#16 Strength, Security and Serenity for YOU in 2002! Part V (16/03/02)

By Robert A. Schuller

WAs my father and I share this series of messages on Strength, Security and Serenity for YOU in 2002, we're basing our thoughts from the Psalms in the Old Testament. There are 150 Psalms ¡K we're not going to study all 150 now ¡K but we're selecting a few Psalms that are meaningful to us personally and sharing with you those verses that really touch us and give us hope ¡K because we all need hope today and our ministry is about giving hope.

Only a few weeks ago the Los Angeles Times reported the story of a young man who had everything in life going for him. He was a captain in the Air Force, and then he was accepted to Columbia University where a few years later he graduated as valedictorian with a degree in business. He made it a goal to retire by the age of 40. As he started his career, he got married, had children ¡K and guess what? By the time he was 42 years old he sold his share in the company for 24 million dollars. He was known as a good father with two children now in high school. He had, according to the L.A. times, a garage filled with the finest automobiles. He had everything in life that a man could want. But, one month ago he hopped into his 2002 S Class Mercedes, drove out to a secluded part of a Texas city, pulled out a gun and took his life. His name is J. Clifford Baxter, Vice-chairman of Enron. The newspaper said he took his life because of the humiliation of Enron. His friends and colleagues from Enron say that he took his life because the newspapers were hounding him so much. Regardless of which it was, I believe the bottom line was that he simply lost hope because of the predicament he was in.

There are many people who for different reasons struggle with the loss of hope. They are struggling in their business, struggling in their families and then, more than ever, struggling with their own identity. There is nothing I can give you that would be more valuable today than this four-letter word: H-O-P-E. It's better than all the money in the world. It's better than the finest cars. It's better than anything you can ask for. And so as we go through these series of messages, we want you to know that we are here to offer you hope.

Today I want to share some selected verses from Psalm 50 because I believe they are truly hope generating:

"The Mighty One, God the Lord, has spoken and called the earth
from the rising of the sun to its going down . . .

God will shine forth. Our God shall come and not be kept silent...
Hear, O My people, and I will speak. I am God, your God¡K.

Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and
you shall glorify Me, says the Lord ...

Whoever offers praise glorifies Me.
And to the one who orders his conduct aright ¡K
I will show the salvation of God." [1]

Those are hope-building words. They tell us to hope in God. When all else fails, remember that God still shines forth. God shines everywhere. There is no place you can go that God does not shine. And God synchronizes everything. Finally, God sustains everyone. We find our sustenance in God. We find everything we need in the Holy One, God our Lord.

1) God Shines Everywhere

Yes, God is in the business of producing hope and today we build our hope in Him as we find that God shines everywhere. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 139:

"Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, behold You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me and
Your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, 'Surely the darkness will cover me,'
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed the darkness shall not hide from You.
But the night shines as the day; T
he darkness and the light are both alike to You." [2]

There is nowhere you and I can go where God's light cannot shine.

February 14 is recognized as a day of romance and love. But do you know its origin? In the third century there was a young man named Valentine. And a decree went out from the Emperor Caesar of Rome that all citizens honor and declare Caesar as lord. Those who rejected that command would be imprisoned and killed. Valentine was a Christian and he refused to respect and to claim Caesar as lord. So he was arrested, and while he was in prison he wrote love letters to his fiancee to whom he was engaged to be married before he was arrested. These wonderful love letters prompted the observance of Valentine's Day, because on February 14, 269, Valentine was executed for his faithfulness and his love to Jesus Christ.

Even in the darkest of prisons ¡K God's light shines.

Even out of the greatest tragedies ¡K God's light shines.

Even in the worst of times, the bleakest moments ¡K God's light shines.

Today as you go through the challenges and you face the conflicts of life and you wonder if you can really go on another day ¡K the answer is "yes" you can! I want to remind you that we have a 24-hour, seven days a week telephone and on-line counseling center available to help you. It's called New Hope ¡K just dial 714- N-E-W-H-O-P-E or log onto www.newhopeonline.org . Specially trained counselors will help you get through the toughest times. They will share with you that God's light is shining right where you are. Even if you can't see it, God shines everywhere. That's God's promise to you and me.

2) God Synchronizes Everything

Nothing exists that God hasn't participated in one way, shape or form. God is all powerful, all knowing. God is everywhere and He synchronizes everything

The fact is that when we realize that God synchronizes everything, we know somehow, someway, through our faith in Him that "all things work together for good to those who love God." God continues to shape, to mold and to make things happen in such a way that it is to our benefit and for our goodness.

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. In the Christian church, it is the time historically when people prepare themselves for the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and Easter. So on Ash Wednesday many of us decide what we will give up. As our Lord sacrificed His life, we too will make a sacrifice to God. For example, some people say, "I'm going to quit smoking," and they give up smoking for Lent. Then on Easter Sunday they go back to their habit again. Other people give up sugar, or give up something as a form of making a sacrifice to God.

Well I grew up, as a young boy, hearing a different definition of Lent. I remember sitting in church and hearing my father say, "It's not enough to eliminate smoking or negative habit, but Lent means ¡K

Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking

Think of the profound influence of this acronym: Negative thinking goes beyond a negative habit to a negative lifestyle. Negative thinking not only affects all of our living, but more importantly our relationship with God. Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking ! Now suddenly the possibility of giving up a negative habit indefinitely becomes possible. Giving up negative behavior becomes very possible, not for just a short period of time, but it changes us within. When we eliminate negative thinking we begin to develop the hope God wants us to have, no matter what our circumstances are.

1) God shines everywhere
2) God synchronizes everything and ¡K
3) God Sustains Everyone

Read again the selected words from Psalm 50 that I gave you a little earlier and you will see that God sustains everyone. Read this promise of God

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you shall glorify Me."

Yes, God sustains us. Everything we have comes from Him. He sustains us, He calls us. He gives us life. He gives us the breath we breathe. He provides everything we need. He delivers us from trouble and takes care of us. And so we find our hope in Him and follow His calling for our lives in ways and means that God continues to give us. St. Augustine taught us hundreds of years ago "Pray like it all depends on God, but act like it all depends on you."

You know God is in the business of eliminating the darkness. His whole business is about shining everywhere and synchronizing everything. No matter how messy life sometimes gets, we know that when the tapestry from the one side is just a mess of tangled strings, that on the other side of the tapestry, we see its beauty synchronized, meshed, folded by God Himself. God's business is to sustain everyone. Wherever we need help the most, God comes ¡K He sustains us. And whenever we need Him, God comes and sustains us

I conduct Possibility Living Seminars and the next one will be March 18 through 22. In these seminars we share with people where to grow spiritually, physically and emotionally. Each participant takes a survey to find out. "Okay, where is it that I need God today? What are the things I need to do for myself to allow God's hand to really have an impact on me to help me grow?"

These seminars help people to open their eyes to really see and find hope then they discover the beauty and wonder of God. They discover that God shines everywhere as He synchronizes everything and sustains everyone.

Psalm 50 concludes with these words:

"Give thanks to God.
Give praise to God."

That is the act of faith for every believer. For now we recognize that God is there beside us, shining, synchronizing and sustaining us. So even in the darkest of moments, we give thanks and we give praise to Him. So I invite you to affirm your faith today by joining me in prayer and giving thanks and praise to God for all things.

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You that You're in the business of building hope in me, giving me courage, and uplifting my spirit. So help me, Lord, to focus on You as You shine, You synchronize, and You sustain me. I thank you, Lord, and praise Your name always and in everything. Amen