Trey H. Little

Sermon Text:  Lamentations 3: 19-24

July 10, 2011

Albany, Texas

“We Are Not Consumed”

As I stand in this pulpit this morning I am keenly aware that after this sermon I only have one more opportunity to preach here at MMPC—at least as your pastor. And when I considered this reality I thought to myself:  “I better get to preachin’”!  So much to say—so little time. 

But then I thought—what do I really want the wonderful people of MMPC to hear?  What words of hope could I convey—words for both you and me.

Then the Spirit led me to one of my favorite texts—Lamentations 3: 19-24.

Listen to the word of God.

            It is a 5,000 square foot conference room and intelligence management center.  It is located in the basement of the West Wing of the White House.  It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and his advisors to monitor and deal with crises at home and abroad.  The Situation Room is equipped with the most secure and advanced communications equipment for the President to maintain command and control of the U.S. forces around the world.  It was in The Situation Room where President Obama and his security team monitored the military operations resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011.

At this point, you are probably thinking, “Thanks for the virtual tour of the White House but what does this have to do with us?”

Well, thank you for being so engaged in the sermon this morning.

The primary mission of The Situation Room is to provide current intelligence and crisis support.  It is where people gather to monitor and deal with crises.  Those gathered are there because they want to get all the facts and details they can to assure them they won’t be consumed by the crisis but instead they will be equipped to face it.

I thought to myself—this is a “Situation Room”—we just call it a Sanctuary.

Each and every week we gather here first and foremost to worship the Lord.  But also, we gather here because we are all dealing with “situations” in our lives and we desperately need to be assured that we will not be consumed.

You see, any of us here this morning could be in the midst of a crisis.  Depending on who you are and what you are dealing with determines your crisis.  Perhaps you are in a financial crisis—rising fuel costs; lack of rain and declining financial markets may have sent you into a crisis.  Others of you may be in the midst of a relationship crisis—you have been fighting with your spouse or loved one for weeks and you are losing hope.  Others may feel they are in a life crisis—frantically going about your daily lives trying to figure out what your purpose is on this earth. You may feel like you are at a dead end with your career.  You may be lonely with your kids off to college or you may be facing some difficult challenges with your kids that are still at home. Some may even suggest the church is on the brink of crisis—anxious from the uncertainty of the future—all of which leave you in the need of hope and assurance of the faithfulness of our Lord.

And so we gather here—in “The Situation Room”—we gather here to hear the Truth and Good news that true “Commander in Chief” has got us; He will not leave us stranded; He will not forget about us.  We desperately want to believe the words of the Prophet Isaiah who said, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”  Isaiah goes on to say, “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Someone has said:  “We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope.”

Friends, I will be the first to admit that I am not the most intelligent person in the world---I am not sure I would be the top choice for the National Security Council—but I am smart enough to know that we can trust the word of God regardless of the situation we find ourselves in.  And I would like to brief you on a couple of critical reminders from Lamentations 3.

Listen, problems are inevitable but crisis is a choice. 

Friends, in the months to come problems are inevitable.  There will be things in your personal lives that will just not go the way you had them drawn up.  But also, there will be problems in the life of the church.  Things will go wrong; some things may not get done; some of us will be overwhelmed with grief while others of us will be angry and filled with questions longing for answers.  The fact is, we are imperfect people and therefore, problems are inevitable. 

The author of Lamentations acknowledged the reality of problems and suffering.  Take a look at verses 19-20:  “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.”

One thing I remember as a kid was how I loved going to the neighborhood pool—I would spend hours a day there.  And I loved diving down to the bottom of the pool and seeing how long I could stay at the bottom.  But eventually I would get tired and out of breath and I would have to push off the bottom, almost like a rocket, and shoot up to the top for air.

Verse 21 reminds us that when we have hit bottom we have a choice to make—we can stay on the bottom or we can remember that we can push off and shoot up to the Father in heaven for hope.  The author writes:  “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; BECAUSE of the Lord’s great love WE ARE NOT CONSUMED.”

Friends, no matter what happens in your life—no matter what happens in the life of the church—as believers in Jesus Christ we are never without HOPE!  That is why I believe that crisis is a choice.  We can choose to get so caught up in the problems that when we reach that crucial turning point will we reluctantly turn toward crisis or will we expectantly turn toward HOPE? WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE?

The Lord assures us that if we turn to Him WE ARE NOT CONSUMED.

Do you know why?—because of His great love for you!!

His love for you conquers problems and defuses crisis.  His love for you opens the door for His compassions to walk into your life.  His love for you results in new mercies for you every morning.  His love for you comes with a guarantee that His faithfulness will endure forever.

So here is the question for today—will you wait for Him?

Verse 24 says, “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.”

So, will you wait for Him?

Will you wait for Him to lead you?  Will you wait for Him to provide your next pastor?  Will you wait for Him to comfort you?  Will you wait for Him to provide you with assurance and hope?  Will you wait for Him to heal your broken heart?  Will you wait for Him to give you wings like eagles so that you can soar?

Beginning tomorrow evening the Albany Little League Fireld will be buzzing.  We are hosting the week long District tournament—in which two teams from Albany are playing.  As I thought about this week ahead I was reminded of a Little Leaguer who was playing in the outfield in the first game of a District tournament.  After chasing a long hit and hustling the ball back into the infield, someone asked him how his team was doing and what the score was.  The boy said his team was doing OK, but they were trailing 17-0.

The person asked if he was discouraged about being so far behind, and if he was ready to admit defeat.  His response is one to remember.  He said, “We aren’t beaten—we haven’t even been up to bat yet!”

Friends, problems are inevitable but crisis is a choice—and HOPE is the bat that knocks them both out of the park.

So—whatever your SITUATION today—make ROOM for the LORD!

I will close with Eugene Peterson’s translation of Lamentations 3: 24—I think he hit a homerun with his choice of words.  He writes:  “I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.”

AMEN.