What If?

What if?

In Noah’s time do you ever wonder if there were any of the people saying “what if he’s right”? He’s been building that thing for over 100 years now and it hasn’t rained a drop. No way, he must be wrong, but what if ? A nagging doubt — and then the animals begin to arrive and then the clouds begin to form, and then Noah and his family go into the Ark, and then the first drops of rain begin to fall. Suddenly, the “what if” becomes a reality. A fact that cannot be argued with. It is happening, and the “what if” becomes “what now”?

There had been plenty of events planned for that day before it began to rain. Under the huge shadow of that Ark men and women had planned their day’s activities. There was the shopping, the restaurants, the business deals, the family events, the weddings. And the Ark was just a backdrop, a familiar one that they had become used to. It stood there and the noise of construction had only recently given way to the noise of the animals. And now the door had shut and it just stood there —but they were busy with their lives. There was so much to do, so much to enjoy. Why worry about some man and his sons who had been preaching the end of the age for over 100 years?

Now all that activity, the shopping, the business deals, the eating out, the wed­dings, came to a grinding halt….and millions of people disappeared from the face of the earth.

What if? A phrase we often use, or imply. Our lives can be full of “what if” mo­ments. They range from what might be considered “minor” instances to ones of “major” importance. Even the minor ones don’t always appear minor at the time, for example,

• What if we had planned an outdoor event …and it rained?
• What if we had missed our plane connection?
• What if we had run that light with a police car sitting right there?
• What if we had been on the road five minutes earlier and had skidded into a ditch like the car we just passed?

Or more important, the major “what ifs”.

• What if my parents had never met?
• What if my wife and I had never met?
• What if we had never been introduced to the Truth?
• What if our Lord had not picked us out of millions of others?

The list goes on and on, and each of us has a list of his or her own. And when we think about the “what ifs” in our lives, sadly we are often faced with another question, which comes under the heading of “if only”. If only I had listened, to my parents, my teacher, my boss. And ultimately, if only I had listened to God.

I would like us to look at a few “what ifs” in the Bible. We have already started with Noah — what if the flood had never come? Later, what if when Moses stretched out his hand over the Red Sea it had not parted? They were trapped with water on one side and the Egyptian army on the other. What if the walls of Jericho had not fallen down? Imagine the discouragement to the Israelites. The end of Joshua’s position as leader, the end of conquering Canaan and the probability of an all-out assault by their newly confident enemies. What if David’s sling shot had missed its mark, and Goliath had won? There would have been a Philistine victory and the end of the Kingdom, in human terms. Above all, of course, what if God had not sent His son? We know the answer to that, in fact we know the answer to all of these hypothetical questions. Hypothetical because the opposite happened. The flood did come, the Red Sea did part, the walls of Jericho did fall down, David’s sling shot hit its target, and God did send His son.

Now consider another “what if”.

What if God sends His son next year?

Having spent all of my life in Christadelphia, the subject of the return of Christ has always been a hot topic of discussion. Perhaps we should say “was” always a hot topic of discussion, because it is one of those strange facts of human nature that, even though all of the signs around us point to the nearness of Christ’s return, we actually talk about it less and less. It’s almost as though by not talking about it we can delay it’s coming until we are more prepared for it! There was a time when the events of the past year, such as the economic implosion, the fear on all sides, the re-emergence of Russia and the continuing hostilities in the Middle East — there was a time when all of this would have motivated us to hold special lectures, or special Bible classes, or a study weekend.

It is ironic that now most of us are worried about our finances, our jobs — “men’s hearts failing them for fear”. It seems that this is running alongside a thought that we read in 2 Peter 3:4 “For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

We can be lulled into that way of thinking, particularly if that is what we want things to be like. We tell ourselves, “it’s always been like this. Nothing new.”

Over the years we have learned to ignore worldly prophecies of impending doom, whether they be sparked by the dot com bust of the 1990’s, or the Katrina disaster, or Enron or whatever. Things moved on and “all things continued”. As we some­times find ourselves saying “life goes on”.

What happens when life doesn’t go on? When all things do not continue as they were? Well, in one sense, when life doesn’t go on, we die, but in another way, when life does not continue as it has been, what then? That is where the “what ifs” and the “if only’s” come together.

There are a number of “what if” passage in Scripture and a few that relate directly to our thoughts this morning while we are thinking about “what if all things do not continue as they are and our Lord returns next year”? So let’s take a look at a few of them.

The Lord is speaking,

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:26).

“And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:33 NKJV).

“If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what ad­vantage [is it] to me? If [the] dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’ ” (1Cor 15:32 NKJV).

“What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?”(James 2:14 RSV).

“For what credit [is it] if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this [is] commendable before God” (1Pet 2:20 NKJV).

These are all good “what if” passages to think about if are thinking that perhaps the Lord will return next year.

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matt 16:26).

We know the answer but we would sometimes rather ignore it “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?”(Luke 6:33 NKJV).

We know the answer to this one too.

“What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?” (James 2:14 RSV).

We know that faith without works is a waste of time.

“For what credit [is it] if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this [is] commendable before God” (1Pet 2:20 NKJV).

Each of us knows our own struggles with this one!

“If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what ad­vantage [is it] to me? If [the] dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (1Cor 15:32 NKJV).

This has to be the ultimate “what if” in this context. If the dead do not rise then we have all been wasting our time. But the dead will rise from their graves and what we talk about will become a reality.

But “what if” there was no “next week”?

What if this is our last time here around this table? What if the closing of the door and the coming of the rain is about to happen in our lives? We don’t believe it has come to that do we? not yet — after all we’ve been talking about the return of our Lord for 150 years and it can’t be yet, why, we have so much still to do.

We have still got to fix our Reunion problems and there is all that Bible Study that we never quite found time for. And what about our promise to visit the widows and the fatherless and to care for those without a family in the Truth? We were going to make a better effort to attend the mid-week Bible class.

We were. We were. We didn’t — and now the ark door is shut tight! Well, thank­fully it isn’t shut tight, yet!

There will not always be next week or perhaps even tomorrow. Each of us goes to bed each night with the full expectation that we will wake up in the same place the next day: we always have — but one day we won’t!

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith” (Heb 11:7).

We often think of the times of Noah and the times of Lot as being the same, one working in the wiping out if the world’s population, the other in the elimination of two or three cities. In many ways they were very similar.

“and as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all”(Luke 17:26-29).

Notice that in Lot’s time there is no mention of them marrying, they were a perverse group. Yet in Noah’s time they were marrying and re-marrying, as the words imply. They were also buying, selling, eating and drinking. What we would call “living”. We live in the equivalent of Lot’s time, when the flick of a switch or the click of a mouse can bring these same perversions right into our living room!

What are we building and planting?

Are we building on a strong foundation, planting the Word firmly in good soil in our minds and the minds of others? Or are we too concerned with building material wealth, and planting the seeds of our own success? For Lot’s generation — and soon for ours — it all came to a blinding halt.

When our Lord speaks of these times he refers to activities that, in themselves, were perfectly okay.

“and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast;

but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’ But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, One to his farm, one to his business. These were busy times and they were busy people, with work to do” (Matt 22:3-5).

The parable in Luke is perhaps even more telling.

“Then said Jesus unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come”( Luke 14:16-20).

All of these were legitimate things that needed attending to. They were part of everyday life. It’s not that we are doing these things but that we may be doing them to the exclusion of other, more profitable, things. So, what if the Lord were to come next year, or next week, or tomorrow even? Personally, I am not ready. After all these years I am not ready. Why aren’t we ready? It cannot be for lack of signs.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken”(Luke 21:25).

We can imagine what the people of Noah’s time felt when the sea and the waves began to roar, and their hearts failed them for fear. Our signs are just as obvious as that huge ark, towering over everything. It was such an obvious sign that they had become used to it; “familiarity breeds contempt”. And we can be the same, after all Christadelphians have been talking about the signs of the times since before all of us were born!

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 24:44 NKJV).

This is to us on a personal level: we do not expect the Lord to return, not just yet.

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1Thess 5:2).

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;” (2Pet 3:10).

“Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you” (Rev 3:3).

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth” (Rev 16:15).

We are to watch, to be alert: but are our hearts failing us for fear?

They shouldn’t be. This is easy to say if we have a secure job and reasonable health. But what if our job is not so secure, or even non-existent? What if our health is poor, or fading?

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you.’ Hence we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?’ “ (Heb 13:5-6).

Noah took 120 years to build that ark. Just try and imagine the abuse he took during that time. It didn’t stop him. Imagine the noise and the scorn and the laughter. Now imagine what he felt later when he looked out of the ark, and saw dry ground, and no people! It had all come true, what God had promised would happen had happened!

And what God has promised us will happen, will happen, and probably sooner than we think.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”(John 14:27).

Lot was “vexed daily” by the behavior of the world. We should be just as upset with our world. He had gone into Sodom with many flocks and material posses­sions; too many to stay near to Abraham. He came out with only two daughters.

What hard times will we have to endure before we get the message? We read those words in Peter

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scof^fers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the begin­ning of the creation” (2Pet 3:3-4).

Noah’s neighbors said that. Lot’s neighbors said that. Until, one day they didn’t.

One day we will come here on a Sunday morning and it will be the last time that we will come. One day we will listen to the announcements for “events for the coming week” that will never happen or we will not be here too see happen. One day we will use the phrase “our absent Lord” in a prayer, only to be standing in front of him before the week is out. One day we will take this bread and wine for the very last time.

As we take these emblems now let us reflect upon them one more time. What if this was to be the last time we sat here, the last time we shared this memorial meal, the last time before our Lord returns, are we ready?