“Going to the Vault” By Chris Ulrich November 12th,
2017
Thank
you, you may be seated. It's
good to see the singers this morning. I know that last week that Linda
was out,
Malcolm was out, Kirk was out, Parrish had the message, so, Andy and
Sonia
filled in, quite admirably, I think. I sent Andy a text afterwards, and
I said,
“You know, I’ve just got to say that, I didn't know it was coming, now,
maybe you
did, but, as the service was going, I just appreciate that, stepping up
like
that and filling in,” and it was great to have everybody back, too. I
want to
say that. So, I’d like to welcome John and Quanita and Rachel Rice.
They are
here this morning from Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Martin is also here.
He is a Navy
veteran, a twenty-year man that retired with honors. I’d like to
welcome Laygoze.
Laygoze’s here. He and Lorraine had been down in Chicago. Lorraine has
been
doing chemotherapy treatment, and our prayers are with her, and our
prayers are
with you, Brother Laygoze. And, Ron from the Navy, a chief in the Navy,
this is
your last week with us, right, going out to San Diego? Going back home,
going
to San Diego. it's been a pleasure having you these last couple of
months. So,
thanks, Ron. So,
there was a sermon that I
remember hearing back, a few years back, where it talked about
protecting our
ministry, and protecting God's blessings in our life, and the salvation
that
God gives. I know, on the one hand, it's a little embarrassing because
I really
don't remember who gave that message, but, suffice it to say that it
came back
to remembrance as I was preparing this week. And, often times, our
lives are
just like that, we have an event, we are part of something, we do
something, we
hear about, we see, or are a participant in, and, then, we forget about
it, and
for many years, a lot of times. And, that's not to say that it's about
forgetfulness because a lot of times, God brings those things back in
remembrance. And, God brings those things back in remembrance just at
the right
time. But, I would say that that's human nature, too. And our mind only
has so
much capacity that we can only keep so many thoughts going in the
course of the
day. There's no way anybody could remember every single solitary thing
of every
event of their whole life all at once. I'd
like to ask Brother Alex to
come; he's going to read from the Book of Second Peter, chapter one,
verses ten
through seventeen: 2 Peter 1:10-17 Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if
ye do
these things, ye shall never fall: For
so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in
remembrance of
these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present
truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as
I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
Knowing
that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus
Christ
hath shewed me. Moreover I will
endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things
always in
remembrance. For we have not followed
cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and
coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour
and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent
glory, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Thanks
Alex. Would you bow your
heads, in a word of prayer, with me, please? God, we just come to You
right now,
and we thank You for the blessings that we have received this morning,
in
testimony, in song, in fellowship, Lord God. I ask right now, Lord God,
that You
would bless this time, the teaching of the Word, the preaching of the
Word, the
sermon, as we've come to know it as, Lord God. I ask, Lord God, that
You would
anoint every ear, Lord God, that You would anoint my lips that I would
get out
of Your way, Lord God, that Your message would come forth, Lord God. We
thank You
for the victories that You've given us, Lord God. We thank You, God, to
be
right here, right now with You, Lord God. We just want to ask these
things in Your
name, Jesus, Amen. So,
I don't know if there's an
exception to the rule, accept the promises of God, but, typically, the
things
that we're thankful for are the things that have already happened,
which makes
perfect sense, because we're not guaranteed the rest of today, much
less
tomorrow. That doesn't mean we live in the past; it just means that we
only
have the past to base our thankfulness and assessments on. Part 1:
Looking Back in
Thankfulness. And
every one of us should have a
trail of victories and things to be thankful for. It could be something
from
several years ago it could be something that was recent. What is it we
do with
it, to keep track of those victories? What is it that we do to remind
ourselves,
to be able to go back and to think about and to reflect on those
things? I'm
going to ask for some participation here in a few minutes. But I'm
going to
share something briefly that jogs my memory and gets me to remember. I
don't
know how many here are picture takers, or have a collection of photo
albums. I
know a lot’s changed with camera phones, in the way you can store
things in the
cloud, or the way that you can keep track... It's just technology if
you go
back fifty or sixty years, I used to have those type of cameras that
they would
instantly come out. They weren't really the greatest quality if you
remember. And,
then you got into a timeframe where you started getting into digital
cameras, that
the quality certainly improved. My dad has a really nice collection of
pictures
that probably dates back fifty or sixty years. Lot of times. When I go
home, I
like to take out a few of those albums, and just look back, just kind
of
reflect back. To remember the times that we did this or our family did
that, or
we had visitors, or whatever the case might be. I think I kind of
inherited
that hobby, as far as being a picture taker. I don’t have nearly as big
a
collection as he does. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but, every
now and
then, I do kind of like to take a look back, reminisce a little bit. It
just
gives me a chance to reflect back on how good God has been in my life.
And I
want to share something that Parrish had mentioned last week that I
felt was
really a highlight to me, and one of the points that he made was we
can't let
anybody belittle the blessings that God gives us. How many of you have
ever
said something that you felt was really important and somebody else
said, “Oh,
well, that's nothing,” has that ever happened? How many people have
said
something we've done the same thing. “Oh, that's nothing,” so I'm not
letting
us off the hook, here. But, it's one of those things where we kind of
have to, really,
kind of take a step back and be able to listen, and be able to respect
that
which is being shared. Even if it might not seem like that big of a
thing to
us, but I appreciate that point; we can't let anybody else belittle the
blessings that God has given us. Because, I would venture to say that,
a lot of
times, they might not mean nearly as much to somebody else, and yet
it's
something that God has given us. But, if it means looking at pictures,
if it means
spending time with family, if it means healthy fellowship, if it means
going to
a museum, if it means just having a cup of coffee. And, it’s those
things that
give us an understanding, and a way to think back and remember the
things that
God has done for us, then, by all means, use whatever you have to bring
those
things into remembrance, like we just read about in Second Peter. I
don't know
if you noticed, but just the word ‘remembrance’ is mentioned on three
separate occasions
in just that passage alone. And, so, it's a critical component. It's
something
that God wants us to be able to think back at times. Yeah, we have to
live in
the here and now. And, again, this isn't about living in the past. But,
now,
what I want to ask everyone is, “What is it that you do to remember the
trail
of victories?” And, I'm not asking, so please hear me out, I'm not
asking for
you to tell me, “This is what I'm thankful for,” because we could spend
all day,
and all week, perhaps. What I'm asking is, “What do you use in order to
remember those things in order to be thankful?” And I'm going to ask
for people
to go ahead and raise their hands. Donna. Donna: Journaling. Journaling.
Writing things down.
Alex? Alex: Talk
to others about
it. Talk
to others about things,
anybody else? Mike: Fellowship Fellowship
that's a good one.
Definitely. Jason? Jason: Facebook Facebook.
One of my favorites.
Just kidding, I'm not on Facebook. But I've learned to respect it more.
Sonia? Sonia: Write out cards
and
letters. Write
out a card. Brent? Brent: Just remember
where
you've been. Just
remember where you've been at. Ed H.: Pray and
God brings
it back. Absolutely.
Absolutely. Ed Kretzer: Ed:
Revisiting the
blessing? Revisiting
the blessing. There's a
lot of ways to do that, too. Matt? Matt: Talking
with my
siblings. Talking
with his family. Amen.
Thank you, thank you. So,
the title of the sermon today
is going to the vault. And, I thought about, “Going to the Well” as the
title, because
I like that expression a lot.
That's
not really, but, Fort Knox
is where they store all the gold in the US Reserves. At least, that's
where
they're supposed to. So, I looked at a bunch of pictures of that, I
mean, it's
fortified. I mean, it's the kind of thing where you've got the bars,
you’ve got
steel, you've got combinations, and its protected. It is protected in a
way
that it meant not to ever be broken into. So, the vault is not really
that
common of a term anymore. It's not as though anybody has vaults in
their house,
at least, I mean, if you do, you don't have to tell us. But, I believe
that
most people have a place they'll have a lock box, a place of
safekeeping. So,
what it really comes down to is just being able to protect something. I’m
going to ask if you would turn
with me to the Book of First Corinthians, eleven, twenty-three through
twenty-six: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That
the Lord
Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he
had given
thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is
broken for
you: this do in remembrance of me. After
the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This
cup is
the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in
remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do
shew the Lord's death till he come. Now,
I think we all know this is
probably one of the most common communion passages, but it’s relevant
to this
message, because it's about remembering something. So, going all the
way back
to the beginning where I asked or talked about the message that we’ve
got to
protect God's blessings in our lives, we've got to protect the
ministry. We've
got to have skin in the game. And, we’ve got to have a way that we can
remember
these things, and store them for safe keeping. So, my question now is,
are we
protecting the things that God has given us in our own vault? Are we
revisiting
these blessings on a regular basis? And, I get that there's problems in
the
world. And, Andy, you were almost stealing the message because you were
getting
going up here, with the things about fear, and the problems in the
world. And
there's enough of those problems that are going to last us until
kingdom come,
and there's going to be more challenges ahead, and some that were going
to
discuss in part two. But, there's a lot of victories, and there's
enough of
those things to be able to outweigh the setbacks and keep us with a
thankful
heart. Our theme of the month is being thankful. Our theme this month
is
something that we do every November. It's not a mystery. It's not
something that's
out of the ordinary. But, I would have to say that if I went back a
year and
added up all the experiences of the last year. The Bible talks about
the path
of the righteous is as a shining light, which shineth more and more
unto the
perfect day (Proverbs 4:18). We're making progress. If we’re that much
closer,
like Andy had mentioned, about, we’re that much closer to Heaven or
Hell. It’s
weighing it up. But, looking at it for those of us who believe, we're
one step
closer to God, we're one step closer to being with God. And, God will
give us
all a place, or a vault, if you will, where we can keep those things. So,
it's true that thanklessness
is the exact opposite of thankfulness. Would anybody here dispute that?
That's
good, I wasn't looking for an argument. But, I'm not here to tell
anyone to be
thankless because I believe that, in our circle of people, in our
support group,
in our church, our ministry, whatever way you want to describe it,
there's not
a lot of thanklessness. And, I get that we've all seen people come and
go, or people
that get bitter, or whatever the case might be. But, by and large, the
pervading mentality, and the heart of people is to be thankful. But,
what I
want to talk about now is that living in dread of the future, and the
unknown, is
also in opposition to being thankful, to thankfulness. And, I want to
say that
one more time because, again, Andy, you did highlight that: Living in
fear and
dread of the unknown and of the future, it is in opposition to being
thankful.
And I'm not saying, "Oh, it's the biggest sin; it's going to…” but it
will
derail us, and it will slow us down, and, it will get us worrying, and
fearful,
and losing sleep at night, and whatever else side-tracks us. Because,
if we're
only thankful based on the events that have already happened in the
past, and
not future events, well, what sort of outlook should we have in a world
that
seems to be getting more and more violent and corrupt? How are we as
Christians
supposed to think about what lies ahead?
So,
three events that have happened,
just in the last month: You had the shooting in Las Vegas; you have
that attack
in New York of eight people that were run over by a truck; and then you
had
this attack down at the church in Texas. Now, if you went back and
looked at
news headlines from say, twenty years ago, thirty years ago, forty
years ago, something
like that was only a once in a lifetime type of event. And, now we're
talking
about something that’s happened like that three times in a month? It
just goes
to show you that there is a lot to be said, the Bible says iniquity
shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12). I'd like to
ask
Jennifer Fuentes if she would come; she's going to be reading from the
Book of Second
Timothy, chapter three, one through five. So those events are just the
tip of
the iceberg. I mean, there's plenty of other circumstances, or
heartache, or
tragedy, or misfortune, or whatever way you want to put it, that’s
happened,
not just in this country, but throughout the world. So, go ahead,
Jennifer,
please. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that
in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous,
boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without
natural
affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of
those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures
more than
lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof: from
such turn away. Okay,
thank you very much. So, I
remember about five years ago we were having studies at Kirk and
Nubia's house,
and Kirk and I were the teachers. And, every so often we'd ask the
people that
came regularly, “What are some of the topics that you'd be interested
in
hearing?” So, we'll get everybody's input, and then get together and
decide on
a schedule, and come back. So, I remember Jennifer, probably about
twelve at
the time, so, she had asked for a study on the future. And, I remember,
that's
such a great topic, and I'm going to tell you why: So often times,
especially
when it comes to Christian circles, we're thinking end times, end
times, death
and destruction, and fire from above, and knowledge shall be increased,
and
many shall run to and fro, and men's hearts failing them for fear of
things
coming on the earth, or, just thinking nonstop about all the scary
things and
all the plagues that are coming on the earth. And here's a girl, at the
time
was about twelve, asking for a study about the future. So, Kirk and I
had kind
of discussed it. And it was interesting because she's got her whole
life ahead
of her. And, we're going to sit there and say, “Oh, no, let’s talk
about the
end times,” because she wasn't asking about the end times; it was about
the
future. Part 2:
Looking Forward in
Hopefulness. And,
again, it's not as though we
just bury our heads in the sand or pretend that these tragedies, or
these
different unfortunate events, or these shootings, or whatever; don't
happen
just for the sake of trying to be positive that's not what Christianity
is. I
mean, we're positive, just for the sake of being positive, that's not
it at
all. A lot of it’s more about being realistic. But, again, we can't shy
away
from these hot button topics, but we have to have an understanding of
what the
Bible teaches about these different things. We just read a passage from
Timothy
about perilous times, and, there's probably about ten other passages
that are
right along the same lines, right in the same wheelhouse. But, how many
remember the lyrics to the song, “Because He Lives?” Because
He lives, I can face tomorrow; Because
He lives, all fear is gone; Because
I know, He holds the future, And
life is worth the living just because He lives! I
can face tomorrow. The fear is
gone. God holds the future. It's all about looking forward in
hopefulness. I
don't remember the last time I heard this song or we did this song,
and, I'm
not asking the singers to come up afterwards, unless they want to. I
would
venture to say that I hadn't thought about this song in a while, too.
But, as I
was preparing this week, I believe God brought this into remembrance.
And again,
that's what we're talking about, that God will bring things that are
relevant.
And to me I would sum that up by just saying, isn't that just like God?
That He
does bring things into remembrance, that He does give us a little bit
of
strength. In
the Book of Revelation, it
talks about, and I'm not going to ask you to turn to it, I know it's
toward the
end of chapter two. But, when God was talking to the church, and He
said, “I've
given you a little strength.” And I often thought about that from the
standpoint of, a little strength doesn't seem like enough. But if God's
given
us a little strength, that is enough. Parrish talked about, last week,
when
Elijah went to the woman and her child, and all they had was enough
meal and
oil to last one day, and said, “And then we die.” And that was a little
strength. And, then God sustained them for a year, off of what looked
like, “This
is absolutely nothing. This is probably going to last us—this is
it—this is one
day's worth of meal.” And ‘hope,’ that's a pretty common term in our
language,
and, yet, I had to look it up. I wanted to look up the definition.
Simply put,
it's the feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to
happen. It's a
pretty simple and straight forward, and straight to the point
definition. I'm
going to ask for you to turn with me. This is our last verse this
morning, it’s
from the Book of Lamentations, chapter three, verses twenty-one to
twenty-six. Lamentations 3:21-26
This I recall to my
mind, therefore have I hope. It is of
the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions
fail
not. They are new every morning: great
is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my
portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him,
to the soul that seeketh him. It is good
that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the
LORD. And,
I remember, this was
something that I had shared a couple of years back; we had something
where I
work where, unfortunately, somebody had taken their life. And, a lot of
us, the
next day, and the days following, were just trying to figure it out. I
think a
lot of times when stuff like that happens, people try to identify what
went
wrong, what caused this. And, I remember a guy that, he wasn't
particularly
religious at all. Good guy, real good friend, Navy guy, he was a
retired chief,
as a matter of fact, working at Grainger with myself, at the time. But
he was
kind of shaken, and he said, “I just can't understand why that guy
would have
done that,” and he mentioned that verse, he just mentioned a part of
it, he
said, “God's mercies are new every morning.” And, when we feel like
we’ve
failed, or we've sinned and fallen short, which we all have, that next
day
there's a refreshing. God brings us back, we repent, we get right, and
there is
that hope in God. That's what we have, that's what we have for our
future. I can't
promise you anything, and I've shared this before: Prior to the start
of World War
Two, Great Britain as a country—Phil, I know your mom is from Great
Britain—was
under a lot more close attack from Germany and the axis alliance that
they had,
but the prime minister, Winston Churchill, got before the people and
said, “I don't
have anything to offer you except for blood sweat, toil and tears.”
And, that's
what I have to offer you, because, that's what it's going to take to
defeat
this enemy. How is that for an outlook? I mean, you think about that.
How's
that for an outlook of hope? I mean, that sounds pretty bleak. But,
that was a
realistic outlook, and sometimes that's what we face. Sometimes that's
all we
really have, and yet God gives us that little strength, God gives us
that
little bit of strength, and I'm thankful that God does hold our future.
And, I
am thankful that God will keep us if we want to be kept. I know we've
talked
about how things that we're thankful for can be kept in our own
personal vault.
And, there's undoubtedly a difference between past events, and... And,
I'm not
telling you anything you don't already know. But, the promises of
God—and that
is the past, present, and future—they can all fit in that vault. Thank
you for your time this
morning, and God bless.
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