Ecclesiastes

1
Connecting Gods Providence to a world desperatel
y seeking authenticity.
2
My Times are in Your Hands

• Weeks 1 2 Gaining Perspective
• Psalm 31
• My Times
• How does the Church relate?
• Weeks 3 4 Applying the Concept of Gods
  Providence in a changing world
  
• Hebrews 13
• Matthew 1029-31
• Your Hands
• How do I apply Psalm 31 to myself?

What is our role in making The Church and making
our church vital players in a postmodern world?
3
The Premise
Psalm 3114, 15 But I trust in you O Lord I
say You are my God. My times are in your hands

• We are living in a time when change has gone from
  incremental to exponential
  
• People are profoundly uncomfortable with this
  rate of change
  
• Protests against the WTO
• Various Jihads French and otherwise
• Simple anxiety of our personal circumstance
  versus daily events
  
• This is an opportunity for us as Christians and
  The Church as a whole to connect with those
  people
  
• My Times are in Your Hands is the statement
  that can write The Churchs future history

4
The Challenge
Psalm 3114, 15 But I trust in you O Lord I
say You are my God. My times are in your hands

• We run the risk of disconnecting
• Because we no longer speak the language
• Because we are being out marketed
• Because we spend too much time talking to
  ourselves and not enough time connecting with the
  people in need.

Never present a problem without a selection of
solutions
5
Ephesians 310 His intent was that now, through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms.
Paul writing to the Ephesians
But you gotta read sections of Pauls letters
not just verses.
6
Ever read Warren Buffets shareholder letters?
In 1989 when I - a happy consumer of five cans of
Cherry Coke daily - announced our purchase of 1
billion worth of Coca- Cola stock, I described
the move as a rather extreme example of putting
our money where my mouth was. On August 18 of
last year, when I was elected Interim Chairman of
Salomon Inc, it was a different story I put my
mouth where our money was. You've all read of the
events that led to my appointment. My decision to
take the job carried with it an implicit but
important message Berkshire's operating managers
are so outstanding that I knew I could materially
reduce the time I was spending at the company and
yet remain confident that its economic progress
would not skip a beat. The Blumkins, the Friedman
family, Mike Goldberg, the Heldmans, Chuck
Huggins, Stan Lipsey, Ralph Schey and Frank
Rooney (CEO of H.H. Brown, our latest
acquisition, which I will describe later) are all
masters of their operations and need no help from
me. My job is merely to treat them right and to
allocate the capital they generate. Neither
function is impeded by my work at Salomon. The
role that Charlie and I play in the success of
our operating units can be illustrated by a story
about George Mira, the one-time quarterback of
the University of Miami, and his coach, Andy
Gustafson. Playing Florida and near its goal
line, Mira dropped back to pass. He spotted an
open receiver but found his right shoulder in the
unshakable grasp of a Florida linebacker. The
right-handed Mira thereupon switched the ball to
his other hand and threw the only left-handed
pass of his life - for a touchdown. As the crowd
erupted, Gustafson calmly turned to a reporter
and declared "Now that's what I call coaching."
Given the managerial stars we have at our
operating units, Berkshire's performance is not
affected if Charlie or I slip away from time to
time. You should note, however, the "interim" in
my Salomon title. Berkshire is my first love and
one that will never fade At the Harvard Business
School last year, a student asked me when I
planned to retire and I replied, "About five to
ten years after I die."
7
To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Our per-share book value increased 14.3 during
1993. Over the last 29 years (that is, since
present management took over) book value has
grown from 19 to 8,854, or at a rate of 23.3
compounded annually.
8
Ephesians 310 His intent was that now, through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms.
The church of Jesus Christ is the most important
institution in the world. The assembly of the
redeemed, the company of the saints, the children
of God are more significant in world history than
any other group, organization or nation. The
United States of America compares to the church
of Jesus Christ like a speck of dust compares to
the sun. The drama of international relations
compares to the mission of the church like a
kindergarten riddle compares to Hamlet or King
Lear.
John Piper
9
Ephesians 310 His intent was that now, through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms.
How can we bring our own hearts to sense the
grandeur of the mission of the church? And how
can we find words that might open the eyes of
others hearts to see it, too? We feel so inept
when we sit down and try to put into words the
cosmic significance of the church. But we take
heart in these two things though we are just
earthen vessels and our words are like leaky,
clay pots, the truth in this text is so glorious,
so fantastic that it may break out and shine on
its own if we can just get people to look at it
long enough.
10
Psalm 3114, 15 But I trust in you O Lord I
say You are my God. My times are in your hands
11
Lets look at our times
12
A Disclaimer

• I am bothered by a lot of things.
• Like Why dont the words cough, dough, and
  tough rhyme?
  
• Why do we say Des Moines and then turn right
  around and say Des Plaines?
  
• Why do I sit forever waiting for the new light on
  Laraway Lake to turn green?
  
• Like why are Our Times dominated by a US media
  system that so grossly limits the intellectual
  content of our lives?

13
Answer 1

• We have become victims based our our consent.
• We even pay for it

14
Quick Name the country that has generated the
most steady GDP growth since 1966

• Answer Botswana
• Landlocked nation two-thirds desert
• Won independence from Britain in 1966
• GDP growth of 7 per year on average
• Why?
• Easy answer diamonds found in 1967
• But natural resources arent always a blessing
• Gold and diamonds in Zaire
• Oil in Venezuela
• Better Answer
• Democracy and free market principles

Challenge dont assume that as an American you
are well informed. US Media coverage is dismal.
15
Coverage of the American Idol

• 100 times that of the South African International
  Conference
  
• Eclipsed Presidential Coverage by a 10 to 1
  margin
  
• Had 100 million call in voters 16 million on
  the last night alone.

She is cute though. A moment like this, some
people wait a lifetime
16
Now dont get me wrong our times aint all bad

• In the early 1800s an average of 550 ships
  wrecked off the shores of Britain each year
  
• Anne, Queen of England from 1702 to 1714 had 18
  pregnancies
  
• 5 Live births
• But no child who lived to adulthood
• When hairspray was first invented numerous women
  had their hair spontaneously combust
  
• The pop up toaster was invented in 1926
• Sliced bread was invented in 1928

17
And we have learned to live with change

• In less than 60 years we went from flying in hot
  air balloons to landing on the moon
  
• The Eagle lunar lander had 8 K of RAM
• In 1999 Sears, Chevron and Goodyear were replaced
  on the Dow Index by Microsoft, Intel and Home
  Depot
  
• Wal-Mart is now the USAs largest employer
• The number one purchaser of Navistar engines is
  Ford Motor Company
  
• Ford owns 10 of Cummins Engine, a key competitor
  of Navistar
  
• Navistar uses fuel systems made by Caterpillar on
  its engines sold to Ford
  
• Caterpillar is a key competitor of Navistar and
  Ford
  
• My computer components will double in speed
  and/or capacity every 18 months at one half of
  their previous cost.

18
But some things can change right under your nose
without much recognition

• When Emmerson bought Insinkerator their first
  internal edict was to eliminate US based
  suppliers and move all purchasing to China and
  Mexico
• Home Depot directed Delta faucet to change their
  faucet component supply to China
  
• The Chinese supplier violated the patents of the
  former US supplier then hid behind Home Depots
  legal department to wait out the US patent
  holders lawsuit.
• Ford Motor company recently gave a Grand Rapids
  tool and die shop a development contract to build
  two new dies.
  
• Ford asked for an email of the designs so they
  could inspect them before the dies were built
  
• Ford sent the email to Donnelly Corp. in Holland
• Donnelly Corp. sent the designs to China to have
  the dies made.

19
But luckily we can buy

• The Casio Pro Trek Watch
• A watch that will supply your global GPS
  positioning anywhere in the world by connecting
  to 7 different satellites
  
• It will operate down to 50 meters under water too!

20
By now youre saying to yourself

• Kaufmans on one of his disconnected rants
• There is a very slim chance that he can pull this
  all together
  
• What time is Sunday School over now, anyway

21
So heres the point

• We underestimate how much global business is
  changing the landscape of our times.
  
• We underestimate how these changes are affecting
  the socioeconomic standing of Western Society
  
• We underestimate how all of this affects our
  ability to spread the Gospel
  
• We tend to think that the US leads and others
  follow and that, therefore, as American
  Christians, its just a matter of gearing up the
  donations to get more missionaries out on the
  front lines.

22
Does the US always lead?

• Scandinavian countries boast higher Internet
  penetration than the USA.
  
• The first vote for a countrys president was in
  ?
  
• Answer Croatia
• All of Chiles 1263 high schools are wired for
  the Web
  
• 60 Million Chinese are on the Web with 50
  million per year joining
  
• Half of all Silicon Valley companies were founded
  by Indian or Pakistani entrepreneurs.

23
Is Globalization of Business Ultimately Good?

• Ironically, global economic forces weaken the
  nation-state in developed areas where it is most
  democratic and strengthen it in the Third World
  where it is least democratic, imperiling liberty
  in both cases. Democracy loses at both ends of
  the developmental spectrum. Free societies with
  expansive economies gradually sever the ties that
  hold a people to traditional religion and
  nationhood and corrode the state institutions
  that make democracy and a free economy possible
  in the first place.

Benjamin Barber Jihad vs McWorld
24
Traditional Religion

• Such a dichotomy of terms.

25
Traditional Religion

• Our Faith is an Ancient/Future thing!
• The Word Was, the Word Is and The Word Will Be!
• We offer the world a rock in shifting sand, a
  post to hold on to in fast moving water.
  
• We offer authenticity in the world of the
  digitally altered.
  
• We offer stability in a tinderbox
• We offer something truly bigger than ourselves to
  people desperately searching for something to
  believe in
  
• We offer the Good News of everlasting life!

But
26
Traditional Religion

• Disconnected from an entire generation
• Out marketed and overrun by the media of the day
• An old world combination of rules and guilt out
  of step with the tempo of the times

27
Statement

• At a time when 70 of Americans are optimistic
  about the nations future and 82 are optimistic
  about their own futures and that of their
  families, a frightened church whines, wails, and
  withholds an invitation to an enlarged
  experience of who Jesus is.

Leonard Sweet Carpe Manana
28
Statement

• God was willing to submit the Godhead to the
  cultural conditions of the day.
  
• And we arent?
• For God so loved the world?
• And we wont?

We have churches full of people who love Jesus,
but who dont love what Jesus loves.
Brian Medway
New Zealand Evangelist
29
The number one crisis in the church today is a
crisis of vision the image of a better future.
We have allowed modernity and Western culture
instead of biblical faith to shape the
aspirations and values that drive our lives. We
have uncritically allowed the Western dream to
define what is important and determine how we
order our private worlds. We must rethink what it
means to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
God does not just want to transform our hearts a
nd help us with personal morality. God intends to
make all things new. That vision needs to capture
our lives.
Tom Sine
30
It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season
of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was
the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing
before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we
were all going direct the other way.
CHARLES DICKENS, A Tale of Two Cities
31
The Best of Times

• Although population has doubled since World War
  II, food production has tripled and food is
  cheaper than ever before.
  
• Welfare rolls are shrinking as joblessness
  reaches a quarter-century low.
  
• Inflation the "cruelest tax" is at a 30-year
  low, interest rates are super low.
  
• The prices of cars, air travel, gasoline, and
  hamburgers are at record real-dollar lows. The
  half gallon of milk that cost the average
  American 39 minutes of work in 1919 now requires
  only 7 minutes.
• Since the early 1990s, the AIDS death rate has
  plummeted.
  
• Over the past half century, performance on
  intelligence tests has been rising, and race and
  class differences have lessened somewhat.
  
• Heavy drinking rates, hard liquor consumption,
  and drunken driving fatalities are declining.
  
• New drugs and medical advances are making
  substantial gains.

32
The Worst of Times

• The divorce rate has doubled.
• The teen suicide rate has tripled.
• The recorded violent crime rate has quadrupled.
• The prison population has quintupled.
• The percentage of babies born to unmarried
  parents has (excuse the pun) sextupled.
  
• Cohabitation (a predictor of future divorce) has
  increased sevenfold.
  
• Depression has soared to ten times the
  pre-World War II level, by one estimate.
  

33
What is the 1 Internet Chat room discussion
topic among Christians under the age of 20?The
group charged with carrying the Gospel forward to
the next generation?

• Answer body modification tattoos (permanent
  cosmetic applications), piercings, body implants
  
• Why?
• Is this the long hair we had in the 60s and 70s
  simply taken up several notches?
  
• Or is it one of the few things they can control
  in a world that is changing too fast for them?
  
• As young Christians is it a visual statement of
  being set apart that matches their mental change
  to be like Jesus?

34
Men with earrings make the best husbands.
Theyre not afraid of pain and theyve bought
jewelry. Rita Rudner
35
The number one crisis in the church today is a
crisis of vision the image of a better future.
We have allowed modernity and Western culture
instead of biblical faith to shape the
aspirations and values that drive our lives. We
have uncritically allowed the Western dream to
define what is important and determine how we
order our private worlds. We must rethink what it
means to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
God does not just want to transform our hearts a
nd help us with personal morality. God intends to
make all things new. That vision needs to capture
our lives.
Tom Sine
36
Whats Past is Prologue
Willy Shakespeare
From what play?
The Tempest
37
Where the bee sucks. there suck IIn a cowslip's
bell I lieThere I couch when owls do cry.On
the bat's back I do flyAfter summer
merrily.Merrily, merrily shall I live nowUnder
the blossom that hangs on the bough.
More Willy
38
The "seven social sins" that can destroy a nation

• Politics without principle
• Wealth without work
• Commerce without morality
• Pleasure without conscience
• Education without character
• Science without humanity
• Worship without sacrifice.

Who said it?
Ghandi
39
2 Chronicles 169 "For the eyes of the LORD run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show
Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is
loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly
therefore from now on you shall have wars."

• Hanani the seer talking to Asa . . .
• Object was to show the king his error in forming
  his recent league with Ben-hadad.
  
• Asa had purchased the services of Syrian
  mercenaries, which indicated a distrust in Gods
  providence
  
• The move resulted in Asa losing the opportunity
  to gain a victory over the united forces of
  Baasha and Ben-hadad
  
• Such a victory, by destroying their armies, would
  have deprived them of all power to harm him in
  the future
  
• Instead, he did not finish the job which resulted
  in continued fighting.
  
• Hanani was thrown into jail as a response to his
  directness.

40
1 Kings 1532 There was constant war between
Asa and King Baasha of Israel.

41
"They the Founding Fathers were intent upon
establishing a Christian commonwealth in
accordance with the principle of self-government.
They were an inspired body of men. It has been
said that God sifted the nations that He might
send choice grain into the wilderness ... Who can
fail to see it in the hand of Destiny? Who can
doubt that it has been guided by a Divine
Providence?"
Who Said It?
Calvin Coolidge
42
Daniel 434-35 And at the end of the time I, Neb
uchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my
understanding returned to me and I blessed the
Most High and praised and honored Him who lives
forever For His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to
generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing He does according to His
will in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His
hand or say to Him, "What have You done?"
43

• Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar
• Heb. Nebukadnessar, and Nebukadressar, from the
  Babylonian Nabukudurriusur, meaning "May (the
  god) Nabu protect the son," or "May Nabu protect
  the boundary."
• The name of 2 Babylonian kings, of whom only
  Nebuchadnezzar II, the 2nd king of the
  Neo-Babylonian Empire (605562 b.c.), played a
  role in Biblical history.
• Especially known for his conquest of Jerusalem
  and for the rebuilding of Babylon.
  
• Until 1956, virtually all historical knowledge
  about Nebuchadnezzar was obtained from the Bible
  and Josephus,
  
• But the tablets of the Babylonian Chronicle,
  discovered in 1956, covering the first 11 years
  of his reign are perhaps the harbingers of more
  to come in the field of historical texts dealing
  with Nebuchadnezzars time.

44

• Mentioned first in the Babylonian Chronicle as
  commander of a separate army during the 19th
  reignal year of his father Nabopolassar (607
  b.c., an astronomical text establishes beyond
  doubt the b.c. dating of his reignal years).
• Two years later, in the spring of 605 b.c., the
  ailing Nabopolassar stayed behind, and sent
  Nebuchadnezzar out to fight against the
  Egyptians, who held the strong city of Carchemish
  on the upper Euphrates.
• In the ensuing battle, the young crown prince
  defeated the Egyptians and destroyed Carchemish.
  
  
• However, in 601 b.c. he suffered a defeat or a
  near defeat from the Egyptians and consequently
  stayed at home during the next year (600 b.c.) to
  rebuild his depleted army.
• Daniel 14 describes the experiences of Daniel
  under Nebuchadnezzar and tells how the king
  became acquainted with the Hebrew religion and
  Daniels God.

45

• The kings mental incapacity for 7 years is known
  only from the Bible, since such misfortunes were
  rarely recorded by court officials. However, it
  is possible that a fragmentary cuneiform tablet
  in the British Museum, published in 1975, refers
  to Nebuchadnezzars mental illness, for it says
  of the king that "life appeared of no value to"
  him, that "he does not show love to son and
  daughter," and that "family and clan does not
  exist" for him any longer (A. K. Grayson,
  Babylonian Historical-Literary Texts Toronto,
  1975, pp. 8892).

46
Daniel 434-35 And at the end of the time I, Neb
uchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my
understanding returned to me and I blessed the
Most High and praised and honored Him who lives
forever For His dominion is an everlasting
dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to
generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing He does according to His
will in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His
hand or say to Him, "What have You done?"
47
Ephesians 310 His intent was that now, through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms.
Psalm 3114, 15 But I trust in you O Lord I
say You are my God. My times are in your hands

• the truth in this text is so glorious, so
  fantastic that it may break out and shine on its
  own if we can just get people to look at it long
  enough.
• John Piper

48
How do we gain that time?

• Answer
• Benchmark

49
Start by getting visual

• What do you think about if I say Green Bay
  Packers Fan?
  
• Why do you remember where a quote was on a page
  but cant remember the quote itself?
  
• Think of Fidel Castro Dave Letterman Billy
  Graham do you see them?
  

50
John 1224

• Verily verily I say unto you, lest a kernel of
  wheat falls to ground and dies, it abideth alone.
  But if it dies it produces many seeds.

Visual projection is not a new thing.
51
IKEA Coming to GR?
52
Where is IKEA based?

• Its Swedish right?
• Nope
• 90 of sales are outside Sweden
• Founder Anders Moberg moved ownership to a
  foundation he established in Amsterdam
  
• Company headquarters are now in Denmark
• Moberg now lives in Switzerland
• IKEAs furniture is actually Danish Modern

53
IKEAs Vision

• a better everyday life The IKEA business idea is
  to offer a wide range of home furnishings with
  good design and function at prices so low that as
  many people as possible will be able to afford
  them. And still have money left!

54
The Churchs Vision

• an everlasting life The Good News of Jesus Christ
  is that He came to save you and by Gods Grace
  you can have everlasting life.
  

I am concerned that IKEAs got a better web site
than we do.
55
IKEAs web site is a launching pad into the world
of IKEA

• We need to make our church not just a place to go
  to but also a place to go from a launching pad
  into the world of Christ and the Kingdom of God

56
(No Transcript)
57
No customers only guests.
58
Question

• Should Thornapple serve Starbucks coffee? What
  ideas can we learn from Longo?

59
The World According to Me

• I believe we should have a Friday night service
  at Thornapple populated by the obnoxious rock
  playing, body piercing loving, really bad
  Goodwill clothing wearing set.
• I believe we should have a whole group of retired
  people working to support the water purification
  projects of Water Health International
  
• I believe we should have a Sunday service that is
  part music, part newscast, part sermon and part
  worship.
  
• I believe we should have another Sunday service
  that is 100 worship.
  
• I believe we should buy a used motor home and
  drive it down to Division twice a week to hold a
  mobile church service.

60
It is easier to serve God without a vision,
easier to work for God without a call, because th
en you are not bothered by what God requires
common sense is your guide, veneered over with
Christian sentiment. But if you receive a
commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what
God wants will always come like a goad and you
will no longer be able to work for Him on the
common sense basis. Oswald Chambers  
61
From David Davison
Owe a Deed 1 Corinthians 619,20 You are not you
r own you were bought with a price. Therefore ho
nor God with your body.   Know the Need Luke 10
2 ...The harvest is plentiful, but the workers
are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,
to send out workers into his harvest field.
  Grow a Seed 1 Corinthians 36,8 I planted the
seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
The man who plants and the man who waters have
one purpose, and each will be rewarded according
to his own labor.   Follow a Creed Acts 2024
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me,
if only I may finish the race and complete the ta
sk the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of test
ifying to the gospel of God's grace.
62
Bestow Intercede 2 Corinthians 97 Each man sh
ould give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for Go
d loves a cheerful giver. Show Lead Philippi
ans 411-13 I can do everything through him who g
ives me strength. Go Proceed Mark 1615 He
said to them, "Go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation."
63
The first call of the gospel of Christ is not to
proclamation - and we do believe in evangelism.
Nor is it social action. The first call of the
gospel of Christ is incarnation - living out
something that is radically different.

• Next Week How do we truly move from My Times
  to Your Hands?

64
What does it mean to you to be in Gods hands?
65
The first call of the gospel of Christ is not to
proclamation - and we do believe in evangelism.
Nor is it social action. The first call of the
gospel of Christ is incarnation - living out
something that is radically different.
How do we truly move from My Times to His Hands
?
66
More people are alive today, and more souls are
at stake,than the total number of people who
have ever lived on the faceof the earth in all
of human history. This simply means that we can
populate either Heaven or Hell by our obedience
or our laziness.The world is going to Hell on
every continent! Is it Gods faultthat so few
are hearing the Gospel- or is it the Churchs?

• Keith Green

67
We make a living by what we get,but we make a
life by what we give.  Winston Churchill
68
Small Pox

• First appeared in China and the Far East at least
  2000 years ago. The Pharaoh Ramses V died of
  smallpox in 1157 B.C.
  
• Reached Europe in 710 A.D. and was transferred to
  America by Hernando Cortez in 1520.3,500,000
  Aztecs died in the next 2 years.
  
• Reached plague proportions in the cities of 18th
  century Europe and was a highly feared scourge.
  
• Killed five reigning European monarchs during the
  18th century.
  

69

• Smallpox is the only major human disease to have
  been eradicated
  
• Vaccine developed in 1796
• World eradication program declared in 1959
• On January 1, 1967, the World Health Organization
  launched the Intensified Smallpox Eradication
  Program
  
• Three key innovations
• freeze-dried vaccine
• hydraulic-powered jet injector that could do over
  1,000 vaccinations in an hour
  
• bifurcated needle
• Rotary International joins effort 1970
• Small Pox eradicated 1979

70
The Next Target? -- Polio

• In 1985 polio was rampant in 125 countries and
  infected 1,000 children every day
  
• The Americas were declared polio-free in 1994,
  the Western Pacific in 2000, and Europe is
  expected to achieve polio-free status later this
  year.
• In 2000, there were 2,979 confirmed cases in 20
  countries, a substantial decrease from the
  350,000 cases reported in 125 countries in 1988.
  
• Rotary International is on track to eradicate
  Polio by 2005
  
• All vaccinations will be complete by the end of
  2002.

71
How have Small Pox and Polio been conquered?

• People created a vision of opportunity.
• Vaccination of total populations.
• Determination to ignore the obstacles.

72
Example

• Over 100,000 Rotary members and families joined
  the Indian government to immunize over 150
  million children in one day.
  

73
The Gospel Challenge Equivalent

• In AD 100, there were 360 non-believers per true
  believer.
  
• Today the ratio is 7 to 1
• In AD 100 there were twelve unreached people
  groups per congregation of believers.
  
• Today there are 416 congregations for every
  unreached people group.
  

74

• WORLD POPULATION 6.055 BILLION PEOPLE
• ADHERENTS OF MAJOR RELIGIONS
• 2.02 Billion - Christians of all kinds
• 1.21 Billion - Muslims
• 1.07 Billion - Roman Catholics
• 925 Million - Atheists Nonreligious
• 824 Million - Hindus
• 657 Million - Evangelicals
• 364 Million - Buddhists
• 320 Million - Chinese Folk Religionists
• 231 Million - Tribal Religionists
• 200 Million - Other Religions
• 24 Million - Sikhs
• 14.5 Million - Jews

75

• WORLD POPULATION GROWTH RATE OF 1.6
• Muslims 2.6,
• All Christians 2.6,
• Roman Catholics 1.2,
• Protestants 2.8,
• Evangelicals 4.7,
• Pentecostals and Charismatics 7.3.

76

• TARGET GROUPS WHERE FOREIGN MISSION FUNDS ARE
  SPENT
  
• 87 goes for work among those already Christian,
  
  
• 12 for work among already evangelized
  non-Christians, and
  
• 1 for work among people groups in the
  Unevangelized or Unreached category.
  

77

• AVERAGE MINISTRY COST IN U.S. DOLLARS FOR EACH
  CONVERT'S BAPTISM
  
• Mozambique 1400 (Least)
• Ethiopia 2700 (2nd)
• Nepal 3700 (5th)
• Cambodia 4300 (8th)
• World A 32,000
• World B 48,000
• World C 490,000
• Continents
• Africa 14,000
• Asia 61,000
• Latin America 145,000
• Oceania 634,000
• Europe 993,000
• United States 1,500,000!

78
The math is compelling

• We can win the world for Christ

But Your body doesnt debate the vaccine
79
The first call of the gospel of Christ is not to
proclamation - and we do believe in evangelism.
Nor is it social action. The first call of the
gospel of Christ is incarnation - living out
something that is radically different.
80
You cannot fix the problem with the same
thinking that created the problem.
Albert Einstein
Smart Guy Interesting Thought Challenging Concep
t
We have created a body that debates the vaccine.

How do we change that?
81
Answer

• By first radically altering myself by making sure
  I have Psalm 31 in the proper perspective
  personally.
  
• 9 Truths of Psalm 31
• Alistair Begg

82
Truth
1

• I am not trapped in a cage of fate

83
I am not trapped in a cage of fate

• Acts 17 Paul debates the Stoics
• World events governed by fate
• A reflection of today?
• Marxism The classless society
• Hinduism Birth and Rebirth
• Nihilism Nothing has meaning
• Hedonism I am quite enough to satisfy myself
• Pantheism God is all around us

84
Gaia

• Pray for the forest
• Pray to the tree
• Pray for the fish
• In the deep blue sea
• Pray for yourself and for Gods sake
• Say one for me
• Poor wretched unbeliever
• Someones got to stop us now
• Save us from us Gaia

Who?
James Taylor Pantheist
85
Paul to the Athenians

• As I have walked around and looked carefully at
  your objects of worship I even found an altar
  with this inscription To An Unknown god.
  
• Now what you worship as unknown I am going to
  proclaim to you.

86
Acts 1724-28 The God who made the world and ev
erything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth
and does not live in temples built by hands. Nor
is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He
needed anything, since He gives to all life,
breath, and all things. And He has made from one
blood every nation of men to dwell on all the
face of the earth, and has determined their
preappointed times and the boundaries of their
dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in
the hope that they might grope for Him and find
Him, though He is not far from each one of us
for in Him we live and move and have our being,
as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we
are also His offspring.'
87
I am not trapped in a cage of fate

• My Times are in Your Hands

88
2
Truth

• I am not tossed in an ocean of chance

89
Epicurus

• For we recognize pleasure as the first good
  innate in us, and from pleasure we begin every
  act of choice and avoidance, and to pleasure we
  return again.

90
Friedrich Nietzche

• I regard Christianity as the most fatal and
  seductive lie that has ever yet existedas the
  greatest and most impious lie western religion
  has turned all love of the earthly and of
  supremacy over the earth into hatred for the
  earth and earthly things

91
Jean Paul Sartre

• Every existing thing is born without reason,
  prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by
  chance

92
Man falling from building heard from the 17th
floor

• So far so goooooooooooood

93
Ephesians 111 In Him also we have obtained an i
nheritance, being predestined according to the
purpose of Him who works all things according to
the counsel of His will.
94
I am not tossed on an ocean of chance

• My Times are in Your Hands

95
3
Truth

• I am being trained in the school of Gods plan

96
Keeping track

• God has not abandoned what He created
• He is not absorbed by what he created
• He is distinct from what He made and He is
  working his plan

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.

Jeremiah 2911
97
The Hesitation

• I believe in God but
• I believe in creation but
• I believe in eternal life but
• I believe God answers prayer but

98
The god of this generation no more resembles the
Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth than a
flickering candle resembles the mid-day sun. The
god of modern religion is nothing but an idol,
the invention of men, the figment of human
imagination. Pagans in the dark ages used to
carve their gods out of wood and stone and
overlay them with silver and gold. Today, in
these much darker days, pagans inside the church
carve their god out of their own carnal
imaginations. Either God is or God is not!In
reality, the religionists of our day are
atheists, for there is no possible alternative
between a God who is absolutely sovereign and no
God at all. A god whose will can be resisted,
whose purpose can be frustrated, whose power can
be thwarted, whose grace can be nullified, whose
work can be overturned, has no title to Deity.
Such a god is not a fit object of worship. Such a
puny, pigmy god merits nothing but contempt!
Don Fortner
99
Matthew 1029-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a
copper coin? And not one of them falls to the
ground apart from your Father's will. But the
very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not
fear therefore you are of more value than many
sparrows.
100
Your Resume

• Objective
• Accomplishments
• Experience
• Education
• I am worth more than many sparrows

101
I am being trained in the school of Gods plan.

• My Times are in Your Hands

102
A Quick Recap

• Psalms 31 My Times are in Your Hands
• My Times the best, the worst, the fullest, the
  emptiest , Jihad, McWorld, fulfilling,
  exhausting, wonderful opportunities and complete
  dead ends.
• Your Hands
• I am not trapped in a cage of fate
• I am not tossed in a sea of chance
• I am being schooled in Gods plan

103
4
Truth

• Prosperity should not equal pride

104
A Little Calvin for You

• It is an absurd folly that miserable men take it
  upon themselves to act without God when they
  cannot even speak unless He wills.

105
A Little Sinatra

• I did it my way.

106
Some Perspective

• I was diligent
• I was focused
• I was persistent
• I was talented
• I was hard working
• I was successful

• I was diligent
• I was focused
• I was persistent
• I was talented
• I was hard working
• I was unsuccessful

Likewise.
But God willed it so.
I will praise God if I understand His providence.
107
Romans 1136 For of Him and through Him and to H
im are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
108

• I was diligent
• I was focused
• I was persistent
• I was talented
• I was hard working
• I was unsuccessful

Where to next Father?
109

• Prosperity should not equal pride

110
5
Truth

• Uncertainty should not be the occasion of panic.

111
A Question for You --

• Ever wonder if you will wake up when you go to
  bed?

112
Possible side effects of this drug include
diarrhea, shortness of breath, dry mouth, nausea,
vomiting, persistent heartburn and abdominal
pain.
113

• Ever wonder if you will wake up when you go to
  bed?

What do you put your head on as you close your e
yes?
Gods Providence
114
A Wise Puritan Once said

• Providence is a soft pillow for anxious heads.

115
Worry

• Is due to a lack of confidence in the Doctrine of
  Providence.

116
Matthew 6 25

• Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall
  eat, or what you shall drink, nor about your
  body, what you shall put on.
  

Good verse for that whole body piercing
discussion too.
117
Uncertainty should not be the occasion of panic.
118
6
Truth

• Adversity must not become the occasion of self
  pity.

119
Genesis 45 3-8

• Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my
  father still alive?" But his brothers could not
  answer him, so dismayed were they at his
  presence.  4 Then Joseph said to his brothers,
  "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He
  said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold
  into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed, or
  angry with yourselves, because you sold me here
  for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For
  the famine has been in the land these two years
  and there are five more years in which there will
  be neither plowing nor harvest. 7God sent me
  before you to preserve for you a remnant on
  earth, and to keep alive for you many
  survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here,
  but God he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and
  lord of all his house and ruler over all the land
  of Egypt.

Luckily, Joseph wasnt into self pity.
120
Job 1012

• You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in
  Your providence watched over my spirit.

121
Some Significant SpurgeonTalking about David who
turned to God in times of adversity

• He had gained one battle by the strength of the
  Lord he would not venture upon another until he
  had ensured the same. He enquired, "Shall I go up
  against them?" He waited until God's sign was
  given. Learn from David to take no step without
  God. Christian, if thou wouldst know the path of
  duty, take God for thy compass if thou wouldst
  steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the
  tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock
  might be escaped, if we would let our Father take
  the helm many a shoal or quicksand we might well
  avoid, if we would leave to His sovereign will to
  choose and to command. The Puritan said, "As sure
  as ever a Christian carves for himself, he'll cut
  his own fingers" this is a great truth. Said
  another old divine, "He that goes before the
  cloud of God's providence goes on a fool's
  errand" and so he does. We must mark God's
  providence leading us and if providence tarries,
  tarry till providence comes. He who goes before
  providence, will be very glad to run back again.
  "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
  which thou shalt go," is God's promise to His
  people. Let us, then, take all our perplexities
  to Him, and say, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to
  do?" Leave not thy chamber this morning without
  enquiring of the Lord.

122

• Adversity must not become the occasion of self
  pity.

123
7
Truth

• There is a responsibility to be faced

124
The understanding that My times are in your
hands does not absolve us of personal
responsibility.
125
John 1522

• "If I (Jesus) had not come and spoken unto them,
  they had not had sin but now they have no
  excuse.

126
We are responsible to Him

• To be sensible in decision making
• Righteous in planning
• Understanding that A mans heart devises his
  way but the Lord directs his steps

127
Your do what you think about.You become what you
do.

• Robert A. Kaufman

128
God gives man the ability to choose. God,
however, has not relinquished control of His
perfect will to us or to chance. God is Sovereign
and man is responsible.
Dr. Sam Hart
129
In one of his letters to the learned and
scholarly Erasmus, Martin Luther said, "Your
thoughts of God are too human." No doubt Erasmus
resented the remark.
130
John 1248

• "He who rejects me, and does not receive my
  words, has one that judges him the word that I
  have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
  day"

131
Romans 212

• "As many as have sinned without (knowing God's)
  law, shall also perish without law and as many
  as have sinned in the law (i.e. knowing it),
  shall be judged by the law"

132
Acts 1729-31

• Therefore since we are Gods offspring, we
  should not think that the divine being is like
  gold or silver or stone an image made by mans
  design and skill. In the past God overlooked
  such ignorance, but now he commands all people
  everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when
  he will judge the world by the man he has
  appointed. He has given proof of this to all men
  by raising him from the dead.

133
The god of this generation no more resembles the
Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth than a
flickering candle resembles the mid-day sun. The
god of modern religion is nothing but an idol,
the invention of men, the figment of human
imagination. Either God is or God is not!
Paraphrase of Don Fortner
134

• There is a responsibility to be faced

135
8
Truth

• Humility is to be fostered.

136
Pharaoh Joseph, analyze my dream.Joseph
I can not but God can.
137
"In the future everybody will be world famous for
15 minutes."
Who?
Andy Warhol
138
The A Students end up working for the B Students
who are managers in companies owned by the C
students. The D students are politicians.

• Anonymous Mother

139
Matthew 23 11-12

• 11The greatest among you will be your servant.
  12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
  whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

140
Ephesians 4 1-2

• 1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to
  live a life worthy of the calling you have
  received. 2Be completely humble and gentle be
  patient, bearing with one another in love.

141
Philippians 23

• 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
  conceit, but in humility consider others better
  than yourselves.

142
Philippians 2 5-9

• 5Your attitude should be the same as that of
  Christ Jesus 6Who, being in very nature God, did
  not consider equality with God something to be
  grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the
  very nature of a servant, being made in human
  likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a
  man, he humbled himself  and became obedient to
  death-- even death on a cross! 9Therefore God
  exalted him to the highest place and gave him the
  name that is above every name.

143
Cool!
144
Humility is to be fostered.
145
9
Truth

• There is a security to be found.

146
More Calvin

• Ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all
  miseries The highest blessedness lies in the
  knowledge of it.

147
Isaiah 49 25-26

• 25 But this is what the LORD says "Yes,
  captives will be taken from warriors, and
  plunder retrieved from the fierce I will
  contend with those who contend with you, and your
  children I will save. 26 I will make your
  oppressors eat their own flesh they will be
  drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all
  mankind will know that I, the LORD , am your
  Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
  

148
Jeremiah 336

• " Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing
  to it I will heal my people and will let them
  enjoy abundant peace and security.

Gods word to Jeremiah upon an attack by the
Babylonians
149
Jeremiah 4627

• "Do not fear, O Jacob my servant do not be
  dismayed, O Israel. I will surely save you out of
  a distant place, your descendants from the land
  of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and
  security, and no one will make him afraid.

150
God gives you the ticket on the day you make the
journey.

• Corrie Ten Boom

151
Living in Gods Providence

• I am not trapped in a cage of fate
• I am not tossed on the ocean of chance
• I am being trained in the school of Gods Plan
• My prosperity can not result in pride
• Uncertainty should not be the occasion of panic
• Adversity must not become an opportunity for self
  pity
  
• We are responsible to God for all we are and all
  we do
  
• I need to live my life in humility
• There is security to be found in Gods
  Providence
  

152
Psalms 3115 My times are in Your Hands

• Our Times
• The Best the Worst
• A challenge for the Church to Connect
• But .. Ours is an Ancient/Future Faith
• The Word was, the Word is and the Word will be
• The way to truly spread that Word?
• By being in His Hands
• Knowing Doing Taking Responsibility