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“LEARNING TO LIVE IN THE DUST BOWL”
(Series: Back to the Basics: 4)
July 30, 2017
Psalm 103:13-19(NIV)
13As a father has compassionon his children,
so theLordhas compassion on those who fear him;
14for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flowerof the field;
16the wind blowsover it and it is gone,
and its placeremembers it no more.
17But from everlasting to everlasting
theLord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18with those who keep his covenant
and rememberto obey his precepts.
19TheLordhas established his thronein heaven,
and his kingdom rulesover all.
“THE DUST BOWL”…..”THE DIRTY THIRTIES”…….”THE GREAT DEPRESSION”….. PHRASES THAT ANYONE WHO LIVES IN THE PANHANDLE OF OKLAHOMA UNDERSTANDS. THE IMAGES AND STORIES OF KEN BURN’S FILM “THE DUST BOWL” STILL HAUNT OUR MEMORIES. ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS I READ AFTER MOVING TO THE “PANHANDLE” WAS TIMOTHY EGAN’S “THE WORST HARD TIME: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THOSE WHO SURVIVED THE GREAT AMERICAN DUST BOWL.”
SINCE THEN…..I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILIGE OF MEETING AND KNOWING SOME OF THE VERY SURVIVORS OF THE DUST BOWL….SOME FROM OUR OWN CONGREGATION. I HAVE LISTENED TO THEIR STORIES….MARVELED AT THEIR TENACITY AND PERSEVERENCE….GRIEVED AT THE GROWING LOSS OF THAT ENTIRE GENERATION.
WE ALL HAVE SEEN THE PICTURES OF THE GREAT DUST STORMS….ROLLING IN FROM THE WEST AND NORTHWEST TO ENGULF ENTIRE REGIONS IN BLACKNESS AND DEATH. APRIL 14, 1935 WAS NAMED “BLACK SUNDAY” WHEN THE “MOTHER OF ALL DUST STORMS” ENGULFED THE PLACE WE ARE NOW SITTING.
LIVESTOCK SUFFOCATED FROM BREATHING THE DUST…..BABIES DIED FROM “DUST PNEUMONIA” OR WERE TRANSFERRED FRANTICALLY FURTHER EAST TO ENID WHERE SPECIAL MEDICAL FACILITIES WERE SET UP TO TRY TO SAVE THE VICTIMS…YOUNG AND OLD.
TO LIVE AND PERSEVERE IN THE MIDST OF THE DUST BOWL WAS AN ALMOST SUPER-HUMAN FEAT OF TENACITY, ENDURANCE, AND HOPE.
IT IS NO ACCIDENT, THEN, THAT THE BIBLE TALKS A LOT ABOUT “DUST.” THE MIDDLE EAST WAS NO STRANGER TO DUST STORMS. TO SPEAK OF “DUST” IN BIBLICAL TIMES ELICITED SCENES…..MUCH LIKE….THOSE OF THE “DIRTY THIRTIES” IN THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE.
SO….I BELIEVE…..IT IS NO ACCIDENT WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS….
Genesis 2:7(NIV)
7Then theLordGod formeda man[a]from the dustof the groundand breathed into his nostrils the breathof life,and the man became a living being.
Genesis 3:19…By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you returntothe ground, since from it you were taken; fordustyou are andtodustyou will return.”
Ecclesiastes 3:20(NIV)
20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
WE HAVE BEEN IN A SERIES OF MESSAGES ABOUT “BACK TO THE BASICS”. ONE OF THE MOST BASIC TRUTHS….IF YOU ARE GOING TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE RIGHTLY….IS THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF OUR HUMAN CONDITION.
IS HUMANITY BASICALLY GOOD….EMPOWERED BY A DIVINE SPARK IN EVERY HUMAN HEART……AND ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS RECOGNIZE THE “DIVINE SPARK” WITHIN YOU AND REALIZE WHO YOU REALLY ARE……AS OPRAH SAYS?
OR IS HUMANITY BASICALLY “FALLEN”…..LIKE PAUL IN ROMANS SAYS…”JEWS AND GENTILES ALIKE ARE ALL UNDER SIN. AS IT IS WRITTEN: THERE IS NO ONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NO ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, NO ONE WHO SEEKS GOD. ALL HAVE TURNED AWAY…FROM GOD.” IS THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF OUR HUMAN CONDITION TO RECOGNIZE OUR OWN “FALLEN NATURE” AND IN REPENTANCE AND SURRENDER….ASK GOD TO FORGIVE AND BREATHE AGAIN…..INTO OUR LIVES THE RENEWING BREATH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT ALONE CAN GIVE US SPIRITUAL LIFE!!
HOW WE UNDERSTAND THE “HUMAN CONDITION” IS CRUCIAL TO HOW WE LEARN TO LIVE IN THIS “HUMAN DUSTBOWL” CALLED “HUMANITY.”
THE STORY IS TOLD OF A LITTLE BOY IN A SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS….LISTENING TO HIS TEACHER DESCRIBE HOW IN THE BEGINNING OF CREATION, GOD MADE MANKIND FROM THE DUST OF THE EARTH AND HOW AFTER DEATH OUR BODIES WILL DECOMPOSE, AND WE’LL RETURN TO DUST.
THE LITTLE BOY TURNED TO HIS FRIEND, AND HE SAID….”YOU KNOW, I THINK I GOT SOMEBODY UNDER MY BED AT HOME. BUT I’M NOT SURE WHETHER HE’S COMING OR GOING!”
IS MANKIND BASICALLY GOOD AND IN NEED OF ONLY “ENLIGHTENMENT”? IF SO….HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR ALL THE EVIL IN THE WORLD WHICH WE WITNESS DAILY ON OUR MEDIA?
OR IS MANKIND BASICALLY “FALLEN”….IS THE EVIL IN THE HUMAN HEART THE SOURCE OF UNTOLD HEARTACHE AND DESPAIR……AND OUR GREATEST NEED….EVERYONE OF US……IS TO EXPERIENCE THE RESTORED LIFE THAT ONLY GOD CAN BRING US IN HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST??
“HOW DO YOU AND I LEARN TO LIVE IN THE “DUST BOWL” OF HUMANITY????
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN WHEN IT SAYS OVER 50 TIMES THAT “WE ARE DUST??”
AND HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO OUR LIVES AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS?
1. FIRST OF ALL….WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS THAT “WE ARE DUST”….IT IS A REMINDER THAT WE ARE PHYSICALLY MORTAL. WE ARE “TIME LIMITED”.
OR TO SAY IT ANOTHER WAY……WE ALL ARE “TERMINAL.”
“FROM DUST WE CAME AND TO DUST WE WILL RETURN”…..IS A REMINDER TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN VIEW OF THE FACT THAT WE ALL HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF MINUTES ON THIS EARTH!
SOME DAY…..WE DON’T KNOW WHEN…..WE DON’T KNOW HOW…..THE FINAL GAME BUZZER WILL SOUND ON EACH OF OUR EARTHLY LIVES AND WE WILL PASS INTO ETERNITY!
NOW PASTOR…..THAT IS REALLY A MORBID, NEGATIVE THOUGHT, ISN’T IT???
NOT REALLY!!! IT IS A TRUE THOUGHT….A BIBLICAL THOUGHT….IT IS A REALITY THAT THE BIBLE ENCOURAGES US TO FACE!
FOR A REASON………SO “THAT DAY DOES NOT SNEAK UP ON US AND FIND US SURPRISED AND UNPREPARED!!”
WHEN I REALIZE THAT MY TIME ON THIS EARTH IS RELATIVELY SHORT….IT TENDS TO EFFECT MY VALUES.
THE TRUE STORY IS TOLD OF THE OLD HOLLYWOOD ACTOR AND COMEDIAN W.C. FIELDS…HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS RIOTOUS LIVING AND WOMANIZING……HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND CONFINED TO BED AND FACING HIS OWN DEATH……HE PICKED UP A BIBLE AND BEGAN TO READ.
A FRIEND CAME INTO HIS ROOM AS HE WAS READING AND WAS SURPRISED AT WHAT W.C. FIELDS WAS READING…..AND ASKED HIM…..
“W.C……HAVE YOU BECOME RELIGIOUS??” W.C. REPLIED: “NO, NOT AT ALL…..JUST LOOKING FOR LOOP HOLES….JUST LOOKING FOR LOOP HOLES!”
1. SO…FIRST OF ALL….WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS THAT “WE ARE DUST”….IT IS A REMINDER THAT WE ARE PHYSICALLY MORTAL. WE ARE “TIME LIMITED”.
IT WANTS TO REMIND US THAT OUR LIVES ARE PRECIOUS….OUR TIME IS PRECIOUS….THE LIVES OF OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE PRECIOUS…..BECAUSE WE ARE ALL….”TIME LIMITED”…”WE ARE ALL TERMINAL”.
2. BUT SECONDLY…..WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS THAT “WE ARE DUST”….IT IS A REMINDER THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS “MORTAL” AND THEREFORE AS “WEAK” AND AS “PRONE TO MISTAKE” AS WE ARE……AND BECAUSE OF THAT…..WE ARE REMINDED TO LIVE WITH COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING.
I saw a sign on a strip of highway once that I would like to have copied on my gravestone. It said, "End of construction. Thank you for your patience." —Ruth Bell Graham, poet, writer, and wife of evangelist Billy Graham (1920–2007)
PSALMS 103:13….13As a father has compassionon his children,
so theLordhas compassion on those who fear him;
14for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
TO REMEMBER THAT “WE ARE DUST” IS TO MOTIVATE US TO COMPASSION!
“PRONE TO WANDER, LORD I FEEL IT….PRONE TO LEAVE THE GOD I LOVE. TAKE MY HEART, OH TAKE AND SEAL IT…..SEAL IT FOR THY COURTS ABOVE!” (COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING)
WHEN WE OBSERVE THE “WEAKNESS” OR “MISTAKES” OR EVEN “SINS” OF OTHERS…..WE ARE NOT MEANT TO RESPOND IN CRITICISM AND GOSSIP….WE ARE MEANT TO RESPOND IN COMPASSION….AND MERCY….AND PRAYER FOR THEIR STRENGTH!
A VERY IMPORTANT PASSAGE IN HEBREWS:4:15-16New International Version (NIV)15For we do not have a high priestwho is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.16Let us then approachGod’s throne of grace with confidence,so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
HEBREWS 5:2….”HE IS ABLE TO DEAL GENTLY WITH THOSE WHO ARE IGNORANT AND ARE GOING ASTRAY, SINCE HE HIMSELF IS SUBJECT TO WEAKNESS.”
IF YOU AND I ARE GOING TO LEARN TO “LIVE IN THIS SPIRITUAL DUST BOWL” CALLED LIFE…..WE MUST:
1. REMEMBER THAT OUR LIFETIME…..ALL LIFE…..IS LIMITED. WE ARE ALL TERMINAL. WE ALL HAVE A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME TO LIVE….AND THAT MOTIVATES US TO MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT!
2. WE ARE TO REMEMBER THAT BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS “MORTAL” LIKE US…..THAT BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE STRUGGLES LIKE WE DO…..WE ARE TO BE MOTIVATED NOT TO CRITICISM AND GOSSIP….BUT TO COMPASSION AND MERCY BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CHRIST-LIKE!
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ILLUSTRATION
Sinclair Lewis's Ashes Swept Up off the Floor
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February 7 is the day Sinclair Lewis was born in 1885 at Saulk Center, Minnesota.
Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. His best known works of social satire wereMain Street,It Can't Happen HereandBabbit. Yet, for all his renown and wealth, Lewis died in Rome of alcoholism.
Upon his death in 1951, he was cremated and his ashes sent to Rome's U.S. Embassy for disposition. One morning a visitor noticed a worker on her knees with a dustpan and broom. Next to her was an overturned funerary urn. When asked what she was doing, she replied nonchalantly, "Sweeping up Sinclair Lewis."
If we focus on the words, "sweeping up Sinclair Lewis," we realize the abject futility of the human experience outside of the soul and its relationship to God. This is why the Bible says: "For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him" (Psalm 103:14, 17).
On This Day, (Crescent Books 1992); Clifton Fadiman,The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, (Little, Brown & Co., 1985); submitted by Jim Bassett
IF YOU AND I WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS…..WHEN WE SEE THE WEAKNESSES IN OTHERS………..IT SHOULD MOTIVATE US TO LOVE AND COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING…..BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE TOO ARE WEAK…..AND “PRONE TO WANDER”…………AND IF JESUS….THE SINLESS SON OF GOD….IS ABLE TO SYMPATHIZE WITH OUR WEAKNESSES……….SURELY WE SHOULD SYMPATHIZE WITH THE WEAKNESSES OF OTHERS!
FOR WE SERVE A GOD WHO “IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.”
THESE ARE 2 ESSENTIAL KEYS TO “LEARNING TO LIVE IN THIS SPIRITUAL DUSTBOWL CALLED LIFE!”