God’s Faithfulness to Keep Me

The Bible tells us that he will keep you strong to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

My goodness, how much the world has changed since I was born in 1949.

Save you the maths, I'm 75.

Things have changed unimaginably, so much so that two sociologists, Alvin and Heidi Toffler, wrote a book which is called Future Shock.

And in that book, they argue that the pace of change is increasing and increasing and increasing.

The longer we live on planet Earth, the greater the velocity of the change that we experience.

And their conclusion was, such continuous and increasingly speedy change is likely to work out in neurotic human behaviour.

Certainly, the world I was born into is very different.

It was a world where I think you could argue, and probably many people would argue today,

that we were kept less safe than our children today.

My childhood was throughout the 1950s.

It seems unbelievable now that I can assert these things to you that marked out my childhood,

which would be a million miles away, I think, from modern parents, not being critical of that at all.

I was allowed, from the age of six, to do something which we called playing out.

That was, I could go with my friends.

My parents seemed to have this unerring belief that the big boys would be a good influence on the little boys.

Wrong in every count.

I was allowed to skate on frozen ponds.

I was allowed with the big boys to get on a train, make a 35-minute journey to Old Trafford,

and go and watch Manchester United win for a change.

And then come home.

And there were some restrictions, however.

I was mortified that my parents would not allow me to own a catapult.

And I had strict times when I was supposed to be back at home with my granny and my parents.

I think you'd agree with me, all this seems a very long way away from the health and safety culture we live in today.

Warnings abound everywhere.

I was at a park in Keswick recently, up in the Lake District, and I read this.

It said,

Beware, the grass can be wet.

Our text tells us that God will keep us strong,

and in that strength, he will keep his people.

The Bible has many explicit stories about the way God kept his people safe.

There is a story in the book of Exodus chapter 12,

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

a story about the Passover and how that came about.

Incidentally, were we having a communion service today,

much of what we do in that communion service comes from the celebration of the Passover in Judaism.

In Exodus 12, we're told that on the 14th day of Nisan,

that's nothing to do with cars,

it's a month in the Jewish calendar,

that they were supposed to take a lamb without blemish,

and at twilight, they were to kill it.

And then they were to take some of the blood

and smear it on the doorways of their homes.

So that when the Lord decided he'd had enough of the Egyptians

and that he would wipe out their children,

I know this is, you know, scary stuff in a way,

that those lintels, door lintels,

which had blood on them,

would be overlooked by the angel of death.

God kept his people.

In Numbers chapter 6 and verse 24,

Numbers 6 · chapter mention

we read those wonderful words that very often occur

in our contemporary church today as a blessing.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

I imagine that you do want to be kept.

I can't imagine there'll be anybody in here who doesn't want that.

But then there's our experience.

One of the best-selling books ever was a book by Rabbi Harold Kushner.

To be honest, I think the title sold the book rather than the content.

It was called,

What Happens When Bad Things Happen to Good People?

I mean, that is such a great question, isn't it?

Suffering is a mystery for us.

We don't understand why some stuff happens.

And although we legitimately ask the question,

sadly, there are some answers that are unavailable to us.

I'm imagining in a congregation this size,

there are people here who have questions about what's happened to them in their life.

And might almost be offended by the very topic that the Lord will keep you.

Some of you who think to yourselves,

when things go bad in your life,

why me?

How dare we assert that God will keep us strong and keep us when there's so much bad stuff going on

in many people's lives?

And maybe especially in the lives of committed disciples.

Before I answer that question,

I want to just tell you what this promise of God to keep us doesn't mean.

I want you to think for a moment about the insurance business.

It's based on a very simple and interesting idea that risk can be assessed

and then priced, monetized, and in return for the payment of a premium,

which we all think is too much, obviously,

in return for payment of a premium,

we can have some kind of assurance

that if something goes wrong with our car or with our washing machine

or with our health,

our costs will be covered.

You would be surprised, I think,

to know about some of the risks

that you can insure against these days.

Let me tell you three.

One,

you can insure against damage caused by a ghost.

I'll say that again.

You can insure against damage caused by a ghost.

I have to say,

I think my children damaged far more when they were young

than a ghost ever did.

Second thing is,

you can insure yourself against being hit by an asteroid.

The third thing is,

you can insure yourself against being kidnapped

by extraterrestrials.

I did actually sit next to a lady on a train once

who told me that she had been abducted by extraterrestrials

who had made her pregnant

and she'd given birth to a child who was a genius.

The Lord's promise to keep us

is not like an insurance policy.

Let me say that again.

The Lord's promise to keep us

is not like an insurance policy.

In Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Jesus says this to the crowds,

He causes His Son to rise on the evil and the good

and sends rain on the righteous

and the unrighteousness.

Don't think that faith in God

will keep you from anything going wrong in your life.

In fact,

if you read books about the history of the saints,

you will find out that they had to endure

the most horrific things

and it was the fact that they prevailed

despite the suffering in their lives

that got them into stained glass windows.

I think that is an amazing truth.

The truth is

that God will not cover you

in a sense that nothing will ever go wrong in your life,

but when it goes wrong,

He will give you the strength to prevail.

Somebody once said that suffering does two things.

It either makes you a stronger person

or it destroys you.

One of the things we can say is

that God will keep His people

from being destroyed by suffering.

And of course,

come to this in a moment,

God will also

give us a life for eternity.

St. Paul understood all this

only too well.

I mean,

St. Paul,

you know,

who we see in stained glass windows,

great hero of the church.

When his apostleship

was under threat

in the Corinthian church,

he wrote this.

This is like

Paul's vindication.

I always think it's a

helpful thing for those

who are Christians

to establish

where our security lies.

I mean,

Paul could have given you

a great

lecture on his academic background

or his kind of

cosmopolitan background.

This is how he justifies

his apostleship.

Comparing himself

with some of the Christians

in the congregation

in Corinth

who doubted

that Paul was a genuine apostle.

He says this,

Are they servants of Christ?

And then,

as a kind of a side thought,

he says,

Am I out of my mind

to talk like this?

He goes on,

I am more.

I have worked much harder,

been imprisoned more frequently,

been flogged more severely,

and been exposed to death

again and again.

Five times I received

from the Jews

the 40 lashes minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods.

Once I was pelted with stones.

Three times I was shipwrecked.

I spent a day and night

in the open sea.

I have been constantly on the move.

I have been in danger from rivers,

in danger from bandits,

in danger from my fellow Jews,

in danger from Gentiles,

in danger in the city,

in danger in the country,

in danger at sea,

and in danger from false believers.

What an amazing way

to claim your apostleship.

He claimed his apostleship

not on the basis of,

I've absolutely cruised through life

since I gave my life to Jesus Christ.

Quite the contrary.

I mean, Paul might have said,

actually,

becoming a follower of Jesus

was the start of my problems.

Some of you all might be thinking

that just now.

That would suggest to me, however,

that when the Bible speaks

of God keeping us,

it can't mean

that we should be shielded

from any and everything

that might go wrong

in this life.

Let me remind you of our text.

He will keep you strong to the end

so that you will be blameless

on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

See, what I think this keeping means

is more like God prevailing

or helping us to prevail in our lives

irrespective of what happens to us.

Scholars say the idea of God's keeping us

is eschatological.

Make sure you've got your teeth in firmly

before you try and say that.

Eschatology is the study

of the end of times.

And I think what Paul is trying

to reassure people is

that whatever happens to you

in this life,

you will be kept

for that time

when the Lord returns,

when you die

or the Lord returns.

It's about God's ultimate purpose

for you

as his child

and his disciple.

You are being kept

for eternity.

How did Paul get perspective

on all that went wrong

in his life?

He wrote two things

that are really important for us.

Especially those,

especially those of you

who are going through

a hard time right now.

Paul knew

that God would give him

the strength to prevail

whatever happened to him.

But secondly,

Paul also believed

in his heart

that whatever happened

in this life

was always going to be

a worse version of his life

than the life he would receive

in eternity

by being a follower of Jesus.

He wrote this in Romans chapter 18

in verse 8.

I consider that our presence

sufferings

are not worth comparing

with the glory

that will be revealed in us.

Are you looking forward to that?

Are you looking forward

to that glory

which Scripture says

will be revealed in you

if you trust Jesus Christ?

So what can we say

about this keeping?

the first thing is

I'm sorry if this is a bit blunt

but God will keep you

from a Christless eternity

if you are a disciple of his.

There's been much debate

throughout the ages

as to whether

if you are a Christian

whether you can ever

forfeit your salvation.

that's an interesting question

it's a good question

most of the scholars

are agreed

though sometimes

for slightly different reasons

that if you genuinely

made a commitment

to Jesus Christ

you cannot

forfeit

your salvation.

in the book of Hebrews

there's a very interesting passage

which the scholars

have gone to town on

where the Lord says this

it is impossible

for those who have

once been enlightened

who have tasted

the heavenly gift

who have shared

in the Holy Spirit

who have tasted

the goodness

of the word of God

and the powers

of the coming age

if they fall away

to be brought back

to repentance

because

to their loss

they are crucifying

the Son of God

all over again.

What that means is

and this is a big problem

for the Anglican church friends

it means that

those of you

who sit in church

Sunday by Sunday

familiar with the title deeds

of the Christian faith

but actually haven't made

that leap of faith

Paul

sorry

the writer of the epistle

to the Hebrews

is asking a question

about that.

A big problem

in the church of England

is cultural Christianity

people who think

they're showing up

in church

on a regular basis

will see them home

which is obviously

logically not correct

anybody can come

into church

as far as I know

one of you

might be

one of the most

articulate

and great atheists

that ever stalked the earth

nobody checked out

when you came in

I hope

no

you will be saved

from a Christless eternity

if you accept

Christ as Lord

and believe

that God

raised him

from the dead

the big problem

came up in

some of the

worship songs

and hymns

we sung this morning

is that we always

want to demote

the concept of sin

in our lives

a great way

of doing that

is to compare yourself

with other people

well I might not

be perfect

but I know somebody

who's a lot worse

than me

of course you do

I mean you might

have to

drag the bottom

of the barrel

and come up with

names like Adolf Hitler

or

my granny

used to say

comparisons

are odious

I have no idea

whether it's God's

plan this morning

in this place

to reveal himself

to you

in such a way

that you make

that step of faith

that you repent

of your sin

because sin

has terrible consequences

you haven't got to

open a newspaper

to see that

but it has

destructive

consequences

in your life

as well

it creates

a blockage

in your relationship

with God

and it also

very often

creates terrible

trouble here on

earth

in our relationships

here

what was it

Paul wrote

the wages

of sin

is death

but the gift

of God

is eternal

life

in union

with Christ

Jesus

you can't

earn that

salvation

you can't

buy it

in fact

there is

nothing

that you can

do to save

yourself

I used to

have a doctrine

in the church

of England

which preachers

preached on

regularly

I've done it

myself

it was called

the doctrine

of the total

depravity

of humanity

I imagine

if you put

that

you know

today's sermon

of depravity

of humanity

on the door

I can't imagine

there would be

that many people

packing the way

in

you cannot

save yourself

you can sit

there for

decades

I inherited

a church

in Buckinghamshire

which had a

membership

of 350

people

I reckon

that a good

many of them

and the

evidence for

that was that

many of them

did make the

leap of faith

many of them

were just

cultural

Christians

generally

assented to

the moral

truth that

Jesus Christ

taught

but they're

not in a

relationship

with him

John Wesley

when he was

preaching about

the almost

Christian

said the

almost

Christians

got some

wonderful

aspects to

their life

they're

pillars of

the local

community

excellent

people

one thing

they lack

they don't

love

God

I wonder

John Wesley

was standing

here today

I wish he

could

how many

of us

would be

found out

by that

very simple

idea

and the

thing is

you can

do something

about that

any time

second

thing is

you will

be kept

from the

consequences

of your

sin

I think I

said enough

about that

but the

wages of

sin is

death

if you

do not

come to

Christ

in faith

if you

do not

accept

his

atoning

work

on the

cross

of

Calvary

if you

do not

believe

that God

raised him

from the

dead

then death

death my

my friend

will be for

you a brick

wall

you will be

kept

from the

consequences

of your

sin if you

trust Christ

and you

will be

kept

for an

existence

that is

way beyond

anything

that you

could ever

dare to

ask or

imagine

it's what

we call

heaven

very difficult

for us to

imagine what

infinite happiness

might look

like

it's even

harder to

believe isn't

it what

worshipping

together might

be like in

heaven

it's going to

be a big

row at the

gate you know

we're going to

do the book

of common

prayer or

shall we do

common worship

or shall we

go Pentecost

what

I have no

idea

but I

know that

it is a

place where

as the

writer of

the book

of Revelation

John the

divine wrote

he will wipe

away every

tear from

our eyes

there will be

no more

death or

mourning or

crying or

pain for

the old

order of

things has

passed

away

imagine

there's going

to be a

place for

those of

you who

hold on

to Jesus

that you

cannot

imagine

how amazing

it will

be

it will

be a

place where

you will

receive a

resurrection

body

God knows

I need

that

and you

will live

face to

face with

the living

God

for

eternity

I

prepared this

sermon

with a

note of

personal

potential

tragedy that

happened in

the life of

my family

this last

week

my healthy

son-in-law

Joel who's a

minister in

Bognor Regis

suddenly

became very

very seriously

ill

it was

scary how

quickly it

came upon

him

his blood

saturation

levels were

dangerously

low so he

was blue

lighted to

St.

Richard's

hospital in

Chichester

still there

but he's

getting better

someone say

praise God

and he's

no longer

on oxygen

and for a

moment you

kind of

waver around

that question

what does

it mean to

say God

will keep

you

well Joel

knows and

I know

should know

better that

what God

will keep

Joel for

whatever

happens to

him is

he will be

kept for

eternity

because he

knows Jesus

he will be

kept from

the consequences

of his sin

because he

knows and

loves Jesus

and he will

be saved

for eternity

friends it's a

wonderful thing

when I have to

take a funeral

and I can

affirm because

the person in

the box is a

Christian

the faith that

sustained them

in this life

will sustain

them into

eternity

wouldn't you

want that

wouldn't you

want to stop

just sitting

there warming

the well we

don't even have

pews here

warming the

already warm

seats here

and just

make that

leap of

faith

trust Jesus

Jesus

who gave

his life

that you

may get

yours back

Jesus

who hung

on a

cross

in

abject

pain

that our

sins

might be

atoned

for

Jesus

who rose

from the

dead

and is

alive in

the power

of his

Holy Spirit

and right

now

is here in

this church

with us

so I've

said before

from this

very podium

the Bible

ultimately

offers two

kinds of

life

a worldly

life

or a

heavenly

life

I can't

make you

choose either

but I

pray

maybe today

you will

choose the

life of

heaven

because you

can celebrate

the fact

that Paul

in his

epistle

promises us

promises you

he'll keep

you strong

to the end

if you trust

him

so that you

will be

blameless

blameless

on the day

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

at the end

of this

service we

have some

prayer teams

who will be

around the

front of the

church

and look

here's the

thing

it is so

not like

us isn't

it to

kind of do

that and

come and

pray and

maybe other

people we

feel are

looking at

us in

isn't it

worth just

swallowing your

pride for

one moment

and taking

a step

a step

of faith

that you

might know

the assurance

that you'll

save for

eternity

John

in his

epistle

said this

chapter 5

these things

are written

that you

may know

that you

have eternal

life

not that you

may keep

your fingers

crossed and

hope

but that you

may know

it's what we

call a

doctrine

of assurance

I would love

that for

every soul

in this

church

let's pray

our gracious

father we

thank you for

the promise

that you

will keep

us and we

apologize

for the way

in which

that can

really affect

our faith

when bad

things happen

to good

people

and lord I

want to pray

for anybody

in church

this morning

who is

going through

a really

hard time

please lord

would you

come to

them afresh

and help

them to

know that

if they

cling

on to

you

they will

prevail

whatever the

outcome

they will

hold

together

and lord

we thank

you

that you

keep us

in the

sense that

nothing

that this

life can

throw at

us

will stop

us

loving you

and in

the end

receiving

your amazing

gift

of eternal

life

lord I

pray now

that in

the power

of your

holy spirit

to anybody

who doesn't

have that

assurance

anybody

who is

worried about

their salvation

father god

I pray

that you

would reveal

yourself

afresh to

them

lord that

they may

know that

they are

saved

and saved

for eternity

and lord we

pray these

things not

because we

have any

great merit

but because

we bring

them in

the name

of our

lord jesus

christ

and the

people who

agreed said

together

amen