Farewell to the Foundations

Foundation of God's purpose and God's plan and God's power. This is fitting into his design for us for our church for our country for our world.

Ultimately, for his kingdom. So whenever we do see those things which are dear to our heart and they crumble and they may be gone. Remember underneath them is a foundation. It will never, never. Maybe you've seen examples of times when evil men seem to prosper in godless ideas are adopted. I'm sure you have and so did King David. This is wisdom for the heart with Stephen David today Stephen begins a series from the Psalms.

It's called the song, volume 2. In today's lesson he's taking us to the first three verses of Psalm 11 where will see King David's perspective on how we should respond to moral decay in our culture. Here Stephen with today's lesson in a 1934 of the veterans of wars across out in the Mojave Desert. It was a memorial to all of those who fell during world war one. The cross was only 7 feet tall rather small and they placed on a stony outcropping little hill out in the middle of virtually nowhere to see it. I read you have to leave Los Angeles and drive nearly 4 hours northeast on US Highway 15 there and then turn south on Sema Road two-lane blacktop driver 9 miles until you enter the Mojave National preserve more than likely won't see any other travelers along that road. Once you've arrived at sunset rock will be able to see the cross on top of that little rocky hilltop you will see any other signs. There are no inscriptions, no granite monument, describing it, or even telling you why it's there. Just a simple little white cross, where it has stood for 82 years 2001 the Park service employee sued the government demanding the cross be removed and that began a 10 year battle. It ended not too long ago.

In fact, at one point, the judge ordered that the cross be covered with a plywood box so that it looked more like a billboard, then cross but evidently that wasn't good enough for some reason this was troubling.

This little crossed our national conscience and so you had the American humanist Association. The atheist alliance international the freedom from religion foundation.

The Americans United for separation of church and state people for the American way of the American Civil Liberties Union join in a tent and a campaign to take this cross down this particular case would be battle all the way up to the Supreme Court, and on April 28, 2010. The court narrowly ruled by one vote that this little cross could stay on top of the hill less than two weeks later, thieves cut the mounting bolts and got rid of the cross is never been seen since even in the Mojave Desert were almost no one ever sought the cross was and is a foundation marker that must go in more recent days, the interfaith group called the American clergy leadership conference whenever your clergy run.

They are calling for churches. By the way, everywhere in this country to remove their crosses, their spokesman said that the cross was a symbol of oppression and it represented an attitude of superiority. It strikes me that the apostle Paul, the same problem to the knee with his cultured different people different reasons and in yet. It is a it is a troubling marker. So he writes to the Corinthians that the preaching of the cross is to the Jews stumbling block it in the way and to the Greeks. It's stupidity that they could render the word. It's foolishness. Frankly, the desire of our unbelieving world and operation of the choir is rehearsing it together is is not just to remove the foundation. It is to remove any memory of the founder. But the bigger issue and the trouble is the real danger to any culture and, in any country and the apostle Paul. By the way, the never forget lived in it, is that when you remove the absolute proposition of the existence of a creator God invites into your own personal life into your generation into your own culture into your own nation all sorts of harm all sorts of danger and error. It was famously written by Dostoyevsky that that famous quote if there is no God, anything is permissible. Anything is permissible because Geske was a Russian author and he was forbidden by the weight of the red during Joseph Stalin's reign when Stalin came to power and interestingly enough, Stalin's own daughter Svetlana his biography. I tried to read this summer just came out a massive biography about that.

Think about 400 pages and I got through 300 and finally gave up and skip the last to prevent how she died.

At any rate, Svetlana Wood would sneak into her room and and read her forbidden novels by this. Yes she would. By the way, later defected the United States die just a couple years. He would think of the truth of that if there is no god then anything is permissible and what has become permissible today. It is an even headline news for all that long for abortionists to be caught on tape talking of crunching bones and baby parts for sale. I just this month, California's assembly voted not to restrict abortion or try to encourage women to realize that the baby there carrying more than likely by then has fingernails and heartbeats. They voted to force pro-life pregnancy healthcare centers into posting announcements that these women could obtain a free abortion covered by Medi-Cal and they were even required there even now required to post those signs and is demanded that they post them in 24 font type large enough so that they can all see free abortion here in a pregnancy pro-life help center that's that's like posting a big announcement at an alcoholics anonymous meeting that free beer is available after the meeting and how ridiculous is that with the exclusion of God.

The value of life is one of those foundation markers, the disorder goes away.

In fact, more chilling will be the fact that the elderly will have less and less of a defense for living.

I was given this article in a recent bioethics conference, a professor of theology, no less. Give a lecture where she said that personhood is not automatically given the human being. It is assigned by culture, chilling, think third Reich and Jews, she said and I quote an Alzheimer's patient without any memory and without people to care for them. Ceases to be a person someone who still has friends or family who love and remember them maintain their personhood.

I cannot but wonder what she will think if she ends up with Alzheimer's. Wednesday when I personhood anyway. You remove the creator and all that's up for grabs. You remove the wonderful discovery where were Jeremiah and Osama say you God ordained might be you. You know who I am.

I something someone I have personhood before him even delivered to get rid of the creator and and everything is out for grabs one of the described just now, moving into what he called in his journal article, a genderless wasteland where people are no more born male or female, but where they determine their own gender and should they choose to change their gender. They are applauded as heroes act a few months ago, Rob Bell, an apostate former pastor who built a large church in Michigan. He was being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on her wonderfully theologically correct television show in which this former Protestant pastor best-selling by the way, who just wrote a book. Ironically, on marriage said this my quote marriage, gay and straight is a gift to the world because the world needs more, not less. Love and Oprah interrupted him and asked when is the church going to get that he responded were close were moments away from the church accepting in his right that this church but the church at large. It has picked up its own eraser and clergy are helping as if there enthusiastically gleefully able to participate in and removing foundation's and remind you, the beloved.

What were facing is it isn't new to the scope of church history is not caught God offguard and and and I want us to have this new sense of vision and mission that God has chosen to call us to summon us to this particular generation. In this particular country at this particular point.we all need to need to carry in our hearts sends of the responsibility of being able to answer the questions being able to respond with grace and truth to be able to answer the questions that are raised about these Scriptures and our God and our views and our morals is, as I've said to this congregation before and I'll say it again. We we are not living anymore in a post Christian culture. We are living in a pre-Christian culture.

This is the time when Jesus Christ decided to create the church and by the dissent of the Holy Spirit. It was created in that generation. So for us, the more we look like them, the more it might be in the mind of God, the perfect time to be a church. Now I don't want you to misunderstand by the analogy to history that isn't previous to me to see values and virtues turned upside down. It is deeply troubling to me to see because I know the hurt. The were only inviting culture wide to to see God erase from our landscape. It's discouraging for me to see the White House bathed in rainbow colors in honor of the supreme courts decision to knowingly, willfully defy God. Don't misunderstand my reference to historical analogy, it is tragic to see any culture, especially my this is my country and jurors to see it literally given over the swamp of drugs and alcohol and pornography, and abortion, and greed and promiscuity. All of it justified all of it magnified all of it now applauded. I agree with one of our country's forefathers who was already concerned 200 years ago when he said indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and that his justice will not sleep forever.

So the question for us is what we do, how do we respond in every generation in every nation 1° or another.

The church has to answer this question.Dr. Arnold Gable life. Now the Lord, a Bible scholar of great renown called this the burning question of the day. He wrote that in 1939. This happens to be the question of King David, songwriter, and that David thought this was so significant that he handed it to his choirmaster and he said I want you to put this in the music because I want the nation singing this David's question is as critical today as it was what was compose 3000 years ago so I've selected this on the beginner series and I want to turn the Psalm 11 Psalm 11. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do not know what you notice here when he when he says what he doesn't he doesn't say what is the righteous do. When the roof falls in notice what you do when the door won't open the windows get stuck not only saying what you do when the very foundation upon which life around you was supported is destroyed.

That is the burning question of the back to verse one. David actually begins with a statement of trust and dependence is really a statement of faith.

The first phrase in the Lord. I take refuge, he doesn't write in my kingdom I take refuge in my generation.

I take refuge in my house in my little world where I live.

I take refuge in Yahweh I'm secure. The commentators are hard-pressed to try to identify exactly the trouble David is facing here when he writes the song. Some of them are little easier to today. This one is sweeter when Saul was tracking him down and there on those rocky bluffs.

He runs for his life. They don't know. It could possibly be when Absalom has successfully just about nearly completed his coup d'état and and David is on the Rhine in David's closest counselor has betrayed him turn against that we don't know. But here's what we do know we do know that someone who follows after God is not guaranteed a smooth ride. That's what we do because he's writing this we do know that we have not been given from God the right of approval. King David, here is his and marginalizing run for his life. He's out there in the wilderness and and this example at least gives us the principle to to apply when you follow God. That doesn't mean that what I really just settles down. People applaud you people appreciate you people give you a chair at the table and welcome you.

The church is been diluted afraid for decades the world will now become with the world's always been in the masks will come down so notice. Here is the advice he has this conversation knowing that name the person is talking back to someone and he says how can you say to my soul. By the way, that means this advice that is about the year or has heard has affected him deeply. How can you say something that is impacted my my very soul. What is this advice fleeing as a burden to the mountain run David run hi Charlie, I know that that your only option right you can't fight like a little bird can't defend yourself fly away to safety. A woman came up to me after the church service today and she said I have friends that are talking about going and buying property and building the commune and disappear.

Our mission is not to escape our world.

Our mission is to gauge our world with the gospel.

But let's not minimize the danger that notice first to form a hold. David writes the wicked. This person says to David, the wicked and the boat they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. In the darkness, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint says in a moonless night just to sort of increase the drama in the moonless night you are in the sites of an archer. This is another way of saying David, you're a sitting duck nighttime. There's an archer here in the open Uranus sites you don't have a chance. These advisors are actually using verb tenses that really ratchet up the tension. In fact, if I translated it with those tenses in mind, it would be along the lines of the sun is already set. They have already pulled back the string they have already set the arrow they already have you in their sights, and you can't see them because it's dark so I got a firing squad. This is the moment where you hear that man shall ready aim is that brief moment the David's writing this is nothing you can do.

I saw cartoon once were two men are pictured standing against the wall or facing a firing squad tied up the blindfolded, the common on shouts ready aim and one guy turns the other and says I have a plan you don't have a plan between aim and fire is why the first stanza of the song ends with the question how hopeless can it be how difficult can it be how gut wrenching can it be the enemies of that which I believe David said they borrowed a stronger bar. They set their arrow they have me in their sights. There's nowhere to go and his friends come along and say we got we got a plan. One thing you can do is hope you try to do a little bird and flyaway which doesn't help at all because you can turn into a little bird fly away. You gotta get up tomorrow morning and reenter the rat race and face the pressure what you do when the foundations are destroyed crumbling gone the word David uses for foundation is a rare word. It comes from a Hebrew word meaning the settled order of things. David is is for likening society to a building this culture his life to a building in the foundations of society are long and order and in truth and justice and morality and decency and integrity on down the line right all the virtues you think when the unrighteous in darkness shoot away effectively by Justin David or the believer, but the very foundations filling them with arrows bringing them to not what you do when the foundational principles of right and wrong are destroyed. David will answer that question in his second stanza eight different ways and we will expound on all eight of them in our next session. In the meantime, only giving this to reassure you in your soul. There is a foundation underneath the foundations there. There is a granite foundation under the sandstone crumbling foundations of our culture.

It is the granite foundation of God's purpose and God's plan and God's power.

He isn't saying oh my, this is fitting into his design for us for our church for our country for our world.

Ultimately, for his kingdom.

So whenever we do see those things which are dear to our heart and they crumble and they may be gone. Remember underneath them is a foundation and it will never ever crumble. Thanks for joining us as we begin this series from the book of entitled the song volume 2. You've been listening to wisdom for the heart. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey and you can learn more about us. If you visit our website which is wisdom online.org you'll be able to access the complete archive of Stephen's Bible teaching ministry. We also post each day's broadcast. So if you ever miss one of these lessons, you can go to our website and keep caught up with our daily Bible teaching the archive of Stephen's teaching is available on that site free of charge and you can access it anytime@wisdomonline.org in addition to equipping you with these daily Bible lessons. We also have a magazine that magazine includes articles written by Stephen that explore various topics related to the Christian life.

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