THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS JANUARY 2 & 3, 1999

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church - Watertown, WI

THE LORD IS ON OUR SIDE Psalm 124

Have you ever been in a situation where people panicked? What was it like? We have probably all seen movies of people panicking. There is screaming, shouting, people running to avoid whatever disaster may be coming, such as a tornado or a fire. I remember about thirty years ago being in a restaurant for Sunday dinner when the kitchen caught fire. I watched as some people panicked and quickly ran to leave the building when we were told that the fire department had been called. I remember I and my friend trying to pay our bill and being told not to worry about that and to leave the building.

Sometimes people panic when they are taking a test. I can remember taking tests in college when I received the exam having my mind go totally blank. It's very easy at that point to wonder, "what am I going to do?" I would then take a deep breath, force myself to relax, pray and ask God for his guidance and help. Once I had calmed down, I then would proceed to read through the entire exam before I began answering the questions.

At times actors or public speakers forget their lines or lose their train of thought. It is very easy at that point to panic and just stop and walk off the stage or away from the podium.

Other situations that may cause us to become alarmed and upset are when we are diagnosed with some incurable disease or illness. Or we may have a loved one die suddenly and unexpectedly. Or someone we love dies after a long and serious illness.

All of these situations and circumstances can put a lot of stress on us and cause us to become alarmed, upset and panicky.

As we begin the new year of 1999, King David, the writer of Psalm 124 assures each of us THE LORD IS ON OUR SIDE. Whenever you begin a new job, move to a new home, begin a new year I) There Are Many Unknowns And Uncertainties That We Face. As we face the unknowns of the last three hundred and sixty two days of the twentieth century we want to know II) Where Does Our Help Come From.

THE MANY UNKNOWNS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT WE FACE

Who knows what the new year holds? We don't. But God does. And we know that we will face many unknowns and uncertainties. We will face illnesses, deaths, financial problems, attacks on our beliefs. We will also experience happy and joyous times receiving the many blessings that God gives to his people in this world. King David and the people of Israel had faced many attacks on their lives and their faith. We can expect attacks on our faith and on the truth and validity of the Word of God just as the people of God have faced since the first attack made by the devil in the Garden of Eden. Listen to David's poem which pictures the attacks that God's people have and still continue to experience. "If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken and we have escaped." (Ps 124: 2-7) David uses three illustrations to picture the attacks that we face. He uses the picture of a flood, of an attack by a wild animal and of a snare or trap.

We have all seen what floods can do. They destroy property. They wipe out everything that a person may have worked for all their life. Homes are destroyed. Most of a person's belongings are ruined and can be thrown into the garbage. People can even lose their lives and drown. We have also read about the attacks of bears and other wild animals on humans. People's flesh is torn to shreds. The wild animal mauls and often kills its victim. What a terrible way to die. We have also seen birds caught in a snare. Nets are set up along areas where birds frequent. The birds are caught in those snares and are unable to escape. If left there, they would thrash around and eventually die of exhaustion or be eaten by some predator.

We face such attacks daily in our lives. We face situations that are like floods that could overwhelm us and destroy us. We face attacks from those outside of the Christian faith who want to destroy us and have us join them in their misery and uncertainty. We also face the snares and traps that the devil lays for us in order to destroy our faith and trust in the Lord and his word to us.

What kind of attacks on our faith do we face? We believe that God forgives all our sins because of the baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. We believe that Jesus was perfect for us and that Jesus received the eternal punishment we deserve for our sinfulness. As a result we believe that God has pardoned us and gives us eternal life. Yet how often doesn't the question rise in our minds, "Has God really forgiven me?" How often haven't I heard people say to me, "I hope that God will forgive me for what I have done." or "I hope that I can do enough." All those statements indicate an improper understanding of God's forgiveness. God's pardon is unconditional. There is nothing we can do; there is nothing we have to do in order to be forgiven. Jesus did it all for us and it was completed when he cried out from the cross, "It is finished." (John 19:30b) Continually the world in which we live along with the devil and our own evil nature try and derail our trust and confidence in Jesus as the only one who can save us and win for us forgiveness and eternal life with God in heaven.

Another area where our faith is challenged is when it comes to the other promises of God. God says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) We do this and what we pray for doesn't happen. In fact, just the opposite happens. How can we believe God? We are like people whose lives have been devastated by a flood. It appears as if we are going to drown and where is God? It's like King David once wrote, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?" (Psalm 13-1-2) We aren't alone in those attacks on our faith and trust in the Lord. It's just as a father of a boy who was possessed with an evil spirit said to Jesus before his son was healed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief." (Mark 9:24) The faith of no one of us is perfect. Belief and unbelief are mixed together. That belief is daily attacked and challenged.

In addition to having our faith challenged and assaulted, the Word of God is also under daily attack. We know that the Bible says that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. Yet we see things happen which are not in accord with God's will and we wonder what good can come from this. God in his Word says certain things are morally wrong and sinful. And yet everyday we hear on the TV that this is normal and fine. A few weeks ago a nine year old boy whom I had just met was quizzing me about God and his Word. He asked me if homosexuality was ok. He had learned from television that this was normal and acceptable. I told him that God said that those who live like that would not inherit eternal life. In an article that I recently read about New Year's resolutions the author noted that this practice of having a new year's resolution may become a dinosaur of the twentieth century. One of the reasons cited was that 27% of those people polled felt that there was nothing that needed to be changed in their lives. What does that say? It says to me that the concept of sin and the idea that we are not perfect is losing ground. God's Word that says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) is being challenged and set aside as a lie. Everywhere around us - in advertizing, in reporting of the news, in commentaries on the actions and lifestyles of those in the public eye, God's Word and truth is being challenged and laughed at as out of touch with reality.

This is what we can expect to see in 1999. We will have our faith in the Lord Jesus daily challenged and ridiculed. We will see God's Word twisted, abused, misused and set aside as not being in touch with people on the brink of the twenty first century.

WHERE DOES OUR HELP COME FROM ?

As we face such attacks where does our help come from? There are basically two sources from which we can look for help against the attacks that we will face. We can look to ourselves, the people and things that this world has to offer or we can look to the Lord our God.

Well, where do we often look for help? Isn't it to ourselves, our resources and what others can do for us? Why do we worry so much? Because our god is too small. And who is our god? We are. And we aren't too sure about ourselves and whether we can deliver and so we worry, we panic, we become upset and fret over what will happen.

How often haven't we heard it said by someone who has been diagnosed with a serious illness, "I've found the best doctor in the country. He has a great success rate in treating this type of disease. I have a lot of confidence in my doctor."? Where is our trust? In the doctor? I am not saying we should not have some confidence in the doctor we have treating us. But remember doctors are practicing medicine. They don't have all the answers. There is only one who does and that is the Lord our God. He is still the master physician. Our lives and times are still in his hands and not in the hands of anyone else.

When as a nation we face an enemy, where do we look for help? Do we place our confidence and trust in the strong military that our defense department has developed? Do we place our trust in the computer technology which has been developed for our weapon's systems? Or do we place our trust in the Lord of the nations who causes nations to rise and who brings nations down, the creator of the universe, the God Almighty?

When as individuals we face financial challenges and setbacks, where do we place our trust? Do we trust in the fact that we have been good managers, that we have set aside enough money for a rainy day that we can weather whatever storm may strike us? When we look to our future do we carefully examine our 401k plans, our retirement accounts, our CD's and say well I will be set until I die? Where do we think our help comes from?

When we look at our health, do we think, "well, I have a strong physical body. I've come from a good gene pool" I shouldn't have to worry about this disease or that."? Again we are looking to ourselves and trusting in our own strength to face whatever life may bring.

There is another place to go for help. This the place where King David and the people of Israel always found help. We go to the Lord our God. As David wrote, "If the Lord had not been on our side . . .. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Palm 124:2a, 8) In the Lord we find the help we always need. When David complained against God that he felt that God had forgotten and forsaken him, yet as David concluded that song, he wrote, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." (Psalm 13:5) When we look at the history of the people of Israel, it often appeared that God had forgotten them, yet God was busy carrying out his plan to bring Jesus into this world and to use the Jewish people to do just that.

Can God help? Of course he can. David reminds us that he is the maker of heaven and earth. This is the almighty and all powerful God who made this world and everything in it. Just look at this world. Look at the storms that we experience. Gaze at the stars and the planets in the heavens. They were made by the God we worship, believe and follow. But you know, if you believe that this world evolved over millions and millions of years then you don't have an almighty God. You don't have someone who controls all things and works all things for the good of his people. Then you are left to your own devices and plans to deal with everything that may come your way. However, for a Christian, we do have an all powerful Maker who is able to help and who promises to help us. He has helped us with the biggest problem we all face, the problem of sin and its resulting consequence, death. The birth of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection from the grave assures us of that truth. He also helps us everyday of our life. As he says, "I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10b) You and I will not be alone in 1999. The Lord our God will be by our side. He will be guiding and directing our lives and working everything for our good. As Paul wrote, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b) That is why 1999 will be a happy new year for all of us because the Lord is on our side!

Amen.