Once Before A Time!
Sermon
Two Kings And Three Prophets For Less Than A Quarter
First Lesson Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (First Third) Cycle C
During a serious shortage of currency in Great Britain, thousands of people were starving and many were naked and homeless because there was no money with which they could be paid or buy life's necessities. Oliver Cromwell selected a group of men to scour the land for silver that might be used to give those people what they needed so that they could be properly housed, fed, and clothed. For months they traversed the British Empire and returned to bring this report: "We have searched the empire and found very little silver save that which is in the great cathedrals where images of saints are constructed of the finest silver." Cromwell was initially discouraged but a few days later he hit upon an idea. Calling his men together, he issued this order: "Let's melt down those saints and put them into circulation to help the less fortunate."
On this Trinity Sunday I want to suggest to you that God has committed to you and me the wisdom of the ages and that we have a Christ-given responsibility to melt down and put ourselves in circulation among the needy so we might bring them to Jesus.
We've all heard those stories that begin, "Once upon a time." Today's Scripture reading from Proverbs begins, "Once before time." It refers to eternity past where God alone existed and made some great plans. Our Bible reading begins and ends with a call to attention and confronts us with the fact that every human being has a natural capacity for folly against which we struggle to find God's wisdom. Wisdom is what the Book of Proverbs is finally all about. The first nine chapters contrast wisdom and folly. Solomon is writing to his son who is about to graduate into adulthood. He approaches his subject with the concern that any caring parent has at that point. He wants his son to know that wisdom and folly each are bidding for his life. Folly is to follow one's own path and plan for life, and that is our natural inclination. Wisdom is to get in touch with the Triune God and to invest one's life in what God is about in the world. Our natural inclination must be brought into submission if we are to be and do what God made us for. We are, if you will, like those fine-silver cathedral saints. We can follow folly and look good but we will not accomplish much. To follow wisdom, on the other hand, is to spend our lives involved in a cause that is of infinite value to God. Solomon, author of these Proverbs, writes, "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live." Real wisdom is to recognize from whence we came and to consider where our pathway leads us.
I. Once Before A Time God Was The Source Of Our Being
"The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago" (Proverbs 8:22).
The Hebrew word translated "created me" actually means "to be possessed or known intimately." It means that not only did God plan our lives before all time, but that he still has an interest in us and a wonderful plan for our lives. From the beginning God has owned us and known all about us. Compare Solomon's words to what Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, "He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love" (Ephesians 1:4). Once before a time, God planned our coming. None of us is here by accident. Each of us was created in the mind of God before time began and we were created with a mission in mind. That mission, according to one old catechism, is "to glorify God, and enjoy him forever."1 Until we recognize that, and respond to it appropriately, all our life, no matter how smart it appears on the outside, is spent chasing rainbows. It is folly.
Isn't it amazing to think that when the Triune God made the world, you were already part of the plan! Further evidence of that is found in the verses following verse 22. Wise people know and respond to these facts: "I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth. When he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first bits of soil. When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep" (8:23-27). When God did all these things, you were already a part of a plan. God the creator had us in mind for a mission before the beginning of the earth, before the sea or the mountains and hills or fields. It was his plan before the world began that we would be doing his work in it, as saints in circulation. Now you begin to understand, do you not, why when sin interrupted God's plan he thought so much of you that "He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16).
In one of his hymns, Isaac Watts puts it this way:
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Christ the Mighty Maker died,
For man the creature's sin.2
II. Once Before A Time God Saw All Things
David says it well, "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure" (Psalm 147:5). But, it is even better than that. God saw all that would be before the world was made. For God there are no surprises. He sees our future and our past with equal clarity. "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).
We're not like that. Our minds are limited. Our best plans have short horizons. But God's understanding, like his grace, has no boundaries. We try to understand. Some of us try in all kinds of ways to get a grasp on the future, from teacups and palm readings to horoscopes and tarot cards. In truth, however, even the past is too complicated for us to understand. Americans spend millions of dollars each year with psychoanalysts trying to understand how all the pieces of the past fit together. God already knows for "his understanding is beyond measure." If we put our hand in his, our past with all its sin and murky history is taken care of and our tomorrow will always be better than it could ever be without him. He already knows what is ahead.
Some years ago there was a popular comic strip called Mutt and Jeff. Perhaps you remember it. In one strip Mutt found Jeff sitting on a sidewalk curbside weeping sorely. "Why are you crying?" Mutt asked him. "I'm crying because my little boy just got run over by a pickup truck," Jeff replied. "But, you don't have a little boy!" Mutt protested. "I know," responded Jeff, "but as I sat here watching the traffic I began to think about how nice it would be to own one of these fancy cars. Then I thought, 'What if I was to invite the prettiest girl in town to go out driving with me and she accepted, and what if we fell in love and got married, and what if we had a wonderful little boy!' Gosh, wouldn't that be wonderful?" "So," asked Mutt, "why does that idea make you cry?" "Well," Jeff replied, "it wasn't that idea that made me cry. It was when I thought, 'What if our little boy ran out on the road one day and a pickup truck couldn't stop and ran over him?' " He started to boo-hoo all over again.
It sounds silly, does it not? Yet, some of us go through life wondering, "What if?" "What if I fail my next test in school?" "What if the market crashes?" "What if I lose my job?" "What if my marriage fails?" "What if my roof starts to leak?" In his later years, Mark Twain said, "I've known a great many troubles in my life, but most of them never happened." That is how it is with our "what ifs" too.
Some of our "what ifs" are not about what might happen but about what did happen: "What if I'd done something differently?" "What if I'd never done that?" Fulton Oursler said that many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear for tomorrow. He was right! When we have a "what if" attitude to life, we will always end up crying somewhere -- if not on the curb of a sidewalk then somewhere else. That "what if" mentality comes from not trusting the all-seeing wisdom of a loving God to guide and guard our lives and obeying his commandments.
Are we talking about predestination, that doctrine that turns many Christians cold? No. We are talking about an eternally existent triune God, who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose plan for all time is well thought out. His plan took into account that people would love darkness rather than light (see John 3:19). He designed a manger in Bethlehem where the Son of God would lie as a baby and a cross where God's Son would hang at Calvary and pay the penalty our sin demands. That plan was designed because God the Father loved us and sought to bring us a new opportunity for righteousness through Jesus Christ. The message of Christ's love is brought to us today in the power of God the Holy Spirit. That is the kind of God you need and not some willy-nilly wimp of a deity whose plan was an exercise in disarrangement.
III. Once Before A Time God Enacted A Wonderful Plan For The Universe
"We speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:7).
Do you remember the old "Tin Lizzie," the Model T Ford? In his book, Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay,3 Gary Inrig tells about a young fellow whose Model T was off on the side of a road with its hood up. He was trying desperately to repair it but having no success. At the point of frustration and ready to quit, he watched as a sleek, chauffeur-driven limousine pulled off the road behind him. Out stepped a well-dressed man who watched the young man fiddle with the engine for a while. In a moment the newcomer suggested that the young man make a minor adjustment to one part. The young man, skeptical about strangers, did what was suggested only because nothing else he had tried worked. "Now," said the stranger, "crank it up." So, the young fellow took hold of the crank on the front of the car and turned it one time. Suddenly the motor burst to life and began to purr better than ever before. Amazed that such a well-dressed fellow knew so much about cars, the young man asked him, "How did you know what to do?" "Well," replied the stranger, "I'm Henry Ford and I made this car, so I know all about how it works."
God who made this world knows all about it and all about us. When you get frustrated because it doesn't go your way, remember him. He knows how to fix things!
The eternal triune God alone is all-wise over events in the past, present, and future. It is not mere chance that causes events to come together in our lives. It is a sovereign God who works in all things for our good. No wonder, then, that Paul exclaims, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34).
This is the One who comes to you now and calls you to action in his kingdom. Put yourself in circulation for his glory and you will never regret it. May it be today that we would hear his eternally wise voice deep within our souls and with once-doubting Thomas come alive for Christ's sake, confessing, "My Lord and my God!" That would be wise. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
____________
1. Westminster Shorter Catechism, written by the Westminster Assembly in 1647 as a concise question and answer instructional tool for use by Christians.
2. From the hymn, Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, Isaac Watts (1707).
3. Inrig, Gary. Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), pp. 111-112.
On this Trinity Sunday I want to suggest to you that God has committed to you and me the wisdom of the ages and that we have a Christ-given responsibility to melt down and put ourselves in circulation among the needy so we might bring them to Jesus.
We've all heard those stories that begin, "Once upon a time." Today's Scripture reading from Proverbs begins, "Once before time." It refers to eternity past where God alone existed and made some great plans. Our Bible reading begins and ends with a call to attention and confronts us with the fact that every human being has a natural capacity for folly against which we struggle to find God's wisdom. Wisdom is what the Book of Proverbs is finally all about. The first nine chapters contrast wisdom and folly. Solomon is writing to his son who is about to graduate into adulthood. He approaches his subject with the concern that any caring parent has at that point. He wants his son to know that wisdom and folly each are bidding for his life. Folly is to follow one's own path and plan for life, and that is our natural inclination. Wisdom is to get in touch with the Triune God and to invest one's life in what God is about in the world. Our natural inclination must be brought into submission if we are to be and do what God made us for. We are, if you will, like those fine-silver cathedral saints. We can follow folly and look good but we will not accomplish much. To follow wisdom, on the other hand, is to spend our lives involved in a cause that is of infinite value to God. Solomon, author of these Proverbs, writes, "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live." Real wisdom is to recognize from whence we came and to consider where our pathway leads us.
I. Once Before A Time God Was The Source Of Our Being
"The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago" (Proverbs 8:22).
The Hebrew word translated "created me" actually means "to be possessed or known intimately." It means that not only did God plan our lives before all time, but that he still has an interest in us and a wonderful plan for our lives. From the beginning God has owned us and known all about us. Compare Solomon's words to what Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, "He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love" (Ephesians 1:4). Once before a time, God planned our coming. None of us is here by accident. Each of us was created in the mind of God before time began and we were created with a mission in mind. That mission, according to one old catechism, is "to glorify God, and enjoy him forever."1 Until we recognize that, and respond to it appropriately, all our life, no matter how smart it appears on the outside, is spent chasing rainbows. It is folly.
Isn't it amazing to think that when the Triune God made the world, you were already part of the plan! Further evidence of that is found in the verses following verse 22. Wise people know and respond to these facts: "I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth. When he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first bits of soil. When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep" (8:23-27). When God did all these things, you were already a part of a plan. God the creator had us in mind for a mission before the beginning of the earth, before the sea or the mountains and hills or fields. It was his plan before the world began that we would be doing his work in it, as saints in circulation. Now you begin to understand, do you not, why when sin interrupted God's plan he thought so much of you that "He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16).
In one of his hymns, Isaac Watts puts it this way:
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Christ the Mighty Maker died,
For man the creature's sin.2
II. Once Before A Time God Saw All Things
David says it well, "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure" (Psalm 147:5). But, it is even better than that. God saw all that would be before the world was made. For God there are no surprises. He sees our future and our past with equal clarity. "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).
We're not like that. Our minds are limited. Our best plans have short horizons. But God's understanding, like his grace, has no boundaries. We try to understand. Some of us try in all kinds of ways to get a grasp on the future, from teacups and palm readings to horoscopes and tarot cards. In truth, however, even the past is too complicated for us to understand. Americans spend millions of dollars each year with psychoanalysts trying to understand how all the pieces of the past fit together. God already knows for "his understanding is beyond measure." If we put our hand in his, our past with all its sin and murky history is taken care of and our tomorrow will always be better than it could ever be without him. He already knows what is ahead.
Some years ago there was a popular comic strip called Mutt and Jeff. Perhaps you remember it. In one strip Mutt found Jeff sitting on a sidewalk curbside weeping sorely. "Why are you crying?" Mutt asked him. "I'm crying because my little boy just got run over by a pickup truck," Jeff replied. "But, you don't have a little boy!" Mutt protested. "I know," responded Jeff, "but as I sat here watching the traffic I began to think about how nice it would be to own one of these fancy cars. Then I thought, 'What if I was to invite the prettiest girl in town to go out driving with me and she accepted, and what if we fell in love and got married, and what if we had a wonderful little boy!' Gosh, wouldn't that be wonderful?" "So," asked Mutt, "why does that idea make you cry?" "Well," Jeff replied, "it wasn't that idea that made me cry. It was when I thought, 'What if our little boy ran out on the road one day and a pickup truck couldn't stop and ran over him?' " He started to boo-hoo all over again.
It sounds silly, does it not? Yet, some of us go through life wondering, "What if?" "What if I fail my next test in school?" "What if the market crashes?" "What if I lose my job?" "What if my marriage fails?" "What if my roof starts to leak?" In his later years, Mark Twain said, "I've known a great many troubles in my life, but most of them never happened." That is how it is with our "what ifs" too.
Some of our "what ifs" are not about what might happen but about what did happen: "What if I'd done something differently?" "What if I'd never done that?" Fulton Oursler said that many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear for tomorrow. He was right! When we have a "what if" attitude to life, we will always end up crying somewhere -- if not on the curb of a sidewalk then somewhere else. That "what if" mentality comes from not trusting the all-seeing wisdom of a loving God to guide and guard our lives and obeying his commandments.
Are we talking about predestination, that doctrine that turns many Christians cold? No. We are talking about an eternally existent triune God, who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose plan for all time is well thought out. His plan took into account that people would love darkness rather than light (see John 3:19). He designed a manger in Bethlehem where the Son of God would lie as a baby and a cross where God's Son would hang at Calvary and pay the penalty our sin demands. That plan was designed because God the Father loved us and sought to bring us a new opportunity for righteousness through Jesus Christ. The message of Christ's love is brought to us today in the power of God the Holy Spirit. That is the kind of God you need and not some willy-nilly wimp of a deity whose plan was an exercise in disarrangement.
III. Once Before A Time God Enacted A Wonderful Plan For The Universe
"We speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:7).
Do you remember the old "Tin Lizzie," the Model T Ford? In his book, Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay,3 Gary Inrig tells about a young fellow whose Model T was off on the side of a road with its hood up. He was trying desperately to repair it but having no success. At the point of frustration and ready to quit, he watched as a sleek, chauffeur-driven limousine pulled off the road behind him. Out stepped a well-dressed man who watched the young man fiddle with the engine for a while. In a moment the newcomer suggested that the young man make a minor adjustment to one part. The young man, skeptical about strangers, did what was suggested only because nothing else he had tried worked. "Now," said the stranger, "crank it up." So, the young fellow took hold of the crank on the front of the car and turned it one time. Suddenly the motor burst to life and began to purr better than ever before. Amazed that such a well-dressed fellow knew so much about cars, the young man asked him, "How did you know what to do?" "Well," replied the stranger, "I'm Henry Ford and I made this car, so I know all about how it works."
God who made this world knows all about it and all about us. When you get frustrated because it doesn't go your way, remember him. He knows how to fix things!
The eternal triune God alone is all-wise over events in the past, present, and future. It is not mere chance that causes events to come together in our lives. It is a sovereign God who works in all things for our good. No wonder, then, that Paul exclaims, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34).
This is the One who comes to you now and calls you to action in his kingdom. Put yourself in circulation for his glory and you will never regret it. May it be today that we would hear his eternally wise voice deep within our souls and with once-doubting Thomas come alive for Christ's sake, confessing, "My Lord and my God!" That would be wise. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
____________
1. Westminster Shorter Catechism, written by the Westminster Assembly in 1647 as a concise question and answer instructional tool for use by Christians.
2. From the hymn, Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, Isaac Watts (1707).
3. Inrig, Gary. Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), pp. 111-112.
