Looking Back To Planet Earth Part 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. One day the race of life will end, and we'll be finally at rest from all our labors. But believers run that race while they can, because our goal is to please Jesus, who redeems us from our sins. In pleasing Him, we honor the Father.

Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, today you wrap up your series on What Is God Up To? Help us take a last look back at planet Earth.

You know, Dave, when you speak about looking back on planet Earth, I'm reminded, of course, of the astronauts who look on planet Earth from outer space. But the time is going to come when we are going to be looking back on what God has done throughout history. And we here at Running to Win are deeply committed to showing the uniqueness and the sovereignty of God in the midst of every circumstance.

Let me ask you a question. Have you been blessed as a result of this series of messages entitled What Is God Up To? Well, as a resource, we are making this series available to you in a permanent form. Here's what you do.

Go to rtwoffer.com, or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337. Ask for this series of messages, What Is God Up To? It'll give you some perspective of the larger purposes of God, even as we navigate the details, the discouragements, the hopes and fears of life. We would never possibly understand the depth of the love of God once we understand our sinfulness and know how far we've fallen. We could never possibly understand the depth of the love of God unless God were willing to reach down and to love fallen creatures who are distinctively unlovable. And we would never know the height of his love for us were it not for the fact that he would take us from the quarry of sin and chisel us and then exalt us and put us at the right hand of God the Father, kings and priests with Christ.

That would have never happened were it not for the fact that there was evil in the world. So you see, God is displaying his incredible grace, his love to fallen humanity. And so God is showing his superiority in love. Fourth, he shows us his wisdom. Notice what it says in chapter 5 verse 12.

And I wish that we had time to go through the entire song here, which is sung in honor of Christ. But it says in verse 12, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches. And the word that I want to emphasize here is wisdom. Wisdom. We can see God's wisdom in creation. When God put you together, it was much more complicated than you maybe realize.

You have billions of cells in your body and every one of the cells that you have has as much activity in it as a city the size of Chicago or Tokyo. We are incredibly wonderfully and fearfully made. And we can see God's wisdom. But we can also see God's wisdom in salvation.

The fact that the Lord was willing to come down and to become identified with human evil so that Jesus still remaining spotless and pure in his person could nevertheless take the sin of the world upon his shoulders and bear it so that God the Son would make a payment to God the Father so that we as sinners could be acquitted without God bending the rules one iota. Incredible wisdom. This morning when I arrived at the church, I was looking for a quotation that I couldn't find. And I'm sorry I couldn't find it because it talked about the absolute wonder of God being able to come so close to human sin and suffering and come to this earth and be identified with the whole thing and still remain untainted. Boy, that took wisdom. And throughout all of eternity, once we understand it better, we are going to marvel at the wisdom of God.

We're going to say this is unbelievable to think of what he did and how he did it. Once we understand the nuances of what it was all about, then also we will emphasize the truth of God, his superiority and truth. Turn to Revelation chapter 19 for just a moment. After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Hallelujah, sin and glory and power belong to our God because his judgments are true. Do you realize today that sin gave God an opportunity to contrast his truthfulness with all the lies that Satan and the world have to offer? And I might say that in opposition to the living and the true God who is truth by his very character, truth isn't something that God just does. Truth is something that God is.

That his very nature is true and everything that is opposed to God of necessity is always false and illusionary. That's why Satan is described in the New Testament as the founder and the author of lies. And you know that the whole world is filled with lies. That's why we are tempted so strongly. It's because of the believability of some of the lies that come to us through society, through the media, through our relationships or whatever. And we believe these lies because sometimes lies can feel so good. But we'd never understand truth.

Truth would be quite meaningless in a universe in which there was no evil. So God is on display and he's saying throughout all of eternity, the saints are saying, God, you are true. Now I want you to notice a sixth way in which God is showing his superiority and that is in the very same text, Revelation 19 2, because of his justice.

If we had time to read chapter 17 and 18 of the book of Revelation, we find out that God has just destroyed the city of Babylon, a symbolic city of all the evil and the wickedness of the world all coming together. And it says, after these things, I heard, as it were, the sound of a great multitude in heaven. You say, well, who in the world is that great multitude? That's you, my friend.

That's you. You're going to be a part of that great multitude if you've believed in Christ. I don't care how many problems you have today. I don't care how many difficulties.

I don't care how often you struggle in your relationships. If you are born again of the spirit, you are going to be part of this company and we're going to be singing together and we're going to be saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belongs to God because his judgments are true and righteous. People are always saying, how can you possibly believe in the doctrine of hell? First of all, let me contrast the justice and the righteousness of God with human courts. You know that our court system here in the United States is essentially a disaster and it's a disaster for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons can be helped, others can't be.

One of the reasons is because men do not have perfect knowledge. Most judges and juries have to go on the basis of a lot of ignorance, just the way it is. Have you ever noticed when someone is charged with a crime, very seldom do you hear somebody say, yes, I'm guilty.

Do with me as seems good in your sight. I'm waiting for the day for somebody to say that. They all begin to run like gophers into holes, all seeking some kind of a hedge, all seeking to somehow be covered by some technicality of the law. That's the way in which we live. And so what people have to do is to flush them out, to try to get witnesses, to try to prove a point. And so there's ignorance regarding the facts. There's also ignorance regarding what a correct sentence should be. How long should you sentence someone and is jail the best kind of sentencing?

All of this is subject to human error and human evaluation. And of course we live in a society that is filled with misuse of the law. I heard about a cartoon recently where a couple had just eaten supper, eaten dinner with some of their friends and this other couple was walking out the door and the man turns to his wife and says, you know those hegstroms? They are such nice people. They are so relaxed. They are so calm. They're so joyful.

Let's sue them. Well, that's the way it is in today's world. Now with God, it's going to be totally different. It says in the Psalms that someday when people stand before God, they'll say, how does God know? How come he had such detailed knowledge? So God is going to be able to say to this person, yes, you are accountable X percent, but your parents are also going to be held accountable because they mistreated you and that will be factored in.

And then they mistreated you because their parents mistreated them. And God who has accurate knowledge is going to take all of those things into account when he judges people. And throughout all of eternity, we're going to be able to sing with enthusiasm and conviction. Oh Lord, your judgments are true and righteous.

You didn't overlook anything. I can't tell you why there are going to be so many people in hell. I don't know why it is that there are so many populations of the world that do not know the truth. And then there are millions of people who know the truth and say no to it. All that I know is that throughout all of eternity, when we see the big picture, we will agree with God that he is perfectly just and that what happened in the universe throughout all of eternity, all the cases that have been closed on earth are going to be retried.

Justice is going to be distributed because right here in the text it goes on to say, for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality and he has avenged the blood of his bondservants on her. You know, sometimes people say, well, I can't believe in God because there's so much injustice. My dear friend, oh, oh, don't tell me that, please. What a foolish thing to say. Think that through.

Have breakfast before you say that. Then you'll think differently. Do you realize that if there is no God, then all the injustices that have ever taken place on planet earth will never, ever, ever, ever be addressed. And the whole universe throughout all of eternity will be nothing but a collection of injustice that will be perpetuated because all those who sinned will have gotten by and there will never recompense and justice be made.

Only if you believe in God is there any hope at all that some of the wrongs in the world are going to be made right. Now, my dear friend, if you take the holiness of God and you add to it the power of God and the love and the grace and the mercy of God, which we lump together, and the wisdom of God and the truth of God and the justice of God, what do you end up with but the glory of God, which is always what the people were singing about? It is like various beads on a strand of pearls.

All of the attributes of God contribute to his awesome beauty and glory and wonder. I know what you're saying though. You're saying, well, Pastor Lutzer, you still didn't really answer the question. Why was that earthquake in Mexico several years back?

Sixteen thousand people dead. How do you, how do you explain the little girl or the little boy that is being abused by angry, abusive, alcoholic parents? You still didn't explain that. What is the connection between that and the glory of God? I have to confess to you that sometimes the relationship between those two is difficult to see, though throughout life I could give you many instances where we begin to see hints of it, especially in the lives of those who allow God to work mightily through them in spite of the tragedies of life. You can see the grace of God. One day when we were living in Skokie many years ago I remember mowing the lawn and before I did I noticed that there was all this paper around and as I looked at it I realized it was a letter that someone had just torn up and apparently thrown out onto the street and the wind blew some pieces onto our lawn and so I went and I picked up the pieces and I tried to put the letter together.

I even found the name of the person but then after that there was just one or two sentences and the rest of the letter was missing and a part of it made sense but I didn't really know the people and I didn't know the context and so there's a part of the letter that was missing. I want to submit to you today that everything that is in the Bible is absolutely true but there's no question but that some of the explanation is missing. I don't understand exactly the direct connection in every instance but this much I know that I believe in my heart that there is not so much as one single individual or one single situation that takes place on planet earth that in some way will either in this life or in the life to come contribute to the glory and the wonder and the majesty of God. Now that's a statement of faith because I can't give you all those explanations but you see it is precisely the trial of our faith which is so precious to God. God says I'm telling you this much and then there are some things I'm not telling you but do you believe and trust me enough to know that if I showed you the whole picture it would make sense and I believe that throughout all of eternity when we see the whole picture will not spit in God's face like H.G. Wells says he was going to do.

Too bad. But that we will cast our crowns before him and we'll say oh God forgive us for all the times that we doubted you on earth because we took upon ourselves burdens that were too heavy for us to bear and oh Lord you are the only one that knows the end from the beginning and now that we begin to see the big picture we confess oh God your ways are righteous and true thou king of saints forgive us for snatching from God's hand the balance and the rod re-judging his justice and becoming the judge of God. Forgive us. You say well what does this have to do with me and my need? You see the attributes of God that we have spoken about this morning are already evident in the lives of his people. What is it that you need this morning? Do you need forgiveness? Then you need his love and grace and his mercy that is available to you.

Do you need guidance because the future to you seems to be so clouded and you don't know where you're going to go or what decision you're going to make? Why indeed you come before the God who has all wisdom and you receive wisdom from him. Is it that you need deliverance from some sin that keeps tripping you up? Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

You need the truth of God because one of the things that God is after is to begin the work already in the lives of his people of the transformation of character the wonder of his attributes because it is not just as if God is going to be on display in eternity future. God wants to be on display now the Apostle Paul says through his church and when people look at my life and your life they should be able to say God is on display. You know when the Apostle Paul gave those three chapters on the total sovereignty of God Romans chapter 9 chapter 10 he got to the end of chapter 11 and he just broke out I mean Paul was writing he didn't use a computer like I do or more accurately like I try to do.

Paul didn't do that he was writing with his pen and I'm sure that he must have taken a fresh draught of ink because it was going to be a long sentence but this is what he says suddenly he throws up his hands and he says oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord Paul says do you know what God is up to? Do you read his diary every day? Does he show you the future?

No. Who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Has God ever phoned you early in the morning and says you know I have to make a decision and I'd like a second opinion? Has he ever asked you what he should do?

Who has been his counselor? Who has paid anything to God so that God owes him anything in return? Does God owe you anything? Does God really owe you anything?

Do you have it coming to you? The answer of scripture is no not a single thing. Does he owe us if he gives us something it is his grace and then Paul says for of him that is the source and through him that is the means and to him that is the goal. Be glory and dominion and honor and power forever and ever and ever. Amen. Amen. And I have nothing more to say so let's pray. Father, we know that when we get to heaven there will be no trouble worshipping you but teach us on earth what we're going to be doing and may we bow humbly and say oh God you are absolutely worthy. You alone oh Lord are worthy of worship, of praise, of honor. Amen.

Well my friend this is Pastor Lutzer. Tozer was a Bible teacher who made the remark that what comes into your mind when you think about it is that you have to do something. You have to do something. You have to do something. You have to do something.

You have to do something. And tozer was a Bible teacher who made the remark that what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. What comes to your mind when you think about God? You know I have preached for many years but I don't think that I have ever preached a series of messages like the one that you have just heard entitled What is God? where I have with such a sense of compassion tried to exalt God's sovereignty, God's purposes, God's love, God's justice to help us think rightly about God. And I'm so convinced that when we begin to think rightly about God we begin to see other things in a proper perspective. That's why I believe this resource, this series of messages will be of tremendous blessing to you. We'd love to be able to send it to you in a permanent form so that you can listen to it again and again, share it with your friends. When you get discouraged, when you begin to see the details of life without the big picture, this series of messages I believe will help you the most.

What is God up to? For a gift of any amount it can be yours, simply go to rtwoffer.com. Of course rtwoffer is all one word, rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Because I believe that this series of messages, this resource will be of tremendous help to enable you to run the race of life, I'm giving you that contact info again and thanks in advance for helping us because together we are making a difference. Your gifts, your support are of tremendous blessing to help others. Here's what you can do, go to rtwoffer.com.

That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or Christian life. Understanding prayer can be challenging. An anonymous listener is asking this, many scriptures say we should pray in the Spirit, but how do we distinguish this from just praying in accordance with what we feel about a matter?

Excellent question, I'm not sure that I can always distinguish between these two myself. I think to pray in the Spirit means to pray in faith, it means to pray with yieldedness. So even though we come before God oftentimes wanting to pray about things that are on our agenda and we aren't sure whether or not they are on God's agenda, we still pray in submission. We give these matters to God and we trust Him and I think that that's what praying in the Spirit means. It doesn't mean that we talk in tongues or that we have some special revelation, it simply means, I believe, praying in submission to the Holy Spirit. And sometimes we don't know how to pray as Romans chapter 8 indicates, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with grounds that cannot be uttered. Bottom line, pray in submission to God. May God help all of us to understand that oftentimes those who live in faith may not receive the answers that they want, but they are willing to accept whatever God gives them.

That's what I think praying in the Spirit means. Some wise counsel, as always, from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Thank you, Dr. Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. During this holiday season, we should consider Christmas from a different viewpoint, from a place far away and a time long ago. Next time on Running to Win, Erwin Lutzer will talk about a housing shortage in a message on lots of space but no room. This is Dave Lutzer. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.