Isaiah 14_12-18      The Master of Your Fate

Rev. David Holwick  T

First Baptist Church       

Ledgewood, New Jersey                                   

July 1, 2001

Isaiah 14:12-18


THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE



  I. Unconquerable?

      A. Poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley


             Out of the night that covers me,

                Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

             I thank whatever gods may be

                For my unconquerable soul.


             In the fell clutch of circumstance

                I have not winced nor cried aloud,

             Under the bludgeonings of chance

                My head is bloody, but unbowed.


             Beyond this place of wrath and tears

                Looms but the horror of the shade,

             And yet the menace of the years

                Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.


             It matters not how strait the gate,

                How charged with punishments the scroll,

             I am the master of my fate:

                I am the captain of my soul.


      B. Timothy McVeigh and poem.

          1) It is the only thing he shared at his execution.

          2) Conveys attitude of American militia movement.

          3) To be honest, it reflects the philosophy of much of America.

              a) We stress rugged individualism.

              b) Farmers threw off shackles of England.

              c) Unique idea of government from the bottom up,

                    not top down.


II. Attitude has its place.

      A. Christians should have an overcoming attitude.

          1) Think positively, through thick and thin.

          2) Contributes to health and success.

          3) Pride in form of positive self-image has its benefits.


      B. "Invictus" run amuck.

          1) Masters of fate of millions:  Stalin, Hitler, Mao

          2) Term coined by Nietzsche - "will to power."

              a) We are too strong, smart, to need gods.

              b) We ARE gods!

          3) Millions have died as a result of these leaders.


III. The ultimate fall.                                  Isaiah 14:12-28

      A. Imagery of Lucifer, "dawn star."

          1) Language suggests Satan's attempt to take God's place.

          2) Actually it is a message for Babylon, a proud nation.

          3) They were greatest superpower in world - as America is now.


      B. Babylon starts off strong, gets greedy.

          1) Falls from grace to ignominy.

          2) You can't beat God!


IV. Don't be so proud you deceive yourself.

      A. Pride comes before a fall!

          1) Satan fell.

          2) Babylon fell.


      B. America can fall.

          1) Arrogance which can lead to complacency.

          2) Violence (abortion and crime).

          3) Sexual license.

          4) Materialism.

          5) Lack of compassion for destitute.


      C. You can fall.

          1) We like to think we are in charge of our lives.


             Audrey Kishline of Woodinville, Washington, liked to drink.

                Ever since high school she knew it was a problem for her.

             The conventional wisdom (AA) says alcoholics must abstain.

                It's all or nothing.

             Audrey disagreed.

                It never worked for her.

                She had been through two treatment centers and more than

                   30 counselors and doctors.

             In 1994 she wrote a book called "Moderate Drinking" and

                organized groups called "Moderation Management."

             They now have chapters across the United States and Canada.


             In June last year, Audrey pleaded guilty to two counts of

                vehicular homicide.

             She killed a man and his 12-year-old daughter.

             Audrey's blood-alcohol was .26, more than three times the

                state's legal limit.


             She thought she was under control.

                She could handle any problem, including alcohol.

             She was wrong.

                                                                   #19431


          2) No matter how smart, strong, rich or even spiritual you are,

                you cannot control everything in your life.


  V. The limits of attitude.

      A. Some situations are beyond our control.


      B. This is actually the background to the poem.


         It's worth noting that when the poet Henley wrote those words,

            he was not thinking of setting his own standard of morality,

               as McVeigh appears to have done.

         Far from claiming the right to be judge, jury and executioner

            of others, Henley was vocalizing his attitude toward the

               hurts and setbacks of life.


         At the age of 12, he developed tubercular arthritis, and his

            left foot was amputated in his teens.

         He had other health problems later on, and actually wrote

            "Invictus" while once again in the hospital, too ill to work.

         He was, as his poem says, "bloody, but unbowed."

         For Henley, "Invictus" was an expression of courage in the

            face of life's difficulties, not a license to kill.

                                                                   #19247


VI. The power of the soul.

      A. We can choose our response to circumstances.

          1) Attitude can make a huge difference in life.

              a) For good and bad.

          2) We may not be able to change our situation, but we can

                change our attitude.

              a) Don't lash out at loved ones, or blame enemies.

              b) Take responsibility for yourself.

              c) Choose love and forgiveness even when it doesn't make

                    sense.


      B. We can choose our eternal destiny.

          1) Paradox: God establishes our fate, but we choose it.

          2) All other decisions pale in comparison.


VII. God is still in charge.

      A. "Whatever gods may be"?

          1) There is only one.

          2) His decisions cannot be second-guessed.


      B. Our fate is in his hands.


           From what we've learned of McVeigh's attitudes and opinions,

              this poem probably come as close as any to a philosophy of

                 life for him.

           Even to the point of ending the appeals process, McVeigh

              sought to be the master of his fate.


           But of course he's not.

           And in a letter written just a day before his death, he

              demonstrated how little he understood that.

           He wrote that if it turned out that there was an afterlife,

              he would "improvise, adapt and overcome."

           As if he or any of us will have the ability to affect our

              environment after arrival in the world to come!

           Once we are at the judgment seat of God, none of us is any

              longer master of our fate.

                                                                   #19247


      C. Do not defy him, but submit to him.

          1) "Your will, not mine be done."

          2) Around 1900 a young lady who had been greatly enamored

                with Henley and his humanism became a Christian.

             She wrote this response to Henley's philosophy:


                       CONQUERED, By Dorothea Day


                   Out of the light that dazzles me,

                   Bright as the sun from pole to pole,

                   I thank the God I know to be,

                   For Christ - the Conqueror of my soul.


                   Since His the sway of circumstance,

                   I would not wince nor cry aloud.

                   Under the rule which men call chance,

                   My head, with joy, is humbly bowed.


                   Beyond this place of sin and tears,

                   That Life with Him and His the Aid,

                   That, spite the menace of the years,

                   Keeps, and will keep me unafraid.


                   I have no fear though straight the gate:

                   He cleared from punishment the scroll.

                   Christ is the Master of my fate!

                   Christ is the Captain of my soul!



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


#19247  "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley, 1875,

           http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/221.html

           Portions of the illustration are commentary by Rev. Brett

           Blair on June 24, 2001.  The poem "Conquered" comes from

           sermon, "Our Sovereign God," by John G. Reisinger, given at

           the International Baptist Conference in Toronto in 1988.

           (http://members.aol.com/robbeeee/sovereign.html)


#19431  "Moderate Drinking' Author Pleads Guilty," by Andrew DeMillo,

           Seattle Times Staff Reporter, http://seattletimes.nwsource.~

           com/news/local/html98/kish30m_20000630.html, June 30, 2000.


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