Have you been warned against doing something dangerous?
Earlier this week, a Nevada man plummeted 195 feet down an abandoned mineshaft. The twenty-eight year old man had been working in the area as part of a geothermal drilling crew. He decided to visit the mineshaft with a few of his friends after working hours.
Evidently, there are hundreds of thousands of these abandoned mine shafts scattered across Nevada. According to the news, the state of Nevada has an ongoing campaign warning people to stay far away from these mines. But this man's curiosity prevailed over the warnings.
The mine shaft was so unstable, its walls began crumbling. Rocks began hitting rescuers in the head as they attempted to reach the man. Eventually, they abandoned the rescue mission even though the man was still alive, still breathing, and still moving. For a time, they monitored his vital signs before a priest was called in to administer last rites. Read more at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363255/Rescuers-attempts-save-man-fell-190ft-abandoned-shaft--despite-video-showing-breathing.html#ixzz1FlXegQdD
May our prayers be with that man's family and his friends. What should concern us this morning is how his story continually plays itself out in our human experience. How many times in your life have you been warned against something dangerous, only to be overcome by your desires or your curiosity? How many times have you been warned about something dangerous, but thought you were exempt from any danger? How many times in your life have you lost your footing, slipped, and fallen? How many times have you found yourself in a place so deep and so dark that you wondered if you would ever see the light of day again?
Imagine that poor man hundreds of feet below ground. His friends were calling his name. His rescuers were unable to save him. His family was crying over his freshly minted grave. His priest was administering last rights. Imagine being alive, but for all practical purposes, being dead because of your transgressions and sins. Imagine being dead because of your curiosity and desires and because you didn't heed a warning. Our problem is that we always know better, don't we? We think we're the exception to the warning. We're wiser than everyone else-- even wiser than God himself! We say, "I've got this. I'm good. I'm an adult. It can't be that dangerous." Famous last words, right?
Would you take back any of the choices you have made in your life?
Think back over your life, and think of the thousands of choices you have made, and the thousands of warnings you've ignored. How many of your choices would you take back, if given a second chance?
Would you have smoked that first cigarette? Would you have taken that first beer, or that first joint? Would you have chosen your friends more wisely? Would you have thought twice before looking at the dirty magazine? Would you have saved your virginity until marriage? Would you have said no to living together before marriage? Would you have chosen not to have that child out of wedlock? Would you have chosen not to break that law, send that e-mail, say those words, gossip about that friend, charge up that credit card, cheat on that test, disobey your parents, or cheated your employer?
Proverbs 12:15 (NIV) says,
"The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." Proverbs 16:25 (NIV) says,
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Think of all the indiscretions of your youth. Where have all your choices led? Is it not just as you were warned it would be? Every transgression and sin seemed like a good idea at the time. But in the end, where has it led? And are you happy?
Many of you have your hearts set on a burning desire. You want something, perhaps something unholy, as much as life itself. You're so consumed with that thing that you cannot think of anything else. Your mind keeps going astray toward that thing. You think your life would be so much better if only you had that thing. Why not unplug for a moment and get honest with yourself and God? If you have that thing you most desire, where will it lead? Where has it led others? Turn off your emotions for a moment. Unplug from your hormones. Check into reality. Where is your path leading you?
Just because you have survived a transgression doesn't mean there are no consequences.
You see, the Nevada story plays itself out a trillion times over in our human experience. Every transgression and sin is a mineshaft. And just because you're still living and breathing and moving doesn't mean that you've survived and things will be okay.
Pay very close attention to what you're about to read on the screen.
Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV) says,
"And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.' "
Common views about God.
When we began this sermon series, I introduced you to four ideas that people have about God. Do you remember what they are? Some people believe in a
distant God who after creating us, simply walked away. Some people believe in a
critical God who is irrationally vengeful, and full of wrath, and delights in the death of the wicked. Some people believe in a
benevolent God who is like an irresponsible parent who continually affirms, and condones, and pardons, and overlooks sin, and never judges, and never has any expectations. They believe in a God who is always smiling down on us like an adoring, coddling, pampering grandpa.
But God is none of these. These are all distortions of God, sheer fabrications of our imagination. The God of
Genesis is an
authoritative God. What makes God particularly loving and particularly good isn't benign neglect, but rather the fact that God is the authoritative lawgiver and judge. God in his infinite wisdom, judges what is good, holy, and right. And God in his infinite mercy and grace, is our lawgiver. He protects us from mineshafts by giving us his perfect laws so that we might live a long life.
A formula for disasterous parenting.
Many of you are parents. I've met some horrible parents. Horrible parents are parents who do not judge what is right and wrong for their children. Our culture tells us that this is good! We hear messages like, "Don't judge your kids. Don't teach them what's right or wrong. Don't scold them, don't spank them, and don't discipline them. Affirm them, condone their behavior, and let them do what seems right. Let them indulge in murderous video games, let them enjoy pornographic music and media, let them carouse, fornicate, and choose their own path. Stand on the sidelines. Don't be a lawgiver, don't be authoritative, and just be a friend. Friends make the best parents." This is a horrible philosophy! This is a formula for disaster!
Even Billy Ray Cyrus, father of Miley Cyrus, now thinks that this philosophy is a disaster! In a CBS interview, he expresses deep regret over never being able to discipline his six children. He wishes Hannah Montana would have never propelled his daughter to pop stardom. He used to mock parents who warned him not to be a friend, but to be a parent. Well, Billy Ray has had an epiphany. He says, "...I'm the first guy to say to (these parents) right now: You were right. I should have been a better parent. I should have said, 'Enough is enough. It's getting dangerous and somebody's going to get hurt.' I should have, but I didn't. Honestly, I didn't know the ball was out of bounds until it was way up in the stands somewhere."
Billy Ray Cyrus continues, "I hate to say it, but yes, I do. Yeah. I'd take it back in a second. For my family to be here and just be everybody OK, safe and sound and happy and normal, would have been fantastic. Heck, yeah. I'd erase it all in a second if I could." Read More at
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504744_162-20032059-10391703.html
True love is authoritative.
True love is authoritative. If you love your kids, you will judge what is good. You will command what is right. You will not be afraid to lay down the law-- and not because you are a big jerk on a parent power trip, but because you truly love your kids! One of the greatest expressions of God's love is that he is authoritative. He is lawgiver and judge.
Don't you know that true love commands? True love judges. It warns, it rebukes, it admonishes, it speaks, and it protects. God is a loving, authoritative Father, our lawgiver and judge.
Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV) says,
"And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.' "
When God created Adam and put him in the garden, it was because of love. When God commanded that Adam
must not eat from the tree, it was because of love. When God warned Adam of
certain death, it was because of love. Some of the most powerful words of love in Bible are, "Thou shall not!" Think about that for a moment! Love commands. Love prohibits. Love judges.
The law is an expression of God's love.
Sometime this week, read all of
Psalm 119 but for now, check out
Psalm 119:97-104 (NIV).
"Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path."
The law is an expression of God's love. In the law, God set before us that which is good, perfect, and holy for you and for me. God's law is essentially concerned with three things.
God's law is concerned for your very life.
Deuteronomy 6:2 speaks of keeping all God's commandments and decrees so that we might enjoy long life. One of my favorites is found in
Psalm 119:40 which speaks of God preserving our very lives by his righteousness! When you are young, you throw all caution to the wind. You explore mineshafts. But when you are old, oh, how you wish your life could have been preserved in righteousness. "If only I'd trusted the lawgiver and judge. If only I had heeded his warnings."
God's law is also concerned for your neighbor's life.
In
Galatians 5:14 (NIV) we're told the entire law is essentially to, "...Love your neighbor as yourself." If you truly love others, you'll plead with them to trust Jesus Christ, our lawgiver and judge. This is what it means to be a parent. But this is also what it means to be a true friend. If we truly love others, we'll teach them to love our lawgiver and judge.
God's law is concerned with pleasing God.
This is the core of Paul's prayer in
Colossians 1:10. We obey the law not just because it gives us life, and gives our neighbors life, but because it pleases God! When you love someone, you make it your goal to please her in every way. That's why I pick up my toe clippings off the bathroom floor, clean our dog kennel, cheer for Duke basketball, and cheer for Dale Earnhart, Junior. All of these things would otherwise disgust me, but because I want to please my wife, I do them with joy!
The essence of life is embracing God as our lawgiver and judge, our king and lord, and our savior. If we truly loved life, we would embrace God's authority. We would celebrate and welcome him as our lawgiver and judge. Our impulse would be to love God from the inside-out. Instead of seeing his statutes as restrictive, we would see them as exhilarating! Instead of seeing them as coercive, we would see them as delightful!
Our problem is that we think our way is more right than God's way.
But as it stands, this is our problem.
Proverbs 16:25 (NIV) says,
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Our evil desires, our curiosity, and our foolishness have led us astray.
Romans 3:10-12 (NIV) says,
"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
The furthest thing from our mind is pleasing God, loving our neighbors, and loving our life itself. We're two hundred feet below the ground. We've rejected God's authority. We've thumbed our noses at our lawgiver and judge. Though we're still alive and breathing, death is imminent. The only thing that anyone else in all the world can do is stand helplessly by, monitoring our vital signs, and waiting to administer final rites. Your friends cannot save you, nor your family, nor anyone else. You cannot even lift your head, let alone lift yourself out of the mineshaft into which you've fallen.
It's just as God has warned,
"...you will surely die." But thanks be to God, for there in our darkness, when all else fades, God's light shines upon us. He invites us to cry out to him once more for salvation. Though we've stumbled a thousand times, he can rescue us. But we must give him control. We must learn to love him and trust him from the inside-out. We must learn to embrace him as our lawgiver and judge. He is our Lord, the way, the truth, and the life.