Change: 2120

January 12, 2020

Philippians 2:1-13                    NOTES NOT EDITED

Change: 2120

SIS – Even though we live in a world that is changing rapidly, the most important things in life, never change.

I was recently browsing through some of my files and I came across an article from, I think about ten, maybe fifteen years ago.  It was an article considering “possible” changes coming a hundred years in the future.  Now, this was less than a decade or so ago and it asked these questions:

One hundred years from now:
- Will holographic communication, teleporting, 3-D printers and robots with artificial intelligence be passé?

Artificial Intelligence impacts nearly everyone every day if you open FaceBook or browse Google.  AI is also hard at work in several other areas such as:  Google's AI-Powered Predictions. Using anonymized location data from smartphones, Google Maps (Maps) can analyze the speed of movement of traffic at any given time; Ridesharing Apps Like Uber and Lyft; Commercial Flights Use an AI Autopilot

3-D printers are not much more expensive than a typical gaming system for children.  All this happened in a couple decades, not a century.  Another question the futuristic article asked was

- Will wealthy people be able to select some elements of their child's genetic makeup?
- Will humans have a base on Mars?
- Will the singularity point actually happen in which some machines have greater intelligence than humans?
- Will we be able to log onto our computers directly from our brains?
- Will cars be purely automated and driver-free?

What is astounding to me is that many of these “futuristic” questions in regard to what life will be like a hundred years in the future came into existence in a few years, or decades, not a century!

Even the science fiction cartoons of my childhood have become a reality today.  I like to set the stage by going back in time to a show that looked ahead in time.  Anyone remember, “The Jetsons.” The Jetsons were a futuristic cartoon that fantasized about what life might be like in the future.  They debuted on T.V. 52 years ago in 1962. I was six years old and it was one of my favorite shows. The Jetsons were a futuristic family with fabulous and far out things like a robot maid, a flat-screen television, a flying car, and a tanning bed—the stuff of science fiction back then, but common now—though a flying car is probably not in everybody’s garage . . . yet—though many have cars that will parallel park by themselves.  The future is arriving much faster than anybody could have predicted 52 years ago.  The pace of change is maddening and for many not the least bit unnerving.

We have reached a place in technological expertise that, “anything is possible.”  I remember Dick Tracy’s famous, “smart watch,” in the 1950’s.  Kids thought this was neat but we all knew it was just, “science fiction.”  For us, a phone was that black, hulking hunk of indestructible plastic connected to the wall by a thick black wire.  A “smart phone, much less a smart watch” was simply fantasy.

Well, so was space travel when my grandparents started reading Buck Rogers in magazines back in 1928.  1928!  Didn’t dinosaurs still roam the earth back then!

 I hate to admit it, I am so old that when I went to college they didn’t even have laptops, let alone smart phones.  Even though I’m young and bearly broken in, I remember a day when most people were actually “smarter than their phones!”  Only a few decades ago, cars did not have seat belts and they had metal dashboards! That really made crash test dummies nervous! Now, we have self-driving cars!  Even Shari’s car can find a parking place and park all by itself—if we just would read the manual and figure out what button to push. The changes in just a few decades would have seemed like an episode of the Jetsons to our parents.  Can you imagine what life will be like 100 years from now in 2120? I cannot even imagine. It is quite possible that each of us will have a spare clone in the closet to provide “spare parts” as we wear out the old ones.  That will certainly give new meaning to the phrase, “a skeleton in your closet.” Of course, all this presumes there will be a 2120. There may not be a 2021. With all that does and will change, some things never change and they are the issues that really matter. 

Let’s read our text to see a few things that will never change.  Phil. 2:1-13.

1.  First, Human Nature Never Changes (1-4)

Experts in every field are making predictions in regard to the future.  One Nobel Prize winner, Robert Shiller predicts that the future will be marked by much more “limited resources,” . . . unbelievably dangerous strategic weapons of mass destruction, flourishing new changes in internet technologies that will make labor markets unstable and career longevity very shaky.  Alvin Roth, another Nobel Prize winner from Stanford, forecasts monumental changes in medicine, including transplants.  Roth states, “the idea of cutting a kidney out of one person and sewing it into another will seem like . . . barbarity.”  And, when I spoke earlier of a clone for spare parts in your closet, you thought I was crazy—which I may be but that is beside the point.  I could site many, many big changes coming in the very near future that would seem as fantastically impossible as the space travel of Buck Rogers, phone watch of Dick Tracy, or the flying car of the Jetsons—all things common today.  But, regardless of how many things are predicted to change, not body is predicting that human nature is going to change.  In fact, it has not changed since Adam sinned in the garden a few thousand years ago.  

Notice verses 1-4 again:  ¹If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love,  if any fellowship with the Spirit,  if any affection and mercy,  ² fulfill my joy by thinking the same way,  having the same love,  sharing the same feelings, focusing on one  goal. ³ Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. ⁴ Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Keep in mind this was written over 2000 years ago.  Also keep in mind it was written to “believers in Christ.”  Paul exhort the Philippian believers to practice “encouragement, love, Spirit-led fellowship, affection and mercy.”  Now, we know that the Philippian church was very dear to Paul and he held them in high regard (v7).  Yet, he still felt led of the Spirit to remind them of the importance of “Christian unity.” Paul understood the ugliness of human nature and we know from what Paul writes to the Galatians that our human nature will be in constant conflict with our Spiritual nature as long as we are in the body of flesh.  So Paul reminds the Galatians:

^5:16 I say then, walk by the Spirit  and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  Then, in verses 19-21 he describes the flesh, or human nature—and it ain’t pretty!  ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are obvious:  ^a sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity,  ²⁰ idolatry,  sorcery,  hatreds,  strife,  jealousy,  outbursts of anger,  selfish ambitions,  dissensions,  factions, ²¹ envy,  ^o drunkenness, carousing,  and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Let me see a show of hands:  how many of you ever thought you would hear of a video showing journalists being beheaded by a man dressed head to toe in the black garb of the Middle East?  Not many hands.  Man has made tremendous advances in technology, but ZERO advances in human nature.  Human nature never changes.

2.  The Wages of Sin Never Change (v 8; Rom. 6:23a)

Look again at verse 8:  ⁸ He humbled Himself by becoming obedient 

to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

Many of you know the story:  God promised Adam and Eve, our first parents and the first sinners on earth—among many to follow—that He would send someone—the Messiah—to pay for the penalty of their sin once for all.  We read this all the way back in Genesis:

3:15 I will put hostility between you (serpent, Devil) and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Now, the serpent was cursed for being a willing vessel of the Devil.  We’ll not dwell on the interesting issues that raises at this time.  The snake is not what God is speaking to so much as what the snake represents—the Devil, the adversary of God and enemy of man.  The Devil is a murderer, a destroyer, the antithesis to all that is good.  Notice God promises a “hostility” (meaning an “enemy”) that will be born of woman and will destroy the Devil (crush his head) after the Devil strikes His heal.  That “Enemy” of evil and the Devil is Jesus Christ.  Jesus came from heaven, born in a manger through the virgin birth of Mary, lived a sinless, perfect life as a man and then died upon the cross.  

Why did Jesus, God the Eternal Son (Second Person of the Holy Trinity) have to die?  Paul gives us a verse that helps us understand:

Rom. 6:23:  For the wages of sin is death.

We all understand what “wages” represent.  Wages are what we are owed for what we do.  When we give the boss eight hours of our time, he “owes” us our wage.  Well, when man gives time to the Devil—and we all do—“for all sin and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23)—then we will get the “wages” that sin pays—eternal death.  Now, this isn’t just being separated from our body at the moment our heart stops beating or our brain waves cease.  This “eternal separation” means those that die as unforgiven sinners, will die for eternity in hell.  Jesus describes hell as a place “ where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mk. 9:44).  Hell is represented by a garbage dump that is constantly on fire and the maggots feast forever.  I don’t apologize for that graphic language because it is the language of Our Lord, and I speak this in hopes that no one would ever have to go there.  I say something more about that in a moment.

Wages have changed a lot since I was a kid.  My first job after my paper route was pumping gas at Don Ruch Sunoco.  I loved that job!  My wages were $2.25 for every hour I worked, and time and half for overtime!  Wow! I was rolling in dough.  Now, the minimum wage has changes significantly.  It is now somewhere around $10.00 an hour and people are pushing for it to go to over $15.00 an hour.  Human wages change—but the “the wages of sin” never change.  Jesus—Who was Eternal God—had to die to pay the wages of sin for every person that ever lived, is living, or ever will live.  That never changes.

3.  Let me say briefly, the Death Rate never changes (10-11)

Look at verse 10: ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow —of those who are in heaven  and on earth and under the earth —     ¹¹ and every tongue  should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory  of God the Father.

Notice first of all who is covered in this verse:  verse 10 speaks of “every knee” and verse 11 mentions “every tongue.”  Nobody is excluded from the requirements of this verse.  But, notice something else—the groups mentioned those in heaven, which probably refer to all angelic beings, those on earth which are those now living, and those “under the earth,” which I think speaks for itself—as in “six feet under!”

Here’s my point:  everybody is going to die.  Hebrews 9:27 states this unequivocally:  And just as it is appointed for people to die once.  Now, dying “once” refers to physical death.  The Bible also speaks of a “second death” (Rev 2:11, Rev 20:6 & 14, and Rev. 21:8).  This refers to the “eternal death” in hell that I spoke of just a few minutes ago.  Everyone is going to die.  The death rate has never changed and it will never change:  it remains at 1 to 1, or 100%!  Studies have shown that one of the top fears of people surveyed is the “fear of death.” Part of the fear is knowing we cannot avoid it and another part is NOT KNOWING how it is going to happen.

I remember reading about the funeral of Old Fred.  He had been a faithful Christian and was in the hospital, near death. The family called their preacher to stand with them.  As the preacher stood next to the bed, Old Fred's condition suddenly began to deteriorate and he motioned frantically for something to write on.  It was clear that Old Fred was in distress.  The pastor lovingly handed him a pen and a piece of paper, and Old Fred used his last bit of energy to scribble a note, then he died.  The preacher thought it best not to look at the note at that time, so he placed it in his jacket pocket. At the funeral, as he was finishing the message, he realized that he was wearing the same jacket that he was wearing when Old Fred died. He said, "You know, Old Fred handed me a note just before he died. I haven't looked at it, but knowing Fred, I'm sure there's a word of inspiration there for us all." He opened the note, and read, "Hey, you're standing on my oxygen tube!"

Just like Old Fred, we do not know how or when we are going to die, but we can be sure of one thing:  WE ARE GOING TO DIE!  The death rate never changes—it is still 1-1!

Well, we live in a time when almost everything is changing and changing at a pace that is unimaginable.  Almost everything changes, but as we have seen some things never change.  Human nature never changes. The Wages of Sin never change.  The Death Rate never changes.  There is one more thing that never changes:

4.  The Purpose of Life Never Changes (10-13) 

¹³ For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose

The most important question anybody could ever ask is:  “how can I know for sure I will go to heaven when I die?”  Now, not everyone asks that question, and not everyone that asks that question actively seeks to discover the answer.  Yet, the central issue of Christianity deals with that question.  The vast majority of people who have lived, or ever will live have never discovered the purpose for which they were born in the first place.  

Many unique messages can be found on tombstones as we noted earlier.  But almost all of them contain three basic elements:  The date of birth, the date of death, and a dash that separates the two.  We do not control the date of our birth, nor do we control the date of our death.  Oh, but some would argue that people who commit suicide control the date of their death.  Not so.  In fact, have you not heard of “attempted suicide?”  People try to kill themselves but for one reason or another they fail to do so.  Even in cases where a person does commit suicide, it is not outside of God’s control.  The Bible teaches clearly in Psalm 139:16, among other places:

¹⁶ Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

We do not control the date of our birth, nor the date of our death, but we do have a great measure of control in regard to the “dash” that separates these two events.  Being born is not great accomplishment (except for the mother perhaps).  Dying is common to all men so it is nothing of note.  But that dash!  What about that dash.

Every person that is born is born with the same purpose.  Look at verse 11, noting especially the last few words: ¹¹ and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We live and move and have our being in order to please God and bring glory to Him.  That purpose never changes.  Whether we praise God by beating a hollow log or praise Him with a sophisticated modern instrument, the purpose of our life is the same.  Whether we travel as our forebears did by horseback across the country, or whether we travel into space like Buzz Aldrin in a spaceship, the purpose for our lives is always the same:  “to bring glory to our God and Father.”  Now, what must we do?

Here’s the unique thing about Christianity—we don’t DO anything.  It has already been DONE.  DO. . .DONE!  Say that with me: DO --  DONE.  This is what verses 6-8 are all about:

6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

Look also at verses 12-13:  ¹² So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³ For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.

Even the “good we do” is God working in us to get it done. In this sense, God even controls the “dash” on our tombstone. We can bring glory to God if we simply “let him work IN us . . . to work OUT His good purpose.

As we said earlier, it is clear that human nature does not change.  We see evidence of that on a daily basis on the news.  But, we can see the same evidence every day simply by looking in the mirror.  As Paul said, “All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23).  What did we fall short of:  “the glory of God.”  

What really is sin, defined in its simplest form:  “sin is missing the target” (Greek, harmatia).  Sin is simply failing to live according to the purpose for which God created you—to bring glory to Him.  Sin is simply “doing as you please,” instead of “doing what pleases God.”  This is the root of all the evil, darkness, and despair in our world—people living with NO purpose or the WRONG purpose.  You will never have a sense of satisfaction in life if you do not align your life with the purpose of bringing glory to God with your every deed and every thought.  Though everything in our world does and will change—the purpose for which you and I were created will never change.  We are born to bring glory to God, Our Father.

If the Lord tarries, 100 years from now you may “teleport” yourself to church—or perhaps send your clone or hologram.  I hope not, but if we do, the purpose will not change however.  We live and breathe to “bring glory to God our Father.”  

Even in our wildest imaginations we cannot conceive of some of the changes that are coming in our future, just like I could never have imagined as a child, I’d one day have a real, working Dick Tracy Watch!

But, the real important issues will never change:  human nature, the wages of sin, the death rate, and the purpose of God.  Think big thoughts.  Live for eternity.  As one historian said, “learn that little things are little and big things are big.”  Live to bring glory to God, Our Father and you won’t have to worry no matter how much every thing changes.

Earlier we read Romans 6:23, the first part.  Let me share that complete verse: ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God offers each of us a very special gift:  eternal life through Jesus Christ.  Whereas sin is simply failing to live according to God’s purpose, salvation can be simply defined as “completely fulfilling God’s purpose” through surrendering to Jesus Christ as the Lord of Life.  Why not get started on living out God’s purpose, today.

Tightrope Tips for the New Year

January 5, 2020

Tightrope Tips

Isaiah 43:1-7                             NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS—Sometimes (oftentimes) life is like a tightrope, but trusting in God will get you to the other side.

VIDEO:  NIK WALLENDA’S NIAGRA WALK

READING:  PSALM 43:1-7

1.  There Will Be Tightropes! (v2)

² I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.

In the HCSB the conjunction (or adverb), “when” appears three times. It is the translation of a little Hebrew word, “ki,” which is a conjunction that means, “during the time that.”  “Ki” only appears twice in the Hebrew of this text but is implied the third time.  In fact, the sentence begins with the word, “ki, or when.”  Most translations keep the word order of the Hebrew. 

The point being is that tightropes, or difficult circumstances, are a given in life.  It is not a matter of “if,” but a matter of “when.”  One of the statements Nik Wallenda made in an interview was, “Walking tightropes is in my blood.”  He is the “seventh” generation of the Flying Wallendas.  He had planned this walk across Niagra since visiting the falls as a little boy.  For him, it was not a matter of “if,” but “when.”  It took many years and his entire fortune to get the chance to cross those falls on a wire.

Most of us do not go looking for the difficulties that come into our lives.  We’d rather avoid them.  But, of course, we can’t.  Difficulties will come in life.  The best time to prepare for the “tightropes” we face in life is before we face them.  If you have been listening, even with just one ear, for the last four years, I often warn people of the necessity to be prepared for the hard times that will surely come.  The Bible says (Prov 22:3),

³ A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,

but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.

This is such an important principle that it is recorded almost word for word twice in the Book of Proverbs (see, Prov. 27:12).

Here’s one woman’s story about facing difficulty.  One rainy evening, my husband, John, and I emerged from a restaurant only to find that he had locked the keys in the car. He insisted he could open the door with a wire coat hanger, so we went back to therestaurant to get one. There were none to be found. John then ran to a department store a quarter-mile away and returned with a hanger. After a few attempts, he got the door open and we climbed in. As we sat there, soaked and cold, John stuck the hanger under his seat. With a smug grin, he said, "Now if this ever happens again, I'll have one."

Well, John was “half-right.”  He realized there would likely be a next time.  One thing we can count on in life:  Trouble!

Tightrope Tip #1:  There Will Be Tightropes

2.  When the Waters Are Raging It Is a Good Time to Pray

One of the “tools of the trade” for a tightrope walker is a long, flexible pool to help the walker keep his balance.  Most people—if they think about it at all—think the pole has something to do with changing the center of gravity.  In fact, the pole deals with another property of physics called, “moment of inertia.”  Stated simply the pole helps the walker keep forward moment in a straight line, or we would say, “stay balanced.”  This happens by placing a significant mass far away from the body.  Moment of Inertia is the rotational equivalent of Newton’s Law of Inertia—but, you could probably get by without knowing that.  I’m sure I’ve already told you more than you want to know.  It’s a “math” thing.

My point is that “prayer” is like the balancing pole.  The Laws of Physic dictate that an object will continue in a straight line unless and until acted upon by external forces.  Applying this principle spiritually we would say that our lives continue in a relative straight line until the winds of circumstances blow us off course.  Prayer, keeps us on course.  Prayer adds the additional weight of God’s Providence to our lives.  This is why the Bible is saturated with the prayers of men and women who found themselves on a “tightrope.”

A classic example is Psalm 69:1:   Save me, God,

for the water has risen to my neck.

If you were listening closely to the video clip you would have heard Nik Wallenda praying as he crossed the wire.  When he departed the American side of the Falls, the mist was so thick he could not see the Canadian side.  The ear-splitting noise and swaying wire made it  difficult for Wallenda to stay focused.  Also, he said that when he looked down there was the massive flow of the water moving everywhere, and when he looked up, there was the thick mist.  It was nearly impossible to concentrate.  But for the entirety of his half an hour ordeal he praised God and prayed.  He said, “I felt a sense of peace.”  This is exactly what prayer does.  Isaiah said,

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you (Is 26:3).

This is how it is in life when we find ourselves on a tightrope.  Circumstances make it difficult to concentrate on moving ahead. Prayer is our “balancing pole.”  Prayer allows us to keep moving ahead even though the waters are raging all around us.

Tightrope Tip #2:  When The Waters Are Raging, It Is a Good Time to pray.

3.  Accept the Safety Line God Offers (v1, 2, 3)

Like many prophecies, this one is written in the “first person,” that is from God’s own lips.  Look at verse 1:

Now this is what the Lord says—

In seven (7) verses God refers to Himself eleven (11) times.  This Psalm is all about “chaos, trouble, and difficulty.”  Look again at verse 2:  ² I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you.

Waters, rivers, and scorching fire all point to chaotic, difficult circumstances of the highest order.  The great danger in dangerous circumstances is that we “lose sight of our footing.”  Spiritually speaking, trouble causes us to “take our eye off of Jesus.”  When we do that, we step right into disaster. 

Life will never work for you if you do not realize that you are a part of God’s Master Plan.  History is the unfolding of His Plan.  God will not fail.  We will fail many times, but God will not fail.  God is running the show.  That’s why there are eleven (11) personal references to Himself in seven (7) verses. 

Now, here’s the deal—even though history is the unfolding of God’s plan, and God’s plan will not—cannot—fail, we as God’s children fail many times. The fact is that in spite of all our prayer and all our devotion to the Lord, or more often the lack thereof, oftentimes we are going to fall.  We are going to end up in raging waters or scorching flames.  That’s why verse 3 is so important:

³ For I Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior, give Egypt as a ransom for you.

God identifies Himself with the Covenant Name that He gave to Moses when Moses was faced with the task of delivering God’s people from bondage in Egypt.  The name, Yahweh, uniquely identifies God as the Savior of man.  We wouldn’t need a Savior if we never fell off the wire. In fact, we do fall off the wire many times.

God is our “safety harness.”  Israel was at the time of this passage in exile to Babylonia.  Babylonia would be conquered by Persia and the Persian King, Cyrus, would set the Israelites free after 70 years in bondage.  For this, God would give the Persians Egypt and others as a payment for the kindness to His people—a “ransom” according to verse 3.

This remarkable prophecy was but a foreshadowing of God’s ultimate ransom that He paid (to Himself) when Jesus died on the cross.  1Tim2:5-6 tells us:  ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, ⁶ who gave Himself—a ransom for all

That’s God’s business—Saving those who have fallen.  This is a dangerous world but we can walk with confidence if we accept God’s “safety harness,” which means we accept the salvation that God has provided that makes it impossible for us to NOT make it across to the other side.

Nik Wallenda’s great great grandfather, Karl Wallenda, founded the famous daredevil family, “The FlyingWallendas.” His great feats were accomplished with no safety harness and usually no safety net of any kind.  At the age of 73 in 1978, Karl Wallenda attempted a walk between the two towers of the ten-story Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on a wire stretched 121 ft above the pavement.  The cameras continued to roll as Karl Wallenda lost his balance and plunged 121 ft. to his death.

In the case of Nik Wallenda’s walk across the falls, ABC who put up $1.3 million for the walk insisted that Nik Wallenda where a safety harness.  Nik Wallenda resisted, but the big money won out.  ABC knew that there was no guarantee Wallenda would make it to the other side and they wanted the walk to be “successful.”  Nik Wallenda’s feat is no less spectacular because he was wearing a safety harness.  But, in the likely possibility he fell, nothing would be hurt but his ego.

Tightrope Tip #3:  Make Sure You Accept God’s Safety Harness Which is Jesus Christ.

4.  You Created For Success To the Glory of God (v7)

Look at verse 5:  ⁵ Do not fear, for I am with you.

Someone has counted and the command, “fear not,” appears 365 times in the Bible.  That’s one for every day of the year.  Another person counted 366, which even covers leap year.  I confess, I’ve never counted but I know it is a bunch.

Get this if you get nothing else this morning:  “Yahweh wants you to succeed more than you could possibly imagine.”  This is why Paul declared, “ if God be for us—and He is—who can be against us!”

We need not “fear” anything because we don’t walk the wire alone.  God is with us.  The Bible states what should be obvious (Rom 8):

³⁰ And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified. ³¹ What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

It should be obvious:  With God—Success is Predetermined.

Failure—ultimate failure—simply is not an option.  I’m sure most of you are familiar with the movie starring Tom Hanks titled simply, “Apollo 13.”  This is a true-life drama based upon space mission, Apollo 13 that went horribly wrong.  The crew of Apollo 13 were stuck in space about 170,000 miles from earth with a crippled spaceship from a loss of power.  Oxygen was getting low, the Carbon Dioxide scrubber was broken.  There seemed to be absolutely nothing Mission Control could do but watch painfully as the crew was lost in space.

However, failure is not a class in the coursework to become involved in the space program.  The leader of Ground Control, Gene Kranz, was asked once in an interview, “"Weren't there times when everybody, or at least a few people, just panicked?" His answer was "No, when bad things happened, we just calmly laid out all the options, and failure was not one of them.”  That phrase, “failure is not an option,” has become part of America’s common diction.

That is so true of God’s children.  Failure just isn’t an option for those who trust fully in God’s Providence and Power.  Look at verse 7:

⁷ everyone called by My name and created for My glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him.”

The great tragedy of evolution is that it turns the whole creation upside-down.  In evolution “failure IS the option.” Trial and error, chaotic, cosmotic episodes control everything.  It’s all about failure and improvement.  It’s all about chance and chaos.

God did not make Adam to fail.  God did not leave Adam in his failure.  God has always known what He would do with Adam’s sin. As Isaiah reminds us,”we are created for God’s glory.”  We are destined for success in order, that by our success, we bring glory to God.

We are designed for success and built for blessing.  That’s how God rolls. About 15 minutes into his half-hour ordeal Wallenda spoke into his mike, “I’m strained. . . I’m drained. This is so physical, not only mental but physical. . . my hands are going numb.  I feel like I am getting weak.” He still had halfway to go.  He continued through the pain and physical struggle.  Just a few steps from the Canadian side he ran to his waiting family and a roaring crowd.  He did it.  His first words off the wire were, “I am so blessed.”

Believers are “blessed.”  We are built for blessing.  That does not mean we never experience “failures”—we do, and some of them can be devastating.  But the fact remains that we are “created for His glory!” (v7).  God is with us and He wants us to succeed.  He wants us to make it across the tightropes of life.  That’s our destiny.  Every step of the way, God is with us.

Tightrope Tip #4:  You Are Created for Success to the Glory of God

Now, I doubt if any of us in this room will be walking across Niagra Falls on a 2-inch wire anytime soon.  But, probably sooner than we would like we will be on some “tightrope” over some raging waters or we will find ourselves in some “scorching circumstance.”  It is in these times that we need to remember what Isaiah outlines for us:

#1:  There Will Be Tightrope Times
#2:  When the Waters are Raging, It’s a Good Time to Pray
#3:  Accept the Safety Harness of God’s Gift of Salvation
#4.  Remember:  You are Created for Success to the Glory of God.

Sometimes (oftentimes) life is like a tightrope, but trusting in God will get you to the other side.

See it done—then do it!