If History is Going Anywhere?

So as I've said, we're in this series and we're looking tonight at is history going anywhere?

You know, is there any control in it all, in life?

Is there any coherence to the world as we know it?

You know, is there someone or something pulling the strings behind the scenes?

Where is history heading?

Where are we going?

Hopefully, we will explore some of these things and what the Bible has to say about that in the next half hour.

You know, that might cause some personal questions.

What do we think about the future?

When we think to the future, what comes to mind?

What do we trust in?

What do we put our hope in for the future?

You know, there's this concept, this forever home.

I don't know if you've come across this.

Maybe you've used it.

I'm not here to dig if you have.

But I find it a funny concept.

You know, people might buy a home.

It's maybe not their first home.

It's maybe their second home.

It's a nice big home.

They've got room to grow into it.

It's got a nice garden.

It's in a nice area.

And they say, oh, we've bought our forever home.

You know, it's a big one.

It's a good one.

It's going to be us for life.

We're set.

That's us.

You know, it's a funny concept.

And it's estate agents.

They use it a little bit because it sounds good, doesn't it?

But people use it because they like that thought.

They like that thought of being settled.

That's us.

We're secure.

We're safe.

That's us forever.

We're sorted.

You know, it's a funny concept because it's not true, is it?

We're not going to live forever.

And, you know, we're certainly not going to live forever in that home.

Things happen.

Cowboy builders.

Houses fall down.

You know, my house is built on a mine.

It was about 60 years ago.

Hopefully, it's still going to keep going.

But, you know, we're not going to be in that house forever.

We might be in that house for our whole lives.

But that is not forevermore.

You know, we like to think that it'll be all right in the end, don't we?

You heard the phrase, all's well that ends well.

And it is, to a degree.

You know, something might go badly, but if it gets the right result, then all good.

All good.

You know, we want everything to be all right in the end.

But will it?

You know, as we look back over the chaos of history,

civilizations rising and falling.

We see great successes for mankind as a whole.

We also see wars and famines and disasters.

We see new technology come in.

Think of the world we live in today.

It's crazy, isn't it?

The things that we have and can do and do in our fingertips.

You know, we also see that being abused.

And we see financial crashes.

And we see societies at times going to pot.

The chaos of history as we look back.

You know, is it all just random?

Are we just thrown side to side on the rickety train ride through history?

Or is there someone outside of it all who has a plan for how it all will end up?

Well, what does the world say?

What is maybe some of the world views?

Now, if you went out on Brunsfield this afternoon and said,

what's going to happen forevermore in the future,

as far away as you can think,

you would get a wide, wide variances of opinion.

But you know, what is for sure is that there is such uncertainty out there.

There is such uncertainty.

People aren't sure.

Oh, I'm not too sure.

I don't know.

I don't want to think about it.

That's one side.

But I think people also have a kind of maybe a vague hope.

Like, oh, there's a better place when we die.

You know, in the future forevermore,

you know, there's a good place and we'll end up there.

There's a kind of vagueness to it all.

But you know, some people, they'll just say,

well, we're just here randomly.

Graham, he gave us that quote from Richard Dawkins,

his dinner party friend that he wanted to have dinner with,

with the joy that Richard Dawkins came out with,

saying that it's all just nothingness.

That it's random, that we're not going anywhere,

and it basically means that this world as we know it

is just totally random.

A series of accidents, fluke, luck, chance.

That is what life is.

I know, I think that's quite a sad worldview.

Because it means that, well, it's all just pointless, isn't it?

If we're just here as an accident of biology and chemistry,

then it's just pointless.

What are we doing?

This guy, another cheery chap, Albert Camus,

I don't know if you've heard of him,

he came out with this,

life is meaningless,

but worth living,

provided you recognize it's meaningless.

Now, I'm no philosopher.

This guy was.

He was a French philosopher quite a while ago.

But you know, if you think about that,

and I've been trying to think about this

and trying to get my head around it,

and I kind of know what he's meaning.

You know, it's sad, isn't it?

His philosophy, it was called absurdism.

And it argues that trying to put a meaning in life

actually just causes you more problems.

It's a conflict,

and it causes this thing called the absurd.

But he says that having this attitude

doesn't cause despair.

It doesn't cause us to think that all things are pointless,

but it's just about the here and now.

It's about the present.

It's about temporary joys.

That is what life is all about.

Well, tonight we're going to have a look

at what the Christian worldview says

about the future

and how that affects the past

and also the present day.

The Christian worldview that there is a God

who has a plan.

It is so radically different

to any other worldview you will see out there.

And so as we explore history,

we need to think what we mean by that.

Well, history, I'm going to take it tonight.

You can argue with me if you want.

But I'm going to say that it's everything that we know

since time began.

You know, that in itself poses a question.

What came before time began?

How did it all begin?

Anyone seen this show?

The Big Bang Theory?

Alexander has.

Big fan.

You know, it's entertaining.

It's funny.

And it's got the theme tune.

And if you've ever watched it,

it's got this really catchy theme song

that plays every time.

It's got a collage of sort of going through history

from early man all the way through to modern day.

And it says this.

Our whole universe was...

I'm not going to sing it, by the way.

Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state.

Nearly 14 billion years ago,

expansion started.

Wait.

The earth began to cool.

The autotrophs...

I don't know what that is.

...began to drool.

Neanderthals developed tools.

We built a wall.

We built the pyramids.

Math, science, history,

unraveling the mystery

that all started with the Big Bang.

Right?

Now, why am I going on about this?

Well, it just poses questions.

What came before?

And we're not going to go into the science

and the arguments that would be

for a whole other night.

We'd be here for hours.

But, you know, it just poses a question.

What came before?

So we're going to look tonight

at before history,

during history,

and then we're going to look after history

is how I'm going to phrase it.

Okay?

Okay?

So, before...

Very opening words of your Bible.

Now, I've got a lot of Bible passages

in here tonight.

But I think it's so important

to see what God's Word has to say.

So there's a lot of Bible passages

in this tonight.

But, you know, Genesis 1, verse 1,

Genesis 1:1

the very beginning of our Bible

that we have in front of us,

says this,

In the beginning, God.

And it says that God created.

Well, we need to define, first of all,

what we mean by God.

If you're ever speaking to someone

and they're talking about God,

this, God, that,

you need to say,

Well, what do you mean by God?

Because often people are talking about

something totally separate

to what the Christian

would describe God as.

So what do I mean by God?

What does a Christian mean by God?

Well, the God of the Bible.

The God of the Bible

is outside of space,

time, and matter,

i.e. the world

that we know.

God is Trinity.

God the Father.

God the Son.

God the Spirit.

And God, in time,

and before time existed,

the before,

existed in completeness

and wholeness

in the Trinity.

God is eternal.

God is everlasting.

And what does God do?

Well, out of love,

God creates

everything that we know,

everything that we

experience.

God's experience

created mankind,

created us.

God's good design,

and we can read about that

in Genesis 1 and 2.

Isaiah, one of the prophets,

he says this,

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the creator of the ends

of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding

no one can fathom.

God is eternal.

The God of the Bible.

Everlasting.

Our mind just blows

when we think of this,

because everything

in our world is timed.

Things start,

things finish.

Everything is constricted

by time,

but God is outside of that.

Well, what's the impact?

Well, the impact

of thinking about

before time

is that we have

an intelligent designer

with a plan

and sovereign control

over the world

as we know it.

and that means

the course

of history.

So if that's before,

well, let's look

for a while

at during.

If we read

through the Bible,

especially if we look

through the Old Testament

up to the point

that Jesus comes in

at the start of the New,

but then through that also,

it shows God's control

over the course

of history,

over the course

of the time

that man has been

on earth

that it has existed.

We see God's plan

for his people.

We were thinking

about Abraham this morning

who was promised

by God

to bless the nations,

to have descendants

more than the stars

of the sky

and that they will be

God's people.

And if we follow

that story through,

we see that

through the ups and downs

and unfaithfulness

of God's people,

he is faithful to them.

And we can follow

that history

through the various

characters that we

maybe know

through Sunday school.

God has a hand

in everything.

Jeremiah 29

says this,

For I know the plans

I have for you,

declares the Lord,

plans to prosper you

and not to harm you,

plans to give you

hope and a future.

That is what God wants

for his people.

And you know,

sometimes the coherence

of the Bible,

the genuineness of it,

the authenticity of it

is questioned.

I don't know if you've

seen this diagram before,

but I have.

And what this is,

and this came to mind

when I was thinking

about this,

this diagram,

this actually links

the difference,

so the little bars

down the bottom,

these are all the chapters

of the Bible.

And there's almost

70,000 links

and cross-references

between the chapters

of the Bible.

So each line

shows a cross-reference.

Now this is

not a book

written by one person,

not one man anyway,

but it is God-inspired work

written by many authors

over many,

many years.

And yet the coherence

of it is marvelous.

Have you ever wondered

or read the genealogies

in the Bible?

You get them at the start

of the Gospels

like Matthew,

and you get this big

long list of people,

and you sometimes

read them and go,

I don't know why

this is here.

You read it and you think,

I'm not sure

what I'm getting from this.

Well, you know what?

The genealogies

in the Bible,

they teach us

that God has a plan,

and that God

has carefully

put the course

of history

so that His will

and His plan

will come

to fruition.

God's control

is shown

in the course

of history

by these genealogies.

You know,

Daniel,

he was one of the

great prophets

of God.

And he was

in a foreign land

and being forced

to do things

that he didn't want

to do,

but he was faithful

to God.

And he says this,

Praise be

to the name

of God

forever and ever.

Wisdom and power

are His.

He changes times

and seasons.

He deposes kings

and raises

up others.

He gives wisdom

to the wise

and knowledge

to the discerning.

If we look back

at the Old Testament

especially,

we see kingdoms rise

and kingdoms fall.

And as we look back

at history,

we see chaos.

But God's plan

is in it all.

Daniel,

he witnesses

to the king

at the time

of Babylon,

this great mighty king

of the biggest kingdom

on the planet,

Nebuchadnezzar.

And he

turns around

and says this,

how great are his signs,

how mighty his wonders.

His kingdom

is an eternal kingdom.

His dominion

endures from generation

to generation.

This is Nebuchadnezzar

speaking about God.

Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom

wasn't lasting

from generation

to generation.

It was failing

and it would be taken over

very quickly

after this.

that God's kingdom

and his dominion

endures

from generation

to generation.

So what we have

through the Old Testament

is we kind of have

like a big funnel.

Have you ever watched

the bake-off

and they do the choux pastry?

I always think it's great.

They put all the

icing

into the

funnel

and they cut the bottom off

and they make

amazing

shapes and things with it.

It's not pastry.

It's icing.

I'm not much of a baker.

You know,

it's like that.

We have this big funnel

of history

and we see it

and it's all pointing

and it's narrowing

and it's narrowing

and it's narrowing

and we get to this

specific point

in history.

It is the key point

of history

and if you've not

guessed it already

it's Jesus.

Jesus coming

into the world.

God.

Jesus is God the Son

part of the Trinity

and it's God

stepping into history

into time

think about that.

That's mad.

He was the promised

Savior.

The promise

that Abraham gave.

The promise

of Christ the Messiah

as we can read about

throughout the Old Testament.

And you know

this was not

a last minute thing.

Before time even began

the plan of the Lord Jesus

coming in

was hatched.

The Lord Jesus

would have to come

and he would have to do

what he did

on the cross.

That singular point

of history.

Isaiah 7

says this

Therefore the Lord

himself will give you

a sign.

Behold the virgin

shall conceive

and bear a son

and shall call

his name

Emmanuel.

Hundreds of years

before Jesus came

this is prophesied

and it's elsewhere

as well.

Don't hate me

for saying this

but Christmas

is approaching.

It's not that far away.

We'll be thinking

about this again.

This is often read

in Christmas services.

Emmanuel

God with us

God coming to

and into

history.

Jesus' arrival

is of singular

importance

and significance.

The fulfiller

of all of God's

promises

and plans

to that point.

You know

the Lord Jesus

when he came

he lived that

perfect life

that only he could.

He made

marvelous claims

about who he was

and he backed it up

with the miracles

showing that he was

who he said he was

that he didn't just

talk the talk

but that he walked

the walk.

He went all the way

to the cross

and he took on

as we thought

about this morning

that curse

that we deserve.

Why?

For our disobedience

against a holy

and just God.

the Lord Jesus

he took that on

and yeah

he physically died

but you know

he rose again

and that is the key

to the Christian faith

the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus.

Many have come

and said things

many have come

and lived a life

and died.

Only the Lord Jesus

has risen again

proving that he was

truly who he said

that he was.

And you can turn to it

if you want

or I'm just going

to read it

but in Acts chapter 1

Acts 1 · chapter mention

I'm not going to read it all.

In verse 3 it says

after his suffering

this is Jesus

he presented himself

to them

and gave many convincing

proofs that he was alive.

He appeared to them

over a period of 40 days

and spoke about

the kingdom of God.

So Jesus witnessed

to many that he

was risen from the dead.

and then later on

in verse 9

after he said this

he was taken up

before their very eyes

this is the disciples

his followers

and a cloud hid him

from their sight

and they were looking

intently up

into the sky

as he was going

when suddenly

two men dressed in white

stood beside them

and said

men of Galilee

why do you stand here

looking into the sky

this same Jesus

who has been taken

from you

into heaven

will come back

in the same way

you have seen him

go into heaven.

The Lord Jesus

he ascended back

outside of time

back to be with the Father

on high as we say

but you know

with a promise

with a promise

of the future

and this is where

we start to turn our eyes

to the future

and what the Bible

has to say

about it.

John 14

once again

I don't have it

written up

because it's a long passage

but verse 3

says this

the famous words

and I go and prepare

a place for you

I will come back

and take you

to be with me

that you also

may be where I am

Jesus promised

that he would go

and prepare a place

heaven

life eternal

with the one

who created

and loved us

and he promised

that he would come

back for us

if we trust in him

and the disciples

Thomas

he says

Lord we do not know

where you are going

so how can we know

the way

quite a sensible question

but Jesus says

I am the way

the truth

and the life

no one comes

to the Father

except through me

the world might tell us

as many ways

to get to that

better place

to that good place

whatever is meant

by that

you know

but the Bible says

that it's only Jesus

he is the only way

to have

that future

which we all desire

and so we live

in this

post Jesus

age

don't we

it's sometimes called

the church age

or Christians

would call it such

in Acts 1 verse 8

Acts 1:8

it says

Jesus instructs

his people

to go to the

ends of the earth

saying about him

that is the world

that we live in

at the moment

you might wonder

well why is time

going on

why is Jesus

not come back yet

a reasonable question

well in his mercy

he's giving time

for people

to come to a

saving faith

in him

before he returns

he's giving

Christians

opportunity

to go and tell

others

so they can be

included

when he comes

back

for his people

again

and so as we

look to the future

and look at

after

well what next

coming back

to that question

what are we

trusting in

what are we

putting

our hope in

in cod

we trust

I was at

an airport

recently

and this

was a big

sign

and I

think they

do skin

grafts

for something

I didn't

look it up

but they do

skin grafts

with cod

skins

so it's

in cod

we trust

you can see

what they did

there

you think of

the American

banknote

in cod

we trust

you know

this is just

a play on

words

it's a bit

of humour

but it caught

my attention

if you know

me

and what I

do for a

living

you'll

understand

maybe

about why

but you know

what are we

trusting in

well the

bible

it tells us

of this

rescuer to

come

as we've

seen

this

restorer

this

redeemer

who will

come

what are we

promised

well the very

last book of

the bible

revelation

21

and it

says this

now this

is john

he is getting

a vision

of the future

revelation

21

says this

then I

saw a

new heaven

and a

new earth

for the

first heaven

and the

first earth

had passed

away

and he

sees a

city

the holy

city

of god

and it

says

they will

be his

people

and god

himself

will be

with them

and be

their god

and we

thought about

this this

morning

we thought

about it

last week

he will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes

there will

be no

more death

or mourning

or crying

or pain

for the

old order

of things

has passed

away

and he

who was

seated on

the throne

said I

am making

everything

new

then he

said write

this down

for these

words are

trustworthy

and true

we are given

the promise

by god

and that is

word the

bible

of this

perfect future

that time

with no

more mourning

no more

suffering

no more

pain

a future

that we

can even

hardly

imagine

with the

holy

almighty

god

who

created

us

who

loves

us

who

cares

for us

and wants

the best

for us

that is

the promise

of the

bible

we are

promised

an end

to history

that is

not only

good

but it

is just

and it

is a

complete

ending

and it

is all

that everyone

hopes for

which is a

good end

everything

to work

out well

you know

hope

it's an

interesting

concept

hope

you know

we sometimes

think of

hope as

being like

I really

hope it's

sunny tomorrow

that's kind

of how we

use it

nowadays

isn't it

I really

hope that

they've got

good biscuits

out at

church

tonight

but you

know the

hope of

the bible

is an

assured

hope

based on

facts

and evidence

and promises

it is not

something that

we're not

sure of

it is

something that

we are

convinced

of

now how

can we

be so

sure of

this

well as

we've

looked at

in the

past

God has

given his

promises

in the

past

and they

have all

come to

fruition

the promise

of the

Lord Jesus

and we live

in that

privileged

age where

we can

look back

and see

the truths

of these

things

the past

evidence

and the

proven

faithfulness

of God

allows us

to trust

in his

promises

for the

future

where

history

is going

but you

know it

is conditional

we must

trust and

we must

accept in

the work

of the

Lord Jesus

otherwise

it wouldn't

be a

just

end

and you

know if

we live

in hope

of the

future

and it

changes

our life

now

it changes

the mentality

that we

have

for the

here and

now

if we

live all

about the

here and

now

like that

chap

said that

we should

then we'll

be bitterly

disappointed

in life

if we

load all

our hope

and our

happiness

onto our

current

situations

our present

surroundings

how we

get on

in worldly

terms

if we're

all about

the good

life

or inner

well-being

where we're

going to be

disappointed

life is

tough

life is

difficult

I don't

need to

convince

you of

that

we're not

promised an

easy road

even if we

trust in

Jesus

we thought

about that

last week

the suffering

and evil

and at

times we

just don't

know why

things happen

the way

that they

do

you know

I think

the world

tells us

that we

can set

our own

path

that we

can get

to wherever

we want

if we

set our

mind

to it

if we

work

hard

if we

apply

ourselves

if we

speak to

the right

people

I think

it's the

google map

society

that we

live in

you know

I don't

get in the

car nowadays

without just

putting in the

destination

why I want

to get there

quickest

I want to

make sure

there's no

roadworks

I want to

get there

and I know

I can get

there

you know

that's what

life is about

isn't it

people might

ask you

what are you

doing next

year

what's your

five year

plan

what's your

ten year

plan

have you

started your

pension

I know you're

only 20

but have you

thought about

that

it's important

you know

these things

are important

and it's good

to have plans

but we can't

kid ourselves

that we can

set our own

path

that we won't

hit the hiccups

the diversions

that come along

in life

the problems

and the pitfalls

that come our way

and that we're

going this way

and suddenly we

find that we're

just going the

complete opposite

and I think

the older we get

I think the more

we realize that

and I think

if we trust in God

I think as we

look back

we see God's

hand

maybe we thought

we wanted to

go one way

but God takes us

another way

we see his hand

in our life

you know

if we're living

as a Christian

then 2 Corinthians

says this

for we know

that if the

earthly tent

that's our

body now

that we live

in is destroyed

we have a

building from

God

an eternal

house in

heaven

not built

by human

hands

meanwhile we

groan

longing to be

clothed instead

with our

heavenly dwelling

you know a bit

like that

forever home

concept

it's not

perfect is it

if we are in

Christ and we

have that

eternal house

in heaven

that can never

be taken

away

it is secured

how so

well verse 7

we live by

faith

and not by

sight

why is it

important

well verse 10

for we all

must appear

before the

judgment seat

of Christ

so that each

of us may

receive what

is due us

for the things

done while in

the body

whether good

or bad

you know as

we consider

these things

I've sure

said it before

from the front

but I find it

very helpful

it's a phrase

and it says

that regret

well it looks

back at the

past

regret looks

back

worry

worry looks

around present

circumstances

but you know

faith looks up

and if we

want to make

forward progress

if we want

to go on

in these

things

then we need

to be looking

up

you know

just to finish

we've seen

that history

is going

somewhere

the Bible

tells us

so

God's promises

well they can

be trusted

because we

can see the

past evidence

of previous

promises

that have

been fulfilled

all will be

made right

one day

which is all

that we desire

isn't it

all that we

long for

but we need

to trust in

God

we need to

accept

his work

of Jesus

to make us

right again

so that we

can be forever

with a holy

God in his

perfect presence

and when we

have that

heaven mentality

well it changes

the here and

now

our priorities

our goals

and our joy

we need to

let's

see you

in the

future

!

we need to

see you

in the

future