Or, perhaps, the Great Tribulation will involve only the wrath of Satan? God’s wrath will certainly fall on the ungodly that remain after the Great Tribulation is history. (Matthew 24:29).

Anyway, after Joshua succeeded Moses, God warned Israel again; "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8). As history tells us, Joshua obeyed God and prospered.  Many of his countrymen proved to be as stubborn as their parents. Their futures were shortened considerably.

Today

As you may have figured by now, I believe God’s promise to give Israel the land of Canaan prefigured Christ’s promise of an inheritance for Christians. (John 14:2). As the Hebrews awaited Christ’s first coming, we await His second. They had the annual Passover service to remind them. The commemoration of Christ’s last supper is our reminder.

They had definite prophecies concerning His first coming.  We have definite prophecies concerning His return as King. They were given a specific time to look for their Messiah. (Daniel 9). Most of them missed it but Sir Robert Anderson was eventually able to determine the exact day of that appearing. (The Coming Prince, 1841-1918).

Although we cannot predict the exact date of Christ’s second coming, He gave us enough information to equate the time with today’s events. (Luke 21). So we had better be alert, ready to meet Him in the air - whether that event follows or precedes the time of Jacob’s trouble. 

Our duty

I believe the message of my text is especially appropriate for us - as we enter what has to be one of the last years of the current Biblical dispensation. "The secret things (still) belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we (too) may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29). There is a difference.  The covenant we observe is based on grace rather than law. But we might profit from obeying some old rules, and we should be alert to the signs of the times.

Let me paraphrase the text like this:  The secret things belong to God (things we can not see because they are still future).  But God has revealed the laws of life to us and He has given us the opportunity to obey them (and live). Although we aren't forced to obey the rules they are the laws of life. In other words, those who want abundant life must obey the laws of life.

Diligence

Some Biblical revelations are discernable only through diligent study. God does conceal matters but we can work at searching them out. (Proverbs 25:2). So this is not a time for sitting back - fat, dumb, and happy to let other people do the work. We should study the Scriptures carefully for ourselves.

“Life as usual” is a luxury we can no longer afford. We need to pay attention to what God’s word says and act accordingly. Your family needs to know it so they can get ready. Your friends need to know it. Your neighbors need to know it. And the world needs to know it. Christ will return. Revelation 22:7 quotes Him saying,  “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps words of the prophecy of this book.” Although that may not mean He is coming immediately, it does mean the event will occur suddenly, probably when most people are not expecting it.

Advice 

Let’s follow God’s leading and rest secure in His love. We cannot see ahead. We cannot even imagine some of the trials we may face soon if Jesus is not ready to return. Don't waste time worrying.  God knows your future. Try to discover what He wants of you and trust Him to lead you safely wherever He chooses. And stay alert; Jesus may come today. But don't neglect your duties. Occupy until He does return. Work at building His Kingdom.

Learn to "hear" God's Word with your heart as you read it. Recognize His great love for you and examine the hints He left concerning the end times. Don’t forget to pray. Prayer links you directly to God with no need of an intermediary. He grants personal audiences to His own.  If He is your heavenly Father He wants to hear from you. He loves you.  He listens to your petitions.  He can guide you in specific situations.

Psalm 91’s promises:    

Earlier I mentioned the promises of Psalm 91. Memorize them with the intention of meeting the condition for claiming them. We cannot know exactly when Christ will return and we might find ourselves in the middle of some terrible situations before He arrives. If so, we will find lots of reasons for being able to rely on those promises and find rest in Him

Psalms 91:1-16, NKJV:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.  A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your habitation, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample under foot.

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.

       Jesus Christ is our only hope, whether He delivers us from or through the troubles ahead. If you don’t believe they are coming, you must not be paying attention. Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it but don’t ignore the warning to your hurt.

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David E. Beneze, Canon City, CO, 07 January 2007.  See Page 34 of the Minister’s Manual for 1982.