Rev. David Holwick R
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 28, 2017
Proverbs 24:27; 27:23-27
IS YOUR FUTURE IN ORDER?
I. Sometimes you have to confront your future.
A. My retirement conference.
As most of you know, I plan to retire next summer.
I set up a meeting with a Baptist retirement counselor.
He looked at what we have, and the lifestyle we plan.
Then he ran a simulation called MOSAIC.
It combines in one graph what happens to your retirement
income based on different scenarios, like inflation and
market crashes.
All the curves overlapped, but trends were evident.
Many of the curved lines end up in positive territory.
He said that is good.
Some of them hit bottom halfway and flat-line the rest of the way.
He said that is not so good.
Many are not prepared for their future, and may not even give
it much thought, figuring they can always do it later.
"Later" comes sooner than you think.
Are you prepared?
B. The book of Proverbs focuses on "now" rather than "later."
1) They worried about having enough to eat today rather than
giving much thought to the distant future.
2) Even so, as farmers and herders they knew they had to
prepare for harvest times, and lean times.
3) Proverbs contains principles about this which will always
be valid.
C. God wants you to be diligent.
1) A diligent approach to life keeps you on top.
12:24 "Diligent hands will rule, laziness ends in
slave labor."
2) A diligent approach to life takes the long view.
21:5 "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely
as haste leads to poverty."
II. Know the details of what you have.
Proverbs 27:23 "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks."
A. Successful people pay attention to details.
1) If they don't pay attention, their business can fail.
At the original McDonald's, production of hamburgers was
fine-tuned to the second.
The kitchen routine was like choreography.
They mapped out everything.
And Ray Kroc would walk through the parking lot picking
up trash. [1]
He knew that their reputation meant everything.
Many other entrepreneurs have discovered the same thing.
2) When people come to this church, they notice details.
a) How many people greet them in a friendly manner?
b) How clean are the bathrooms?
c) Do people sing with gusto?
d) Do people bring up spiritual topics in their
conversations after the service?
e) I notice these things when I visit other churches and
I am sure you do as well.
B. Even small details can have an impact on the big picture.
1) Life is nothing but details.
Dr. Robert Elliott, a cardiologist from Nebraska, had
two rules for managing stress and worry:
Rule #1 -- "Don't sweat the small stuff."
Rule #2 --"It's all small stuff"
#3591
2) Many businesses have been ruined by one bad event.
a) That is why Tylenol went ballistic when one nut-case
put poison in a pill bottle on a store shelf.
1> He wanted to extort money from them.
2> Instead, they added safety sealing to every bottle,
and their company was saved.
b) Once your product gets a bad reputation, you are ruined.
3) Your own reputation at work may hinge on a few things.
a) Losing your temper just once, telling an off-color
joke, or gossiping about someone may make a lasting
impression about you to others.
b) On the other hand, showing a kindness or putting
extra effort into a project can make a lasting
impression as well.
C. What details are you letting slip?
1) Critical things that should be done to your house.
2) Keeping up the condition of your cars.
a) Preventive maintenance trumps repairs every time -
just ask Sam & Becky Pruitt [owners of a garage].
3) Backing up your computer before a Bulgarian encrypts it
with a ransom virus.
4) Your personal appearance when you go to work.
III. You have to put first things, first.
Proverbs 24:27 "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready,
then build your house."
A. Basic sustenance is the foundation of everything else.
1) Outdoor work and fields are equivalent to our jobs and
businesses.
a) They are what put food on the table.
2) Get your fields ready.
a) Whatever you do to support yourself, do it wisely.
b) Many of you have changed jobs in the last few years
so you can have a better life.
1> Transitions like this are nerve-wracking - you have
no guarantees it will work out in your favor.
2> But when it does work out, it can lessen your
stress and give you a sense of fulfillment.
3) If you work, be thankful for your job.
a) Work hard at it and take pride in it. Do it right.
b) And thank God that he gave you the ability to do it.
B. Houses and other things are secondary.
1) We probably see housing as more necessary than the ancients
did, because they would lay down in any field.
a) All Jacob needed was a rock under their head.
b) We prefer something more comfortable.
2) But in the past or today, you can't consider a house unless
you have income to pay for it.
a) We have many opportunities to buy nice stuff.
1> Amazon will deliver it right to your door.
2> It can be Christmas every day!
b) But don't live beyond your means, and learn contentment.
IV. Financial security comes methodically and slowly.
A. Americans love a quick fix.
1) Your retirement plan is to win the $180 million lottery.
2) You want to invest in Google when it is $1 a share.
B. Proverbs promotes steady provision.
1) Proverbs 27:25-27 looks at the process of gathering fodder,
which leads to lambs, who provide clothing, food, and
even income to purchase more fields.
2) The Israelites had to show concern at each step of the
process, and so do we.
3) Consider where your life is headed, and do something
about it.
a) You need a long-term perspective.
b) Laying a good foundation now will pay off much later.
C. It is God plus us.
1) These verses show the proper interplay between human labor
and divine provision.
2) We don't pray for stuff to fall from the sky, we use our
God-given skill and effort to nurture the process.
V. Your stuff is important for only a short time.
A. Riches don't last.
1) And he is not talking about flat-lining your finances
halfway through retirement - he is talking about
flat-lining your life (i.e., death).
2) Possessions and power are fleeting.
a) It is not just about money - he also mentions a crown.
b) Our position in life, in any arena, is not guaranteed.
1> Robert Schuller and his Crystal Cathedral.
Robert Schuller was one of the most innovative
preachers in America.
His denomination gave him $500.
He visited 3,000 homes in the area and asked people
what they wanted in a church.
Since it was Southern California, they wanted
something relevant and convenient.
So he made a deal with a drive-in theater, and
people sat in their cars while he preached
from the roof of the concession stand.
The next year he set out a plan to grow to several
thousand members and a staff of 10 to 12.
In 1980 he built a church designed by architect
Philip Johnson.
It had 10,000 panes of glass and a Jumbotron.
He called it the Crystal Cathedral.
In today's dollars, it cost $60 million.
Their Christmas and Easter pageants had professional
musicians, live donkeys and costumed angels who
flew.
He televised his church services to millions.
Most of his attendance was viewers who came to
visit - but just one Sunday.
Even as attendance started to decline, he added
a $250 million Family Life Center, a $5.5 million
prayer spire and a $40 million welcome center.
In 2004 he picked his son to succeed him, but he
never really gave him power.
Within 6 years Schuller fired his son, declared
bankruptcy on all that debt, and sued his own
church.
A short time later his church was all but gone
and Schuller himself was dead.
Today the Crystal Cathedral is a Catholic church.
#65853
2> Schuller thought he would preach to age 100.
A> It's working for Rev. Wetzel*, but probably not
for you or me.
B> Make your plans and have your dreams, but do
it with humility.
B. There is only one guarantee in life.
1) God will keep his promises.
a) He promises to take care of you, and to save you -
if you ask him to, and submit to his will.
b) You cannot earn your way into heaven with money
or good deeds.
1> You will never be worthy of God.
2> Only Jesus is, and only he can save you.
2) Invest in eternity.
a) Support the work of the church.
b) Do the work of the church.
c) In everything you do, do it for God!
* Rev. Millard E. “Bud” Wetzel was pastor of Ledgewood Baptist from 1958
to 1984. He is now 94 years old and lives in Florida. He had planned on
being in our church that Sunday but a sudden illness prevented him.
[Pastor Wetzel died in 2020]
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] The movie "The Founder" (Weinstein Company, 2016).
[2] "What Happened at the Crystal Cathedral," William Vanderblowemen
and Warren Bird, "Next: Pastoral Succession that Works"(Grand
Rapids: Baker Books, 2014), pp. 98-104.
# 3591 “Don't Worry -- Be Happy!” by Rev. Dennis Ball; First Baptist
Church of Laurel, Maryland, 50 Day Spiritual Adventure,
Chapel of the Air, March 17, 1996. Original source is
John Maxwell, How To Win Over Worry (1991).
#65853 “The Rise and Fall of Robert Schuller,” Rev. David Holwick,
adapted from the book “Next: Pastoral Succession that Works,"
by William Vanderblowemen and Warren Bird (Grand Rapids: Baker
Books, 2014), pp. 98-104.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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