Jeremiah 32:40; John 5:24  “Security in an Insecure World” – Perseverance of the Saints

                Every day we are bombarded with the idea that our world is not secure.  It seems like every time I turn the TV on, a security firm is showing a commercial of (usually a woman) getting robbed- but the security alarm went off just in time and they are now safe (thanks to Brinks or ADT).    August 3 the Detroit airport was shut down by a piece of carry- on baggage.  July 30 the whole Charlotte airport was shut down by “a harmless electronic device” in a suitcase.   Flights were delayed at this major hub for 90 minutes.  We live in a world of amber alerts, of red-orange-yellow levels.  I appreciate security, and the people who help us to be secure so we can be free.  But there also is a balance, or we can lose our freedom in the name of security and out of fear.  Fear and security, historically, are the two major weapons of oppressive regimes.  North Korea uses it well with their people.  When I was in Cuba in 1993, the revolution was maintained in part by a constant fear that the United States was going to invade the country.  They had sporadic drills throughout the weak.  Such drills, I believe, were designed to force the people to support the army and the regime.  Both North Korea and Cuba have come close to the brink of starvation, but they maintain their huge armies out of fear.  It seems to me that an inordinate amount of time on my computer is spent on security issues (passwords, anti-virus programs, anti-spam programs)- and I still have viruses popping up.  The world is scared of swine flu.  In Peru everyone at the airport was wearing masks.  All the schools in the country were shut down for weeks and they only had 24 cases in the whole country.  Freedom and life is not found in a concrete bunker with a padded cell in the center. 
                What does this have to do with faith?  The truth is, in this world there is no ultimate security.   There is no investment that will always yield positive returns.  There is no way to fully insulate ourselves from hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, drought, illness, recession, swine flu.  This life is not eternal- the recognition that this life is not all there is brings balance to an obsession with security and selfish naval gazing.  Our ultimate security will not be found in any government, in any barrier, in any security system, army, or doctor- but it is only found in God. 

                Our security should be in God.  When we place our security in any other place, it is an illusion.   Sadly, false security can be harmful to us- like the mirage of water in the desert.  Sometimes even in South Carolina,on a hot August day  you can look down the road and think you see water when there is none.  But when you are thirsty for water in the desert and you are pursuing an mirage instead of what makes sense, it can lead to disaster and death.  We have illusions that our beauty will last forever- but it doesn’t.  We have illusions that our intelligence will last forever, but it fades, and much is not past on to the next generation.  We have illusions that our strength and health will last forever, but it fades as well.  Our money and wealth will not last- the recession is a reminder of that, but none of us can take it with us.  It makes sense that the One who made us, who created all we see- whom some have called the “ground of being” is the solid rock, the faithful one, the One we can count on.  Our hope is not in what will fade or rust or can be stolen or destroyed by other people.  Our hope is in the One who is eternal and promises eternity to us. 
                Pride keeps us in our state of false security.  In fact, pride often gives us false security.  The proud king Ahaz of Judah in the Old Testament conquered Edom, and thought that because he so easily conquered Edom and had a larger army, he could also conquer Israel, but he was utterly defeated and taken into captivity and humiliated.  One journalist wrote about Pearl Harbor in September of 1941- A Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world, with one chance in a million of being successful. Besides having more powerful defenses than any other post under the American Flag, it is protected by distance.”  The Titanic was called “unsinkable.”  One hundred and fifty years ago South Carolina led the world in rice production- now no rice is produced here.  Fifty years ago in Iquitos Peru, rubber barons ruled, today no rubber is produced there.  Twenty years ago who would have thought that land line phones and pay phones would be bad investments?  Now they are dying dinosaurs.  Thirty years ago it was unthinkable that GM would go bankrupt- as GM goes, so goes America they said.  I believe God is saying to us, “wake up!”  Peal the film off of your eyes that is blinding you to what is real.  Turn back with your whole heart to the One who made you, redeemed you, and gives you eternal hope and security.
                Let me say a few words about the promises, guarantees, and security of God.  He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  He said, “Lo I am with you always.”  He said, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.”  Eternal life does not begin after we die.  God is concerned about our life right now.  The assurance and security God offers us makes a difference in the way we live our lives right now.  Historically, those who are assured of their faith- take more faith-like risks and are braver- even in the face of persecution.  I am thinking about the French Huguenots who faced open persecution, or the Scottish Covenanters. 

                This doctrine I have been talking about is often called “the perseverance of the saints.”  It is about the idea that our security is in God, and that He helps us to persevere in our faith (despite trials and temptations) until the end.   So let me shift gears, from the basis of our security, to our need to persevere.  They go hand in hand. 

                There is no doubt that Christians are called to persevere.  We are told by Jesus to persevere in prayer- to ask and keep on asking.  Do not give up if your prayer is not answered right away.  We are told to persevere through our trials and our crosses that we bear.  Our trials shape us, our troubles draw the believer closer to God (James 1; Rom. 8).   We are told to persevere in doing good works- to not grow weary in doing good (Gal. 6:9,10).  We are told to persevere in our human relationships.  We are taught to love and to forgive- and those two things show up best when there is tension in a relationship (Eph. 4).  When someone rubs you the wrong way- or even becomes your enemy- you are still called to be a person of persevering love- turning the other cheek.  We are taught to persevere in the church.  The Bible never ever says to leave the church.  In fact, in Revelation it gives examples of churches that are lukewarm, that have rampant sexual immorality, and bad doctrine.  The advice to those who still believe is to “hold on to what you have” and “to him who overcomes will be given the crown of life.” 

                In our culture, if something is not working well, we are taught to trash it and go on to the next theory, the next solution.  So, there is a merry-go-round in our churches.  If you don’t like the preacher, the Bible study leader, or if someone rubs you the wrong way- we just head off to the church down the road, or quit coming.  The focus in such things is not God, but our own consumer taste.  If two churches can’t make you happy, it is doubtful you will find peace in a third or fourth church.  Our relationships are in a mess.  There are so many strained and broken hearts and families where we just get tired of the junk and quit- broken hearts and lives are left as the result.   Our volunteer organizations, service clubs, and churches are not growing (holding steady at about 26.4%).  They are losing as many people as are coming in.   People get tired of bad attitudes or get bad attitudes themselves.   We have more comfort than any other culture in our world, and in the history of our world, yet we face trials and troubles worst than anyone.  Violence and depression are two bad ways of handling troubles, and yet they are more common in our culture than most.  We also do not persevere in prayer as much as many Christians in other cultures.  South Korea’s Christians stand in stark contrast to us for their every day 5:00 A.M. prayer meetings- and they have as many Christians there as at the main 11:00 Sunday service.  They have Friday night all-night prayer meetings.  So many of the Christians in Asia, Africa, South America value prayer and worship so much more than we do.  When we were in Peru- the singing at the church next to the mission compound started about 6:30 A.M. Sunday and went on intermittently until about 8:30 P.M. that night.  American Christians have somehow lost our stickability, our persistence, our perseverance.  I wonder if in our comfort our worship has become focused more on our comfort than glorifying God.  When we visited these churches in Peru- they had no electricity.  This means- no lights, no copies of bulletins, no air conditioning.  But people came anyway- often barefoot to worship the living God who gives them hope and meaning every day.  America’s concern with its own comfort and lack of loyalty to higher causes has not always been true, but it is true now.  What we have called “The Greatest Generation”  was known for its faithfulness to God, to country, to marriage, and loyal to its church.  God is still the same.  He longs for us to take him seriously.  We have become faithless.  It is time to turn away from our faithlessness and turn back to God. 

Our hope of persevering is not so much in our faithfulness as in the root of our faithfulness- which is God.  We are faithful to Him because He is faithful to us. 
                One of my professors, Ben Lacy Rose, told me that there are two popular theories of salvation- the cat theory and the monkey theory.  He said it boils down to the cat carries its young in its mouth and by the neck.  The cat is responsible to move them, pick them up, and care for them.  The monkey on the other hand is quite different.  The baby monkey has to grab on to its momma as she swings, and hold on for dear life.  Some believe we have to grab on to God and hang onto him for dear life, while the scriptures teaches it’s all about grace- God cares for us, carries us- when we could not pull ourselves up by our bootstraps (as Pat said last week). 
                Jesus said in our passage recorded in John 5:24- Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. “  Did you get that- if you believe- you have it- right now.  Eternal life is not something you get when you die.  In fact Jesus said we who believe have already crossed over from death to life.  We who believe do not belong to the realm of death, but to the realm of life.  This means nothing can separate us from God’s love.  This means there is grace and meaning and hope, where once there was no grace, little meaning and only an illusion of hope.  God is the One who makes this eternal life real for us.

                A Presbyterian minister (F.B. Mayer) once told the story of two guys who wanted to climb the Matterhorn in the Alps.  It is a very steep, icy mountain.  They hired three guides- so there was a guide, traveler, guide, traveler, guide.  They tied themselves together with rope.  But the last guide lost his footing.  For a minute he was suspended and upheld by the fellow ahead of him, but he lost his toe hold in the ice, and pulled the other two in front of him down.  The only thing that saved them was the first guide who had driven a stake deep into the ice.  His strength and security allowed the other four to regain their footing.  We are like that last guy on the rope.  We have lost our footing, we need solid ground, and someone to pull us back.  Jesus is like that first guide- whose footing was sure, and is able to restore our sure footing, if we persevere.