MAN'S VITAL QUESTIONS

Psalms 8:1-9 (KJV)

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

I want to read a second time, verses 3 and 4.

The Psalmist is pondering all that is around him and, as he considers his place amongst so large a universe, he asks the question,

WHAT IS MAN?

It is a fact of human nature that we are always questioning our place in this universe.

Whether we believe in God or not, we want to find a reason for our being.

Even the atheist has difficulty swallowing the line that they are an accident.

And so we are forever searching for answers to the deepest of our questions.

I want to bring to your attention

Three vital questions we need answers for in order to live content lives on this planet.

I also want to give the answers for those questions as they are given to us in the Holy Bible.

As I see it, there could be three objections running through people's minds as I preach this message today.

1.  You might say to yourself, "These are not questions I am asking."

If you find yourself in that place today, please be patient.

It could be that the person sitting next to you is asking these questions and needs the answers.

By the way, even if they are not questions that bother you, by listening you will learn how to help somebody else who may come to you with them.

I have learned that many people carry inside them the weight of unanswered questions like these. 

The more important the question, the less they feel free to ask them openly.

When they do open up, their condition may be so critical that we have very little time to prepare in helping them.

The second objection I foresee would be

2.  Pastor McKenzie, you are not qualified to answer these questions.

To this I reply, "I will not attempt to answer these questions on my own authority."

I make no attempt to pass myself off as some philosopher or sage.

I will not give you my own opinions and experiences

But rather, the Bible’s –and, because it is God’s Word – it is more than qualified to answer these questions.

And the third objection might be:

3.  I don’t believe the Bible.

To that, I ask you to consider exactly what you do believe. 

Everyone has some foundation for their philosophy of life.

·   It might be scientists

·   It might be philosophers of old

·   It might be school teachers

·   It might even be television

But something has influenced your thinking.

It would behoove you well to identify specifically what that something is before you decide it is worthy of the influence it has upon you. 

Although my thinking has been influenced by many things, for the past 20 years I have allowed my faith in God and in God’s Word to be the foundation upon which I base my thinking

And it has provided my life with

·   More peace,

·   More security,

·   More direction and

·   More joy

Than any of the influences I experienced prior to that.

Please, at least take the time to prove God and His Word before you throw it out.

With that, let me bring to you these Three Vital Questions:

I.  WHO ARE WE?

Isn't it interesting that we would need to ask that question?

I suppose there are some of us who never do ask. 

But people who work with people know by far the majority of man and women want to know the answer to this question.

Even secular psychology is flooded with people who can't find a purpose for their living until they find a purpose for life itself.

Evolution, as accepted as it is, has left people empty.

If we in fact are nothing more than highly developed accidents then what is the use of struggling through life?

This emptiness is, I believe,

The major contributing factor to the number of suicides we see today.

People from all walks of life;

·   Young people with everything to look forward to;

·   Successful people with everything money can buy,

Are committing suicide in staggering numbers because there is no purpose in living. 

They are empty.

Who are we? 

May I share with you three Biblical answers?

A.  We are the creations of God 

Even Psalm 8:5 says,

Thou (speaking of God) hast made him (speaking of man). 

That in itself brings relief to millions of people because it tells them they are not an accident.

I have a reason to live today because I am confident I am more than a super charged slime ball.

B.  We are the object of God’s love 

I agree with the Psalmist. 

I see the wonder of God's creation and the problems I have and cry out, "WHAT IS MAN, THAT GOD WOULD CARE?" 

BUT HE DOES CARE!

I can not find anywhere where God is said to love animals or trees or even angels but the Bible is filled with verses telling us of God’s love for mankind.

In the Old Testament, God told the Jews I don't love you because you are such great people, I love you because I choose to love you.

Romans 5:8 says,

But God commendeth His love toward un in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

God loved us so much that despite our sin He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ to die and pay the price of our sin that we might have a relationship with Him.

Listen, when nobody else loves us, God loves us.

C.  We are the image of God’s person   

In Genesis 1:26,

And God said let us make men in our image... .

I don't think it's important to go into what all that means today. only that man was the crowning point of God’s creation.

Created to reflect the very image of God’s person.

However, when Adam and Eve sinned,

The reflection was distorted.

I travel quite a bit as a preacher. 

I go to a lot of roadside rest stops. 

How many of you have seen those stainless steel things they put up in them for mirrors?  I understand why they use them--they can't be stolen or broken as easy as the glass ones but I hate them. 

I'd rather guess what I look like than see that distorted figure that stares back at me in them. They give a corrupted image. 

And so do we.

We are so corrupted by sin that the reflection we give of God's person is not even recognizable.

Much of God’s plan for us involves polishing our mirror so the reflection of God is accurate.

Question two.

II. WHY DO WE HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS? 

This is a difficult question to deal with because the answers can be judgmental and self righteous. 

I read a book a few years ago that helped me with this subject.  Its title is one of the most important phrases uninspired man has ever written.

It's called, No Pat Answers.

When it comes to the question of “Why do we have so many problems?” there are no pat answers.

I cannot give, and do not pretend to know specific reasons why individuals face problems.

But the Bible does tell us why we experience problems in general:

A.  Because of the curse on the earth   

When Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, God cursed the ground because of them.  From that day on,

·   Adam would plant wheat and grow weeds. 

·   Eve would plant roses and get thorns. 

God said Eve would bear children in sorrow and Adam would eat bread by the sweat of his face.

Romans 8 says, the whole creation groans for the day of redemption.

Many of the problems we face are because this cursed earth works against us.

·   We go out in the sun to work AND THE SUN CAUSES CANCER

·   We buy a good steak AND THAT CAUSES HEART DISEASE

·   We fellowship with folks AND THEY GIVE US COLDS

Because of the curse upon the earth,

We can’t win for losing.

B.  Because of the sinfulness of man

We do have external enemies today. 

They are Satan (and his demons) and sinful men. 

I do not blame all sin on Satan, although he is the source of a good deal of it.

But mankind is a corrupted creature and the very sinfulness of man causes many of our heartaches.

Imagine if man did not get drunk 

·   How many lives would be saved in car wrecks? 

·   How many wives and children would not be abused? 

·   How many families would not go hungry? 

· How many children would have a daddy? 

All this, if only people wouldn't drink alcohol

Imagine if there was no lust

·   How many marriages would be saved? 

·   How many teenage pregnancies would be avoided? 

·   How many women would be safe from rape? 

All this, if only there was no lust

Do you see how the sinfulness of mankind is the source of many of our problems?

C.  We also have problems because of our own sin   

Every time you and I commit a sin, several things happen.

1.  We sow a crop we will reap someday

2.  We hurt somebody who is innocent

3.  We incur the chastening of God

The Bible says, be sure your sin will find you out.

We simply cannot sin and get away with it.

Like I say, there are no pat answers.

Please, don't ask me to tell you specifically why you may be facing the problems you face.

Most likely, you will be able to look at these three general things and find your own answer to the question.

III. WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS? 

(To my problems) 

Once again, the Bible gives us answers.

A.  Come to Christ for salvation. 

I love Revelation 22:17!

And the spirit and bride say come, and let him that heart say, come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

This may sound simplistic but what ever your problem is, Christ is the solution.  

The reason Jesus came you see is to save men from their dilemmas.

I am not saying Christ will take away all of your problems--

No where does He promise that--

But He does promise to go with us. And He does promise to provide a way of escape, that we can bear our troubles.

Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

B.  Live by faith

Galatians 3:11 

But that no man is justified by the Law in the sight of God is evident for the just shall live by faith. 

Faith is simply believing God enough to trust Him.

James says, "Faith without works is dead." 

You see, saying you believe in God is not faith. 

Faith is acting on that belief.

Years ago, as an apprentice iron worker, I was taught to work what we called "rebar curtains"--the reinforcing steel in concrete walls.  We would climb up the walls like a ladder but in order to work, we would hook a chain to our tool belt and to the rebar and lean back on the chain.  The curtain sways 3 or 4 feet and at first you have a hard time letting go with your hands.  Although I believed the chain would hold me, I didn't have faith until I trusted it and leaned on it!

You can say you believe God all day

But you haven’t got faith until you’re trusting Him and leaning on Him.

What are the solutions?

C.  Faint not   

Galatians 6-9 says,

Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

Can I encourage you today with this? 

No matter what is going on in your life if you have come to Christ in faith and trusted Him you will, in God's time, be blessed IF YOU FAINT NOT. 

The darkest hour is just before daylight. 

Hang in there, don't faint.

Finally, 

D.  Look up,

Titus 2:13 KJV

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

If you have come to Him, you belong to Him. 

He has every intention of returning to claim His own.

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,

When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His Grace.

When He takes me by the hand and leads me to the Promised Land,

What a day--Glorious day that will be!

Christ is the answer. 

·   Come to Him and  

·   Having come,

·   Keep looking for Him