July 3, 2022 NOTES
NOT EDITED
When Foundations Crumble
Psalm 11
SIS: As our nation changes we must realize as believers that God does not change and our mission as the church to spread the gospel has not changed.
Let’s stand for the reading of God’s Word: Psalm 11:1-7
This week we celebrate the 244th birthday of the United States of America (counting from the D.O.I). We celebrate birthdays with parties and frivolity, and well we should. For each birthday is an acknowledgment that the Lord has blessed us one more year. Our Republic is definitely showing signs of wear and tear. I feel it would be helpful to set down a few principles for what God’s Word says in regard to Christ and culture.
In 1962 we threw prayer out of school with Engle v. Vitale and Murray v. Curtlett. In 1963 we through Bible reading out of school with Abington v. Schemp. In 1972 with Roe V. Wade, as a nation we could no longer define what life is. By 2015 and Obergefell v. Hodges no longer defined marriage as a man and woman. Last week a new Supreme Court Justice, Katanji Brown Jackson, was sworn in to replace retiring justice Stephen Breyer. When asked by congress what a woman is, she answered, “I don’t know.” You’d think actually being a woman would at least give her a clue. Since at least 1962 the Supreme Court decisions demonstrate that our nation’s moral foundations have been crumbling. Even with the landmark reversal of Roe v Wade recently, our nation’s foundations lie in a dusty heap of brokenness.
And, the chickens of crumbling
morality have come home to roost in our very own Conejo Valley.
Just a few weeks ago a bruhaha erupted at the Conejo Valley School District
meeting. At the center of the
controversy is a book used in an elementary school titled, “Call Me Max.” It is
a very slick, well-done publication. It
is the equivalent of putting rat poison in a bubble gum wrapper and distributing
it to children.
Let me read a little from that book (Hold up book). The story begins with a little girl (painted
to look like a little boy) saying: “When
I look in the mirror I see a boy.”
On page 4 the book says, “Gender means being a boy or a
girl. Or a little of both. Or, not feeling like a boy or a girl.”
The real intent of
the gender-bender movement is evident on page five—destroy a child’s trust in
their parents. Did you get that: the point of the gender-bender movement, which
is a continuation of the homosexual movement, is to destroy a child’s trust in
parents. Page 5 says:
When a baby is born, a
grown up says, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl.”
If a brand-new baby could talk, sometimes that baby might say, “No I’m
not!” When a baby grows up to be
transgender, it means that the grown up (parents) who said they were a boy or a
girl MADE A MISTAKE.”
(Emphasis mine).
What are they really trying to do in public school—the major tool of the
government for indoctrinating children—they are trying to develop mistrust for
parents, so they, as the government indoctrination arm, can step in and take
over.
I mean, if a child finds out a parent is wrong about whether they are a boy or
a girl, how could any child ever trust anything a parent said, from religion to
rocket science or anything else?
In 1972 we as a nation could not “define” what it meant to be alive. In 2022 we as a nation cannot even define what is a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. We as a nation have lost our foundations. We have no moral compass to guide us. The Judeo-Christian foundations of our country lie in a crumbled heap covered with a crumbled flag that once was the symbol of all that is good in America. We don’t know who we are. We don’t know where we are heading.
“Foundations” is plural in our text. This Psalm is comprehensive covering the full range of the human experience: political, economic, social, and most of all, spiritual.
The Judeo-Christian stones of our foundations are nearly gone. This is a fact. In this context the Psalmist asks a heart-piercing question: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The answer comes when we understand three absolute and incontrovertible truths from our text.
1. Truth has not changed.
4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
Consider the change in regard to the sanctity of human life. Before Roe v Wade prior to 1972, all life was sacred. For the last 50 years under Roe v. Wade, the most dangerous place in the world was in a mother’s womb—the baby had NO RIGHTS, NOT EVEN A BASIC RIGHT TO LIFE. Just over a week ago, the SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade, once again changing the discussion on the sanctity of human life, pushing it back toward a pro-life stance. The court’s ruling on abortion has now significantly changed twice in my lifetime. What HAS NEVER CHANGED IS TRUTH. Truth does not change. Notice again verse 4a: The Lord is [still] on His throne: That has NOT changed.
We constantly hear the talking
heads on T.V. declare, “Well, the polls say this or the polls say that.” But let me assure you that when every man,
woman and child stands before God in judgment, God is not going to be swayed by polling OR pundits. God is going to look at the “Truth.”
How does one’s life line up with truth will be the only thing that
matter, not whether one’s life lined up with what is politically correct. And the one single
standard of “truth” God will apply is His Son, Jesus Christ who said,
“I am the only Truth.” (John 14:6).
The only truth that matters eternally is:
what is your relationship with Jesus Christ?
We live in an age where many, even
most people, think that truth is subject to public opinion, cultural exigency,
or subjective feelings. Not so, truth is
eternal. Truth emanates from the very
Person of Almighty God. Jesus, God
Incarnate, said,
“I am THE
Truth!” Not “a” truth
competing with other truths. Truth is embodied in Jesus Christ,
Almighty God in Human Flesh. The Bible
declares, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Truth never changes. Supreme Court decisions in Washington may change a thousand times, but truth never changes.
4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. God reigns and His immutable Law for His kingdom is the Bible!
God is still where He has always been and always will be: on His throne in heaven.
Our nation is sinking in the quagmire of confusion because of moral relativism. The tide of reprobation rises and the stink of rebellion reaches God’s nostrils. Every man and woman is going his or her own way following “his or her OWN truth.” But truth is not determined on a sliding scale but as fixed as the foundations of God’s Holy Word
Isaiah 40:8 declares: The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.
Man’s rebellion does not annul God’s Sovereignty . The puny court of public opinion cannot raise a challenge to God’s Sovereignty. God has not abandoned His throne nor abrogated His authority. God’s Truth, is not subject to the majority opinion of men or women in black robes sitting behind a big desk. Though the vote be “All Against, but God For,” His vote is the only one that matters.TRUTH NEVER CHANGES because God is still sitting on the throne.
As we watch the crumbling
foundations of a nation leaning toward self-destruction, consider also that
2. God’s Providence for His people has not changed.
(CSB) 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord—his throne is in heaven. His eyes watch; his gaze examines everyone. 5 The Lord examines the righteous, but he hates the wicked and those who love violence. 6 Let him rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked; let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup. 7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds. The upright will see his face.
Throughout the Founding documents, and those writings of the Founding Fathers from which the principles of our Founding Documents were derived, a favorite designation of Almighty God was, “Providence.” It was always capitalized. The last line of the Declaration of Independence, America’s birth certificate, says:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Providence is a theological word, all our Founding Fathers understood. The word itself does not appear in the Bible, like the word “trinity.” The doctrine of Providence IS found represented throughout the Bible. Providence refers to the divine care of God for His people. It is related to God’s divine foresight to see what His people need, and act as His sovereign will dictates to meet that need. The key elements of Providence are divine care and a divine plan.
Please mark this down: just because a nation abandons God, does not mean God has or will abandon His people. God always keeps to Himself a remnant (Isa. 10:20-21). He never abandons His people. The story of God’s people will have a happy ending—the Providence of God will guarantee it.
I read about a little boy who desperately
wanted a puppy. His mom and dad
agreed to let him have one and they made a family trip to the local pet
store. There was a little corral in the
pet shop that had about a half-dozen puppies for sale. The little boy could not decide. Finally, his
attention was drawn to a scruffy looking, runt of the litter, unimpressive
looking miniature mongrel. It was not
even close to being the “cutest of the bunch.”
It looked beat-up really. But
what this miniature mongrel did have as a “wagging tail”—I mean a really
“wagging tail” that looked like the spinning blades of a helicopter. Finally, the little boy looked up at mom and
dad with a big smile on his face and said, “I want the one with the happy
ending!”
That’s a picture of God’s Providence. No matter how bad things look for our nation—and they look bad—God through His Providence guarantees His people a “Happy Ending.” God’s providence never changes.
This has been the case throughout history as Israel, God’s chosen people. Israel endured many times of affliction, oppression, and captivity by foreign powers when their future seemed very uncertain. They often rebelled against God, but He never abandoned them
Verse 4 reminds us, “God never takes His eye off His people”, even when at times He lifts His hand of blessing from them. Even if a nation abandons God, God will never abandon His people.
We set our course in life by the stars of heaven, not the circumstances of the sea. Our course in life is set by God’s Providence and that will never change. And, this leads us to the main point of consideration this morning:
3. Our mission as the Church has
not changed.
Our mission as the Church of God is not dependent upon a court decision or a public vote. We do not get our marching orders from legislators or judges. We get our marching orders from Almighty God. Look at verse 7
7 For the Lord is
righteous; He loves righteous deeds.
The Supreme Court’s blockbuster
decision to reverse Roe v. Wade has people screaming that “everything in
America has changed.” Indeed, the law of the land has changed significantly in
regard to abortion, but in reality it hasn’t changed that much. It is still legal in most states. The need to
fight to protect the unborn and support women in difficult circumstances has
not changed at all. Look again what the
Psalmist declares: As God’s people we have
a mission to “do righteous deeds.” This phrase casts my mind upon Matthew
5:16: let your light shine before men, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
With all the commotion surrounding the Supreme Court ruling on Roe V. Wade, our mission as believers has not changed a bit. The hungry still need fed. The poor still need clothing. The homosexuals, pro-abortionists, gamblers, gossipers, and all other manner of sinners still need the hope of salvation found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look carefully at verse 6:
6 He will rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked; a scorching wind will be their portion.
A desert makes water all that more precious and darkness makes a light all the more priceless. Our mission has not changed. The Psalmist said, “do righteous deeds.” Jesus said, “do good works.”
Not only are there hungry people who need to be fed, lonely people who need to be visited, homeless people who need to be housed, and babies who need to be protected, there are lost sinners headed to hell who need to be saved! That is our primary mission! That cannot, does not, and will not change! There is not more “righteous deed” than rescuing lost sinners.
Our mission has not changed one iota since Jesus commissioned us over 2000 years ago: meet the needs of those around you. And, the greatest need of all, is the need to hear and receive the message of the Good News that Jesus Saves. Our mission has not changed. It is still,
9 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
On this, the 244th Birthday of Our Nation, the Psalmist puts a challenge before us with a heart-piercing question in verse 3: “When the foundations are crumbling what must the righteous do?”
The
answer is really quite simple: just keep
doing what Jesus asked us to do in the first place: “Go . . . make disciples!”
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