Facing the Future

For those of you who are old enough to remember watching the Carol Burnett show,

this is how she ended every show.

In fact, she would pull the earlobe, her left earlobe, at the end of that song,

and that was not because she was hurting. It was a signal to her grandma, hi, I'm fine.

And she would do that every time when she'd get done.

When we'd watch the shows, we'd laugh almost nonstop. In fact,

there's reruns of it I like to watch over on, especially the antics of Tim Conway.

But at the end of every show, Carol would do that song. She would come out and

sing that closing song, Until We Meet Again.

I remember watching those shows as the cast began to age and thinking,

that at some time there would be no carol burnett shows and she would sing that

song for the last time which actually that was the recording of the last one,

and then when we watched that final show we sob because a good friend,

who had visited our lives every week was departing.

It's funny because I can picture back to our first Sunday here in Richland Center in September of 2022.

And while my hair is a little whiter and I have a few more pounds on me today,

I'm wearing the same black shirt that I wore four years ago.

On that first Sunday, I preached a message titled A New Beginning,

A Change in Leadership, and I'm sure you'll remember that day.

I compared the change in leadership from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers with the

Packers and from Moses to Joshua with the Israelites and from your previous

pastor to your new pastor.

It's getting hot in here.

So that's what I did on that first Sunday as well.

Here we are four years later after that first message when I wore the same jersey.

It fit a little looser then.

Even now, Rodgers is no longer with the Packers, and another change has been

made in the leadership of the Packers.

As I've said before, there is one thing that is certain about life,

and that is that there is nothing certain about life.

When it comes to the subject of dealing with the future we know that nothing is certain,

consider these comments on the future in 1926 Lee DeForest the inventor of the

Audion vacuum tube said this theoretically,

television may be feasible,

but I consider it an impossibility, a development that we should waste little time dreaming about.

He said that about a year before the television was successfully demonstrated in San Francisco.

In 1943, Thomas J. Watson,

then the chairman of the board at IBM Corporation, said this,

I think there is a world market for only about five computers.

A recording company expert in 1962 said, we don't think the Beatles will do

anything in their market.

Guitar groups are on their way out.

Obviously, each one of these comments proves the future does not always turn out like we expect it to.

James chapter 4, verses 13 to 18 says.

Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,

spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit, whereas you do not know

what will happen tomorrow.

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and

then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills,

we shall live and do this or that.

Proverbs chapter 27, verse 1 says, Do not boast about tomorrow,

Proverbs 27:1

for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Four years ago, we thought we knew the future.

We thought that I would be your interim pastor for about six months to a year.

And then the conference would find a new pastor who would lead you into the

future of ministry here in Richland County.

We only thought we knew the future, but God really does know the future.

Four years ago, we moved away from our family in a retirement home in Greenville,

Illinois, to create a new family here in Richland Center.

It has been a rich time of getting to know the Richland County community,

the school districts, and you.

We've added so many new friends to our church and also have laid some old friends

to their final resting place.

But God has been faithful in building his kingdom in our midst.

I think we can all testify that some have found new faith in Christ,

and we've all grown in our faith in Christ during these four years.

And over the past four years, new leadership has been raised up in your church, in our church.

And while we never complete everything we intend to, I believe that God is moving

us forward and has a huge blessing waiting for this church.

Yet even though we will be moving, we continue to hold this community deep in our hearts as family.

I was talking to somebody, I think it was Darla, beforehand,

that, you know, we have two homes. When we're driving down to Greenville,

we're going home. When we're driving back to Richmond Center, we're going home.

And it's kind of weird, but we called that our vacation home for four years.

Now we'll call this our vacation home, maybe.

A time like this could cause us to look on the dark side of things,

or we could choose to trust in God for a new future.

This morning I want us to look at a passage of Scripture that tells the story

of Moses' departure as the chosen leader of the Israelites.

Moses has been told by God that he will soon pass away, and he is giving encouragement

to the Israelites, while at the same time showing his trust in the Lord to provide,

and protect and prosper them.

And while he is getting ready to pass away at the age of 120,

I'm not there yet, so I don't intend to be passing away very soon, not until 120.

But in the meantime, this is kind of a passing for us.

So if you would look at Deuteronomy 31, verses 1 through 8.

Deuteronomy 31:1–8

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel.

I am now 120 years old. I am no longer able to lead you.

The Lord has said to me, you shall not cross the Jordan. The Lord your God himself

will cross over ahead of you.

He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land.

Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord has said.

And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites,

whom he destroyed along with their land.

The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.

For the Lord your God goes with you.

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, Be strong,

and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land the Lord swore

to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you

nor forsake you. Do not be afraid.

Do not be discouraged.

Facing the future is always difficult.

The fear of the unknown is one of the worst fears we face.

Not knowing the future makes us imagine things that may never happen.

It is said that worry is the interest we pay on tomorrow's debts.

Today in this passage from Deuteronomy chapter 31, I want,

Deuteronomy 31 · chapter mention

to help each of us to be able to face the future with the attitude of an optimist,

to face the future with an attitude of one who is called by God to lead his people,

and that is you.

So first, we must face the future being prepared. Moses was preparing them for a change.

It says, then Moses went out and spoke these words to Israel,

I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you.

You remember that Moses had led the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt,

and had been leading them through the wilderness to the edge of Canaan,

the land flowing with milk and honey, which had been promised to the descendants of Abraham.

Moses' call from God out of the burning bush to be the leader of the Israelites

took place when Moses was 80 years old, and now he's 120.

He had led them through the wilderness for 40 years. Someone once said,

why did it take them 40 years?

Because men don't stop and ask directions. Anyway, Moses now said to the Israelites,

I am no longer able to lead you, and the Lord has said to you,

you shall not cross the Jordan.

The Israelites had wandered around for 40 years until the original generation

of those who had left Egypt had passed away, and now Moses was going to die as well.

So Moses was preparing the people for the change that was coming.

While he did not know what that future would be, God had allowed him to view

the promised land from the other side of the Jordan River.

A change is taking place in the kingdom of God in Richland County,

and I'm convinced that God has the future in his hands.

I believe that God is wanting to bring about a great work of revival here,

and he's already preparing a new pastor, just as God already had prepared Israel's

new leader before Moses had passed away.

With the strong, godly lay member leadership that has been elected and a new

pastor whom only God knows at this time, the future for the kingdom of God in

Richland Center is bright,

and is already in God's plan as long as we are faithful to obey.

Then also Moses prepared them for their new leader.

It says, the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you.

He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their

land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said,

and the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og.

The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you.

Joshua, in accordance with what God had spoken, would take over the leadership after Moses died.

Numbers chapter 21, verses 18 through 20 says, And the Lord said to Moses,

Numbers 21:18–20

Take Joshua, the son of Nun, with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

So Moses prepared them for a new leader, and we must also be prepared.

As we look to the future, we have a great choice, either to face the future

trusting in God or trying to take control of our own lives and wrestle back

control of this church from the direction God is moving her.

There are many things for which we need to prepare. Most of us have prepared

for our deaths by securing life insurance to help our families deal with the

financial loss they will face when we pass away.

Many of us have prepared for our deaths by writing a last will and testament.

Some of us have prepared for our deaths by raising our children as good citizens.

But how many have prepared for their own deaths by securing their place in heaven,

by securing the gift of God's grace, accepting the gift of God's grace through Jesus Christ?

Hebrews 9.27 says this, It is appointed to men once to die, then the judgment.

And while I'm not leaving you in death, like Moses was, at least I don't think—.

I'm trusting that my years as your pastor for these last four years has helped

to prepare you for your own futures,

by your growth and grace in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and that

you have secured your place in God's home.

If you're going to face the future with a positive attitude,

with a God attitude, then you will not only have to have God on your side,

but you will most definitely have to be on God's side.

And this can only happen by allowing Jesus Christ to become Lord of your life

and to not just be your fire insurance from hell.

An interesting map is on display in the British Museum in London.

It's an old mariner's chart drawn in 1525, outlining the North American coastland and adjacent waters.

Their cartographer made some intriguing notation on areas of the map that represented

regions that had not yet been explored.

He wrote this, Here be giants, here be fiery scorpions, and here be dragons.

Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin,

a British explorer in the early 1800s. Scratching out those fearful inscriptions,

he wrote these words across the top, Here is God.

God is here for us, his children, and we are to be here for him.

The second thing we see in this is we are to face the future with courage.

And Moses was an optimist. It says, and the Lord will do to them as he did to

Sion and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when he destroyed them.

The Lord will give them over to you that you may do to them according to every

commandment which I have commanded you, but be strong and of good courage.

Do not fear, nor be afraid of them. The Israelites would need courage because,

Moses, who had been leading them for 40 years, was soon to die,

and a new leader was going to take control.

Courage means to be fearless in the face of danger.

It doesn't mean the absence of fear. It just means the encouragement to go forward

in the face of fear, the impetus, the power, the guts, whatever it takes to go forward in that.

How are they to gain courage? Well, the Lord is our protector.

The answer was, for the Lord your God is he is the one who goes with you.

He will neither leave you nor forsake you.

This is a promise that was made to God's chosen people in the Old Testament

but it's also for us in the New Testament,

Hebrews chapter 13 5 and 6 says for he himself has said I will never leave you

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

nor forsake you so we may boldly say the Lord is my helper I will not fear,

what can man do to me because God is my rock when you're a Christian it doesn't

matter what people may try to do to you it doesn't matter what the world might

try to do to you it doesn't matter what the devil might try to do to you

when the storms are severe

when the nights are long when it seems like you're by yourself.

With god we are overcomers psalm 18 2 says the lord is my rock,

and my fortress and we sang about that a little bit ago, and my deliverer,

my God, my strength in whom I will trust.

Now, I'm going back years and years and years in the past, but you guys,

many of you know a guy named Paul Harvey, right?

Paul Harvey told the story that one summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast,

he gazed out the window and saw a small girl being swept along in a rain-flooded

drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio home.

Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar

underneath a road and then emptied into a main culver.

And so he dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead

of the struggling girl. Then he hurled himself into the deep churning water.

Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child's arm. Then they tumbled

end for end, over and over.

Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray's free hand felt something,

possibly a rock, protruding from one bank.

He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away.

He thought, if I could only hang on until help comes. Well, he did better than that.

By the time fire department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl

to safety. Both were treated for shock.

On April 12th, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard's Silver Lifesaving Medal.

The award was fitting for this reckless person was at even greater risk to himself

than most people would ever know. You see, Ray Blankenship didn't know how to swim.

And now you know the rest of the story. When looking to the future,

when it seems the waters are rough, that is when we need to take a dive and go deep,

in the fellowship of God.

Stephen Curtis Chapman sings a song.

About going deep into God's faithfulness and God's love and God's protection.

David said in Psalm 23, God leads me beside the still water.

Sometimes the best safety in the water is when we go deep.

Psalm 34 verse 21 says, be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart,

Psalms 34:21

all you who hope in the Lord.

Radio preacher Adrian Rogers once told about the man who begged or who bragged

that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife.

People were amazed at the story of strength and courage.

The people listened with utter amazement. They were astonished,

and yet that is until someone asked him why he hadn't cut off the lion's head first.

The man replied, well, somebody had already done that the line was already dead so I just cut off the tail.

Friends, God has already cut off the head of the lion, and in this case,

the head of the serpent. We have no fear for our future.

And third, we see from this is that we are to face the future with hope.

There is a promise of a better land. Then Moses called Joshua and said to him

in the sight of all Israel,

Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with these people to the land

which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you will cause them to inherit it.

And the Lord who is the one who goes before you, he will be with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Do not fear, do not be dismayed. The Israelites had gone through times when

they did not know where their water and food was coming from.

They had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Now Moses is dying.

Moses assures them that God is going to guide them into the promised land.

This promised land was first mentioned to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12:7

verse 7. It says, then the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,

to your descendants, I will give this land.

Oftentimes we on the New Testament side of history think that the promised land

refers to heaven, and it does.

But to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Moses and Joshua, this promised land was a real place.

We can stand firm in the belief that God wants to provide a promise for us here and now.

In Jeremiah, we read these words, I know the plans I have for you,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Richland County is a promised land for God. He wants this place,

and we are doing everything we can to win it for Jesus.

But we also have a promise of a better land.

I cannot promise you that your tomorrow will be better. I can't tell you your,

year will be better, but with God, it's going to be easier to bear.

I can tell you that even if your life is filled with trouble—.

The rest of the days on this earth, if you remain faithful, there is a hope of a better day.

In the first film series, Focus on the Family, they shared a story about a five-year-old

African-American boy who would never be forgotten by those who knew him.

A nurse by the name of Gracie Scheffler took care of this boy in his latter days of his life.

This little boy was dying, five years old, was dying of lung cancer,

which is a terrifying disease in his final days.

If you've ever been with anybody who's been dying of lung cancer or emphysema

or COPD or whatever, it's horrifying. His lungs would fill up with fluid and

he would be unable to breathe.

And when you can't breathe, it's terribly claustrophobic, especially for a small child.

This little boy had a Christian mother who loved him and stayed by his side

through the long ordeal. She cradled him on her lap and talked softly about

the Lord Jesus. Instinctively, the woman was preparing her son for his final days to come.

Gracie said that one day as death approached, she entered the boy's hospital

room as he was talking about hearing bells.

The bells are ringing, Mommy, he said. I can hear them.

Gracie thought he was hallucinating because he was already slipping away.

She left and returned a few minutes later and again heard him talking about hearing bells ringing.

The nurse said to his mother, I'm sure you know your baby is hearing things that aren't there.

He's hallucinating because of the sickness.

The mother pulled her son closer to her chest and smiled and said,

No, Ms. Scheffler, he's not hallucinating.

I told him when he was frightened, when he couldn't breathe,

if he would listen carefully, he could hear the bells of heaven ringing for him.

That they were calling him home.

And that's what he's been talking about all day.

That little boy died on his mother's lap later that evening.

And he was still talking about hearing the bells of heaven,

when the angels came to take him home.

As we close this.

Service, just so you know, I don't hear the bells yet.

As we close this service, as Nancy and I prepare to ride off into the sunset,

this is not the time to be fearful about our future.

We need to ask ourselves, are we prepared for the future?

Do we have the courage to face the future?

Do we have the hope for the future? And do we have unbridled and unashamed trust

in the one who knows the future?

It's my desire and hope that you have and will continue to have an undying faith

in the God who saves when we seem to be at an end.

I know this is not the usual way we close our services, but I'm going to ask

you to stand up if you're able to and join in a circle around here.

And we're going to sing together.

Before the benediction. Come join in a circle around here, kind of like we do on Christmas Eve.

So we're going to sing a song.

And I think you know what it is. I'm so glad we had this time together just

to have a laugh or sing a song.

Seems we just get started And before you know it Comes the time we have to say

So long Let's pray Heavenly Father, as we close this service,

And this season of service,

I thank you for these people I thank you for this community I thank you for

your love that is instilled in us as we sang about this reckless love.

I pray, Father, that you will guide us and this church into the future,

your future of a new revival in this community.

In Jesus' name. And now, go and serve a world that desperately needs Jesus.