Mark Finley

HopeLives365

The News Isn’t in Control, God Is

The future can feel quite uncertain at times.

Sometimes we look to the future with our plans and they're very, very well defined.

Other times we look to the future and we're not quite sure about it.

Sometimes we have a pretty good idea of what we desire.

But then something unexpected happens and our lives are interrupted and the future that we planned is not there at all.

Now Daniel Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard University.

Americans are smiling less and worrying more than they were a year ago.

He tried to figure out why indeed was that happening.

The real problem is not our economy, The real problem is not our finances.

People don't know what is going to happen next.

They wonder, will I have a job next week?

People just don't know what's going to happen and that's the uncertainty that really troubles them.

There was an interesting Dutch study that was done and in that Dutch study people again realised that it's uncertainty that is causing our problems.

Now here's a study that comes from the Gallup Poll that I'll talk about before I talk about the Dutch study.

So When Gallup Poll studied Americans, they found out this.

The black lines represent the negative emotions that people are having.

Worry, stress, sadness, physical pain, anger.

Then they took the green lines, so all the black lines were up in our society.

And then the green lines represent sleep, people getting less sleep.

They represent smile, laughter, people are smiling less.

Enjoyment, they're enjoying their lives less.

And so you go on and you look at it and you say, why, what is happening?

Why is it that sadness is up and disappointment is up and laughter and joy are down in American society.

And so Daniel Gilbert was trying to figure that out.

Now in this Dutch study, they took 20 people.

And in the study, with these 20 people, they said, we're going to give you shocks, and we're going to shock you.

All the shocks for the first 20 will be of the same intensity.

So you're going to get shocked, but all the shocks are the same intensity.

Then they took another group of people, 20 people, and they said to them, We're going to shock you again 20 times.

17 of the shocks will be the same intensity, but 3 of them will be worse.

The 20 people who knew the shocks would be the same intensity or the 20 people who would get 17 shocks that were not very intense but 3 shocks that would be much more intense.

Obviously, it was the people who were uncertain.

They did not know at all when their shocks were going to come.

When those shocks came, They just cried out because they didn't know when the shocks would be intense and when they wouldn't be so intense.

How can we embrace the future When life throws at us so many uncertain shocks, how can you thrive in uncertain times?

There's 1 thing certain about the future.

How can we thrive in unsettled times, in times of rapid change, in times when things are so unstable?

This morning, I invite you to travel back with me 700 years before Christ.

We're traveling to the book of Isaiah to discover how to find certainty in uncertain times, how to find confidence in uncertain times.

Isaiah, the sixth chapter, 700 years before Christ.

Isaiah chapter 6, and we're looking there at verse 1.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple." Uzziah began to reign when he was 16 years old.

He led Israel in prosperity, in preeminence, in promise.

His armies gained all the territory that they lost in future years.

Commerce revived, riches flowed into Jerusalem, cities were rebuilt and fortified, Jerusalem was prosperous, but it lost its spiritual power.

As often happens in times of peace and prosperity, Israel became complacent in spiritual things.

Their worship services became cold and formal.

Great time of prosperity, but a great time of spiritual apathy.

The priests were greedy, they were consumed with getting welt.

Isaiah brazenly entered the temple, where only the priests were supposed to do, and as he enters the temple In disobedience and rebellion against God, he gets leprosy.

The Assyrian king, Tigur-Pelaser, had attacked Babylon in 745 BC and he kept moving closer and closer to Israel.

As he did, he conquered as much of Asia in 744 BC.

His armies march to the border of Judah, but there was 1 who stood against him, Isaiah.

743 BC, he attacks, comes even closer and still closer to Israel.

The Israelites are trembling with uncertainty because Tiger Pallasser, with his mighty armies, is ready to attack and destroy them.

The people of God are anxious and worried, everything is unsettled.

At this crisis moment, God gives Isaiah a vision.

And in that vision, Isaiah writes in Isaiah 6 verse 1, in the year King Isaiah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up, sitting on his throne.

An earthly king was dead, but the king of kings was very much alive.

The earthly throne was empty, but God still reigned on his throne.

An earthly kingdom faced an uncertain future, but there was nothing uncertain about the promises of God.

There may be uncertainty on earth, but God is still sitting on his throne.

Conflict after conflict, tense nations look at 1 another with the eyes of war.

And for many people, these are very, very, very uncertain times.

07 A Heavenly Citizenship

Thank you for joining us for another Sabbath School lesson.

The title of our lessons this quarter is Uniting Heaven and Earth, Christ in Philippians and Colossians.

When you think of citizenship, what do you think of?

You think of a person who is a member or a citizen of a particular country.

When we talk about heavenly citizenship, we're talking about where our mindset is.

Our hope is based on something beyond this life.

So in life, we go through joys and sorrows.

There are many difficult moments in life.

There's sickness, there's financial reverses, family challenges, some people go through conflict in their marriage, some the trauma of a divorce.

There are times that we experience the ravages of war in some countries or famine, heartache, sorrow.

But yet, if you're a heavenly citizen, in spite of what's going on around you, you focus on what's above you.

If you're a heavenly citizen, you anticipate that there's a better world coming.

And it's that joy that takes you through the conflicts of life.

So let's pray and ask the Lord especially to be with us as we study this lesson, Heavenly Citizen.

Father in heaven, we're thankful that we are citizens of another world, that we're citizens of the eternal world.

Keep us ever so focused on the fact that this world is not our home that we're just passing through.

That 1 day we can live with you and see you face to face in those eternal realms of glory.

Under the Sabbath afternoon's reading, the last paragraph under heavenly citizenship says this, Most important, we need not place our hopes in earthly systems or government which regularly disappoint us.

Often governments, as much as they try, disappoint us.

There's dishonesty, graft, corruption at times in some governments of the world.

But as Christians, we are citizens of God's heavenly kingdom.

With that citizenship comes wonderful privileges, wonderful privileges and responsibilities too.

So as a citizen of heaven, 1 of the privileges that we have is being a positive role model to others.

In Sunday's lesson titled Role Models, Let's take a look at Philippians 3, verse 17 to 19.

It says, brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern, for many walk of whom I've told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they're enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is their destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.

So here Paul contrasts heavenly citizenship and what it means to be a positive role model and what it means to be a negative role model.

Because as he walks through life, his focus is on eternity.

He shares the Christ that he knows, the Christ that's changed his life.

He wants others to have the joy of knowing Jesus and living in eternity.

Paul's focus is not on the things of time, but on the things of eternity.

Not on the here and now, but on the hereafter.

Certainly Paul was focused on what Christ wanted of his life.

What about those who are poor role models who are enemies of the cross of Christ?

It said they're enemies of the cross of Christ.

They don't believe in the principles of God's Word.

Then it says that they set their mind on earthly things.

So the question is where is your mind set?

These people who are poor role model have their minds set on earthly things.

It says, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is their shame.

Here, under the note of Sunday's lesson we read, we must not miss Paul's love toward those with whom he disagrees.

He weeps over them, that's what the scripture says.

Notice that he doesn't call them his enemies, but enemies of the cross of Christ.

Paul recognized that much larger issues were at stake, namely how the cross breaks down barriers, how the cross places us all on the same level as sinners in need of a savior.

Also not to be overlooked is how Paul urges the Philippians to focus on the good examples, not the bad, to observe carefully those whose manner of life is just much like his own.

So when we walk through life, We often have a stamp we place on other people's souls.

You know, I remember 1 time, I was just a young man, I was 21 years old.

I was flying from Manaus, Brazil, back to Beiling.

I was a student missionary on the Amazon River, worked there on the Lucero 6.

And as I was flying, I was sitting there on the plane.

I saw a man walk in, long hair, deeply etched lines upon his face, long robes.

And I could tell he was some kind of Indian holy man.

And I wondered, where's this guy gonna sit?

And as we traveled, I just enjoyed talking to him so much.

He shared his philosophy of life with me, and I shared some biblical values with him, which is a very healthy, positive discussion.

At the end of the meeting, he stood up to leave, the plane landed by now, and he stood up to leave, and he looked back at me, And with these pensive eyes of wisdom, he simply looked at me and he said, young man, every 1 of us as we walk through life put footprints on the souls of somebody else.

He might have used the word fingerprints on the soul.

And then he said to me, today, thank you for leaving positive fingerprints on my soul.

I've thought about it many times through the years.

It's true that as we walk through life, just as a fingerprint is an identity mark, when you are fingerprinted by the police, hope you're not, but if you are, they are fingerprinting you to check a database to see if you've committed any other crimes.

And what Paul is saying in Philippians chapter 3 here and verses 17 to 19, he's saying every single 1 of us is a positive or negative influence.

And the essence of being a positive influence is we leave positive fingerprints on the soul of another when every action, every word, every thought is based on heavenly values.

So let your life shine like a light for Jesus.

Leave fingerprints on the souls of others, on the lives of others, on their deepest part of their being.

By focusing on the values of heaven, let those values guide and strengthen your life.

In Monday's lesson, the title is Stand Fast in the Lord.

So as a heavenly citizen walking through life, our mindset is on eternity.

It's a way of thinking, it's a thought process.

Philippians 3, verse 20 and 21, look carefully what this heavenly citizenship is all about.

For our citizenship, that's our way of thinking, our way of life, the values that govern us, is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We're looking for Jesus to come, to take us home.

Verse 21, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he's able to subdue all things to himself.

So Jesus, 1 day is gonna come, and he's gonna transform these mortal bodies into immortal bodies.

He's gonna transform this corruptible into incorruption, like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51 to 54.

Will God’s People Be Alone During the Seven Last Plagues?

What is your first reaction when you hear the expression, the time of trouble?

I remember a young man came to me once after 1 of my evangelistic meetings and he said, Pastor Mark, I can't make it, I can't make it, I can't make it.

He said, the time of trouble is going to be so great, it's going to overwhelm me.

Well, what about when you hear somebody say, it's going to be necessary during that time to live without a mediator?

Because of misunderstandings of these subjects, many people have become discouraged altogether and thrown up their hands and given up.

But in this presentation, I want you to look at the time of trouble, the close of probation, the judgment of the living through new eyes.

And I want you to see Jesus and know that you can make it.

So let's first look at the sequence of events that are going to take place.

As you go to the book of Revelation, we find that God's last message to this dying planet is found in Revelation chapter 14.

Revelation 14.6 says, and I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

The first thing we notice is that God's last day message is the gospel.

The gospel says that Christ came, he lived the life we should have lived, died the death we should have died.

The gospel says that through Christ, his strength, his power, we can stand against the wiles of the enemy.

Then the text says, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him that made heaven, earth, the sea and the fountains of waters.

Now notice, here is a message to worship the Creator, the first angel's message.

The second angel talks about Babylon is fallen, confused religion, a departure from God's plan, a departure from living a godly Christ-centered, obedient life.

Then in verse 9, it warns against the mark of the beast.

It says, the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if anybody worships the beast in his image and receives his mark on his forehead or in his hand, he himself shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation." So in Revelation 14.7 you have this call to worship the creator.

In Revelation 14, verse 9, you have the call not to worship the beast.

And it is this subject of worship that becomes the final test in earth's last war.

Who you worship, where is your allegiance?

Notice here, it talks about those that worship the beast and it says, they shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God that is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation.

What is the wine of the wrath of God that's poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation?

Whatever that is, it must be a very serious thing and you and I certainly want to avoid it.

In Revelation 15, verse 1, it tells us what that is.

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, 7 angels having the 7 last plagues, for in them is the wrath of God is complete.

So the wrath of God is the judgment of God and it's his judgment upon sin and so the final complete manifestation of that wrath of God according to Revelation 15 1 comes when the 7 last plagues are poured out.

According to Scripture, you and I will be present but not afflicted by those plagues.

We call that period of time in the pouring out of the 7 last plagues, the great time of trouble.

Well, let's think about times of trouble in the past and how God dealt with his children.

Think about Noah when the flood came and the rains poured down.

Or think about Joseph, who goes from the pit to the prison, to the palace.

Was God with Joseph during his time of trouble in prison for those years?

Take, for example, Elijah, those 3 and a half years in the wilderness.

It was difficult, but Elijah knew that God was there.

Well, think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they went into the fiery furnace.

They said, whether or not you throw us into the flames, O King, or you don't throw us into the flames.

Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, God in human flesh was right with them in the flames, protecting them.

And then I think of Daniel in the lion's den.

But you say, sure, those are instances where God protected his people, but what about John the Baptist?

God never allows martyrdom to take place simply because we are playthings of the devil.

God tested the faith of John the Baptist, and through his faith, others had a stalwart faith.

Seeing his faith at death, they stood firm.

Paul was holding the cloaks of those that threw the stones.

But yet he saw in Stephen such an impressive commitment of faith that later, when Paul saw that vision of Christ on the Damascus Road everything came into place for him So the first thing I want you to recognize is this in the times of trouble that we go through today and in the times of trouble in the future.

He doesn't leave us alone in those times.

Take your Bible, please, and turn to Psalm 91.

Is the time of trouble that's coming 1 that is to frighten us, scare us, or 1 that is to lead us to deeper faith, deeper confidence in God?

Trust the promises of God today and you will be strengthened to trust them tomorrow during the great time of trouble.

Psalm 91 verse 7, 1000 may fall at your side and yet 10000 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've made the Lord who is my refuge, even the most high, your habitation.

No evil shall befall you, nor any plague come near your dwelling." So just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fire flames that were protected by God, so we will too be protected by God during that time of plagues.

He says, I'll send angels and they will be your refuge.

We cling to the promises of God and are not overwhelmed with fear because of the plague.

Certainly, this is a very serious time that's coming, certainly a very troubleless time, very difficult time.

But just like when Jesus hung on the cross, he looked beyond the pain, the suffering, and the guilt of our sins that he was bearing, not his own, but our sins.

And Jesus looked beyond that and trusted the Father.

In fact, Christ's dying words were, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.

So Jesus looked beyond what was going on around him to above him.

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The News Isn’t in Control, God Is

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07 A Heavenly Citizenship

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Will God’s People Be Alone During the Seven Last Plagues?

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