#14
(The “Remember” Series)
“REMEMBER PERSPECTIVE!”
TEXT: Deut.
32:7-14
INTRO: One of the
biggest battles of living is keeping a healthy perspective. Because we cannot see into the future we
have a hard time with perspective of events in the present ... wondering where
things are going. The secret to
living a stable Christian life is the ability to find perspective, and since we
can’t see into the future we need to look to the past for focus. In fact, a longer look back can help us
in great ways; of course we need to be looking at the right things in the past.
The ways God works in our lives can
sometimes only be seen by looking back, and then this will give us confidence
when we need to look forward:
ILLUS: DR. JAMES
M. GRAY, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE, WAS CONVALESCING FROM A
SEVERE ILLNESS. HIS PHYSICIAN,
THINKING THAT A CHANGE OF SCENERY MIGHT BRING THE RELAXATION HIS PATIENT NEEDED,
ADVISED HIM TO TAKE AN OCEAN VOYAGE. BUT JUST WHEN ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE
JOURNEY WERE COMPLETED, DR. GRAY EXPERIENCED AN UNEXPECTED PHYSICAL SETBACK - HE
WAS GREATLY DISAPPOINTED AND BEGAN TO WONDER WHY THE HEAVENLY FATHER HAD ALLOWED
THIS NEW AFFLICTION TO COME. ABOUT
A WEEK LATER HE PICKED UP A NEWSPAPER THAT CARRIED ON THE FRONT PAGE THE
TRAGIC ACCOUNT OF A STEAMER THAT HAD SUNK AFTER STRIKING
So often we question God’s goodness
based on only the momentary pain we are experiencing. When God’s actions are viewed however
through a longer time frame we will often see things in a completely different
perspective, this is one of the reasons we have the Bible stories of yesterday
of God’s mercy and grace, to help us get a handle on today and
tomorrow!
PROP.
SENT: The Bible teaches us to take the
long view of God’s work in our lives, to see the future through the past will
give us a sharper view of the present and of tomorrow; like the song of Annie:
“Tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll love you
tomorrow...”
I. PLAN 32:7
A. Framework 32:7a
1. As Moses is preparing to die and
leave
a. This song would contain vital
teaching that each generation would be able to draw on; music can be an
important vehicle for keeping perspective!
b. Moses’ song was meant to help them
sometime in the future when the temptation might come to forget all about
God’s goodness!
c. Moses of course is assuming that
they are going to hit rough places in life!
2. The framework of how we see
everything in our lives will greatly affect the quality of our
life!
a. Those without an eternal
perspective can only feel dismayed over life’s great tragedies ... because for
them there is no higher purpose for life!
b. Those who believe in God however
have a much greater depth to how they view everything, we are not narrow minded
and only locked to a reality of the temporal when we believe in God, those who
don’t believe limit meaning to only the material
realm!
3. Moses understood (as indeed did
God) that in order for Israel to make it in the future they would have to have
knowledge about the past!
a. It IS the principle learned from
the holocaust: “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat
it!”
b. When crisis hit we tend to get
“spiritual tunnel vision” ... we only see a narrow slice of time, the moment we
are in, this destroys our “depth perception” of reality and of God!
4. It is important to note however
that Moses’ call for them to remember the days of old is not just for nostalgia.
It is for the sole purpose of
helping them keep a healthy perspective and to help them from repeating old
mistakes!
ILLUS: SEVERAL
YEARS AGO FOLLOWING A TERRIBLE HURRICANE ON THE SOUTHEASTERN
B. Future
32:7b
1. Moses explains to them how to find
the future, by asking those who have experienced the past to remember God’s
faithfulness during times of crisis!
2. The wise young person that wants to
get a head start in life over their young contemporaries will learn from the
previous generation!
3. The reason elderly people seem to
have a better handle of life is because they have the years of past experience
to draw upon when a crisis hits to help them not lose confidence in
God!
4. It is ironic that it takes the
past to help us be confident for the future!
5. It is the knowledge of past
victories that give us the drive to face the future and to fight for
it!
ILLUS: IN HIS
BOOK, MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING, VICTOR FRANKL, THE SUCCESSOR OF SIGMUND
FREUD AT VIENNA, ARGUED THAT THE “LOSS OF HOPE AND COURAGE CAN HAVE A DEADLY
EFFECT ON MAN.” AS A RESULT OF HIS
EXPERIENCES IN A NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP, FRANKL CONTENDED THAT WHEN A MAN NO
LONGER POSSESSES A MOTIVE FOR LIVING, NO FUTURE TO LOOK FORWARD TO, HE CURLS UP
IN A CORNER AND DIES ... “ANY ATTEMPT TO RESTORE A MAN’S INNER STRENGTH IN CAMP”
HE WROTE, “HAD FIRST TO SUCCEED IN SHOWING HIM SOME FUTURE GOAL.” – SOURCE UNKNOWN
6. Young people need to hear the
stories of God’s deliverances from their elders; these become a source of
courage and confidence to those young people when they face trials in life
also!
a. You help your
kids with their future when you tell them about God’s work in your
past!
b. This past stuff gives them a
broader framework in which to see God’s might and power, and God’s
faithfulness!
II. PROTECTION 32:8-11
A. Favor 32:8-9
1. God had chosen them. He would therefore not leave them to
forces they could not handle!
2. God’s love was the driving force
behind their victories, especially the ones they didn’t
deserve!
3. God had preserved them because He
loved them, He protected them from the wicked nations around them, He drew
“lines” around them to protect them.
4. This was God’s favor on them; it
wasn’t because they deserved it but because God chose to love
them!
ILLUS: ONE DAY A
SINGLE FRIEND ASKED A FATHER OF FOUR CHILDREN, “WHY DO YOU LOVE YOUR KIDS?” THE
FATHER THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE, BUT THE ONLY ANSWER HE COULD COME UP WITH WAS,
“BECAUSE THEY ARE MINE!” WHY DOES
GOD LOVE US? GOOD QUESTION! THE ONLY ANSWER IS “BECAUSE WE ARE HIS
CHILDREN!” THIS IS WHAT BRINGS
GOD’S FAVOR UPON US. – SOURCE UNKNOWN
5. God chose to love us, and so we can
have confidence in trials that His love will guide the process of every
trial. He is always working out
good in our lives, even when He uses pain!
a. God limits the pain to a level we
can handle.
b. God puts limits around the enemy
and his attacks on our lives!
c. We are under His
protection!
B. Freedom
32:10-11
1. Now Moses proceeds to remind them
of the many events of the wilderness journey and how in a barren land God had
constantly taken care of their every need.
a. It is important that they see the
whole of past events, not just isolated ones.
b. God had never let them starve or
die of thirst, their shoes had never worn out on their feet over the 40 years
they walked through the desert!
c. All these events woven together as
a whole would clearly demonstrate that God was interested in protecting and
helping them.
2. They needed to see the “BIG”
picture of the past to really appreciate God’s love and depth of care for them
as they faced the present and the future.
ILLUS: THE STORY
HAS BEEN TOLD OF A MUSEUM GUIDE WHO WOULD TAKE HIS TOUR GROUP TO A DARKENED
ROOM, SHINE A LIGHT ON A MASS OF STRING, COLOR, AND APPARENT CHAOS AND ASK THE
GROUP, “WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS?”
“I DON’ T KNOW,” WAS THE INEVITABLE REPLY. HE WOULD SAY, “STAND OVER THERE AND
WATCH.” AS THE GROUP MOVED OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM HE WOULD TURN ON A
SPOTLIGHT. IT WAS INSTANTLY
APPARENT THAT THE MASS OF JUMBLED COLORED STRING SEEN JUST A MOMENT EARLIER WAS
IN FACT AN ENORMOUS TAPESTRY ... FROM THE BACK SIDE! THE REAL WORK HAD TO BE SEEN FROM A
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ARTIST WAS CREATING. AND SO IT IS WITH US IN LIFE, WHEN WE
LOOK AT EVENTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ETERNITY WE GET A WHOLE DIFFERENT PICTURE
OF HOW ALL THE STRINGS OF OUR LIFE ARE WOVEN TOGETHER TO PRODUCE A BEAUTIFUL
TESTIMONY OF GOD’S LOVE AND PROTECTION. FROM THE WRONG ANGLE HOWEVER, THIS CAN’T
BE SEEN. – SOURCE UNKNOWN
3. This perspective of God’s constant
protection over our lives gives us the freedom we need to overcome fear when
facing the future!
4. It also gives us freedom from
paralysis in the present ... knowing God’s faithfulness to His children can
protect our hearts from being crushed in present trials as
well.
a. Even when God disciplines us for
doing wrong we can know that His desire is not to crush us but to correct
us!
b. Thus, even His discipline in our
lives gives us certain knowledge that He cares and loves us too much to let us
destroy ourselves!
5. This is real
freedom!
III. PERSONAL 32:12-14
A. Faithfulness 32:12
1. Here Moses wants them to realize
that it wasn’t just good luck or anything else that can take the credit for
there good fortunes ... it was ONLY GOD’S WORK AND FAITHFULNESS to them that
brought them to the promise land!
a. No other gods were
involved.
b. And no good luck was responsible
for their blessings and safety!
2. In other words, Moses wants them to
realize that God was personally involved with them!
a. God is not just a master mechanic
that wound up the universe billions of years ago and now is sitting back in an
easy chair watching us poor humans to see how we make
out!
b. God is a personal God ... He
delights in fellowshipping with each of us individually as well as
collectively.
3. Even though we might be totally
unaware of God’s personal touch it is there! We don’t always realize it but God is
taking care of us and leading us.
ILLUS: WE ARE
SOMEWHAT LIKE APHIDS! THEY ARE
CALLED “PLANT LICE” OR “ANT’S COWS.” THEY ARE THE TINY GREEN INSECTS THAT SUCK
THE LIFE OUT OF FRUIT TREE LEAVES. WITHOUT THE ANT THEY COULDN’T EXIST ...
EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE PROBABLY UNAWARE OF THEIR NEED FROM THE
B. Fruitful
32:13-14
1. Notice how God made their lives
fruitful, the great accomplishments of
2. Here Moses reminds them of the many
times God had refreshed them and helped them to be
fruitful!
a. The whole experience wasn’t just
all struggles!
b. There were times of refreshing,
times of God’s blessings that needed to be remembered against the backdrop of
trials!
3. God had indeed blessed them many
times, they are to remember this as well so that they would be encouraged in
times of difficulties!
ILLUS: LIKE THE
GREAT QUARTERBACK BART STARR. DURING THE SEASON OF THE FIRST SUPER BOWL
HE HAD REALLY FELT BAD ABOUT HOW HE HAD PLAYED. HE HAD A LITTLE SYSTEM OF ENCOURAGEMENT
FOR HIS SON, EVERY TIME HIS SON BROUGHT HOME A PERFECT PAPER BART WOULD GIVE HIM
A DIME. AFTER RETURNING FROM A
ROUGH GAME WITH ST. LOUIS WHERE HE FELT HE HAD PLAYED VERY POORLY, HE WAS TIRED
AND DISCOURAGED, HE FELT BATTLE WEARY UNTIL HE GOT TO HIS BEDROOM ... THERE ON
HIS PILLOW WAS A NOTE FROM HIS SON THAT SAID, “DEAR DAD, I THOUGHT YOU PLAYED A
GREAT GAME, LOVE. BART JR.”... WITH
IT WAS TAPED 2 DIMES! THIS LIFTED
HIS SPIRITS TREMENDOUSLY! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. God had over and over again blessed
them, even in the wilderness; they had never gone without, they had had a
fruitful experience even in the desert!
a. This of course was easier to see
with the perspective of time!
b. And that is just the point ... we
need to remember perspective next time we are struggling with what God is
allowing into our lives!
c. The gift of perspective can help us
overcome the biggest obstacles of faith.
5. Moses’ biggest fear for
a. In this song there is much warning
about this very thing!
b. If they forget they would
fail!
c. Remembering perspective was an
important mechanism for success!
CONCLUSION: It is only too easy to lose
focus, to see only the present. Healthy spirituality is shaped by
having a healthy perspective, it is important to view God’s actions in a large
context ... past, present, and future! God’s Word tells us about all 3 in order
to keep our perspective on course. Don’t fall into the trap of despair by
only seeing the “now” of your life ... remember
perspective!