“What God Has Prepared for Those
Who Love Him”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Throughout human history, mankind has been obsessed with a relentless
quest to discover the future. The ancients called it divination. Certain signs in nature were said to portend certain events. We
still have a remnant of this in the old saying, “Red sky at morning, sailor take
warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” It was to this ancient adage
Jesus himself was referring when he said, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will
be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be
stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the
appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.’” Astrology has also been used in an attempt to discover the future, from
25,000 year-old cave paintings with amazingly detailed star charts, to Nancy
Reagan having a White House astrologer whose predictions actually determined her
husband’s schedule. It is possible the Wise Men were referring to some
astrological event when they said, “Where is he who has been born King of the
Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” One of the most common, yet quite bizarre, forms of divination in
ancient times is called “extispicy” which means “to inspect the entrails.”
Animals of various types would be slaughtered, and their entrails, in particular
their livers, examined for certain signs. Every beginning student of
classical Greek translates Xenophon’s “Anabasis,” recounting in detail a famous
ancient Greek military campaign. One of the most striking and surprising
things for a modern reader is how every single battle is preceded by a
slaughtering of animals and a report from the diviners. Every action these
mighty ancient warriors took was obsessively dictated by such omens. In contrast to the prevailing customs in the rest of the ancient world,
the Bible strictly forbids all such occultic practices: “Let no one be found
among you . . . who practices divination, or sorcery, or interprets omens . . .
Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.” But, even today
in our modern, scientific society, many still try in vain to discover the
future, through such occultic means as horoscopes, palm reading, crystal balls,
tarot cards. And, it’s not only such forbidden, occultic practices that modern man
uses to try to discover the future. We carefully follow weather forecasts,
stock market predictions, economic projections, pundits’ prognostications.
After the past few days of unusually warm weather, will it turn cold again, or
is this the end of winter this year? Are agricultural prices going up or
down? Is the stock market going to continue surging or plunge? Of
course, this year both the presidential election and the Superbowl showed us
just how spectacularly wrong the experts can be, how impossible it is to predict
the future. The Apostle Paul writes about this mystery surrounding the future in
today’s Epistle Reading: “As it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,’ but God has
revealed it to us by his Spirit.” Winston Churchill wisely observed that if we knew with certainty the
FUTURE, it would make it impossible for us to function in the PRESENT.
Imagine if the players had known in advance who was going to win that surprising
Superbowl. It would have made it impossible for them to play. It is
a blessing, Churchill said, that Providence has wisely drawn a veil for us over
future events. Jesus put it this way, “It is not for you to know the times
or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” But, there are some things God does reveal, does want you to know for
certain about your future. “As it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has
heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,’ but
God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” The reason we humans are so apprehensive about the future is because we
know what we all deserve on account of our sins. “For the wages of sin is
death,” Paul says in Romans. We know that on account of our sins we
deserve a future filled with doom, death, and damnation. “For the wages of
sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.” That is the Good News, “God has revealed to us . . . by his Spirit.”
The Good News that God’s own Son paid the wages of sin for you, by his death on
the cross. The Good News that on account of his life, death, and
resurrection, your sins are all forgiven. The Good News that because of
his Son’s sacrifice God has prepared for you a future NOT filled with doom,
death, and damnation, but in Christ you have both a present right now and an
eternal future filled with pardon, peace, and God’s blessings, both in this life
and the world to come. “As it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has
heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,’ but
God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” Perhaps you’ve done the team-building exercise where you overcome your
fears and let yourself fall back into the arms of another. In the same
way, you don’t have to fear the future, but instead trustingly commit your
future to God, and fall back into the strong arms of your loving, heavenly
Father. There’s an old saying that puts it this way: “I know not what the
future holds, but I know who holds the future.” In Romans, Paul reassures you that you don’t need to fear your future
in this life: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . .
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And, at the Last Supper, Jesus reassures you that you also don’t need
to fear your ultimate future in eternal life: “Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms;
if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
take you to be with me.” There is a verse in Jeremiah that sums it up beautifully: “‘For I know
the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” God has prepared for you a future filled with pardon, peace, and his
blessings, both in this life, and the world to come. “As it is written: ‘No eye
has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for
those who love him,’ but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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