Numbering Our Days

NUMBERING OUR DAYS

Psalm 90

The ball has dropped in Times Square and we begin another year. The move from one year to the next serves a useful purpose. I’m not talking about giving us a day off, an excuse for a party, or providing a time when we can watch football all day long. There are more valuable benefits.

The change of years helps mark the passage of time. It gives us a reference point from which we can organize and evaluate life.

The start of a New Year also gives us a chance to feel like we have a New Beginning. It provides us an opportunity to make changes, set goals, and change direction. These are good things.

We are frustrated by our bad habits and our bad choices. So, we vow to change them. The top five New Year’s Resolutions last year were these:
1. Lose weight
2. Be happy
3. Fall in love
4. Get a job
5. Travel

We celebrate it as an annual holiday, but depending on whose statistics you choose; over 90% of New Year’s resolutions are not kept. Even the most generous pollsters read 80% are soon nothing more than history in a person’s life.

In the 19^th century in England, there was a common superstition about New Year’s Day. If a light haired man or any female was the first to enter the house that morning, it would bring bad luck all year long. There developed a custom of dark haired men going from house to house to bring good luck, where they were often presented with small gifts. In some homes, no one would open the door for the first time on New Year’s Day until they were certain that the person on the other side was a bringer of good luck not bad. As Christians, we do not believe in luck. We do believe in grace, and providence and a God who blesses us every day of every year.

There is something bittersweet about the passing of the Old Year and the coming of the New. It’s exciting to see the dawning of a new year. While we look forward in hope to what God has in store for us in 2011, the truth is the New Year will make us one year older. When you’re a child, teenager or young adult we kind of like the idea of growing another year older. However, when we get a few years down the road, it isn’t always that glamorous or exciting.

Twice in the last couple of months, I have had people I don’t know call me “Young man.” When someone younger than you who you don’t know calls you, “Young man” it means they don’t think you’re so young!

The question I want to consider today is, “How do we face a new year in such a way that we maximize the impact for the cause of Christ?”

Psalm 90 is identified as being written by Moses. Out of 150 Psalms, this was the only one written by Moses – the man God used to write the first 5 books of the Bible. He’s worth listening to! It very well may be the oldest piece of literature in the Bible.

We can only guess at when this psalm may have been written. Most think it was written after the nation of Israel rebelled against God in Numbers 13-14. They refused to trust God and obey God and enter the Promised Land so God announced that everybody 20 years old and older would die within the next 40 years.

For 1.2 million people to die in 40 years, 30,000 would have to die every year (if evenly spaced). That is about 82 people every day! Moses saw a lot of corpses and it reminded him that life is brief and eternity is long so we should live like we are dying because in reality we are.

How’s that for a cheerful introduction to a New Year’s sermon?

Others think more specifically this psalm may have been written about the time of Numbers 20. In that chapter we read of 3 significant events: the death of Moses’ sister, Miriam; the sin of Moses that caused him to be kept from entering the Promised Land; and the death of Moses’ brother, Aaron. It was a time of change and reflection.

The first part of the Psalm reminds us of some of the realities of life. The second part of the Psalm contains some specific requests in response to these realities. I think you will see how appropriate this Psalm is for the beginning of the New Year…a year that contains a great deal of uncertainty.

Body

I.                   THE REALITIES OF LIFE. (1-11)

Moses witnessed the death and burial of hundreds of thousands of people. The only people left of his generation were Joshua and Caleb. It’s hard when all your friends and contemporaries start to die.

Imagine how sobering this was to Moses! Now he had to bury his own brother and sister. He has been told that he will not enter the Promised Land after longing for that day for the last 40 years of his life. It was a trying time.

As Moses, reflected on his life, he identified 4 realities.

GOD IS CONSISTENT. (Vs.1-2)

Moses starts where every person should start: by looking at the Lord. If you want to find out what to do with your time – with your life – look to the One who is not bound by time. God is not a recent invention. He’s been around forever and will be around forever.

The word, EVERLASTING is figurative in the Hebrew. It means “from the vanishing point to the vanishing point.” God is from the vanishing point in the past and reaches to the vanishing point in eternity future. Just as far as you can see, from vanishing point to vanishing point, He is still God.

Before there was a creation, before there was a world, before there was a moon, before there were stars, before there were planets, before there was this cosmos, there was God. Because God always has been and always will be.

When life becomes overwhelming we must remember the One in whom we put our trust. He is the One who is always there. He was here when we came into the world and He will be there when we exit this world. He is on the throne in prosperous times and remains on the throne in economically stressful times. He is God when we are healthy and when our health fails. He is God when we experience victories and when we fail. No matter what happens in our lives we must remember the truth that God is consistent. No matter what the circumstances remember

1.      God is in control.

2.      He loves me.

3.      He never makes a mistake.

We are creatures of space and time. We are also creatures of age and decay. Some of you might have gone to see a movie called Benjamin Buttons. It’s about age. In this case, growing from an old man to an infant. It’s a sort of crazy story, but it’s about age and it’s about society’s involvement and concern and worry about age. Because we age. But God never ages. He’s outside of time. God’s not concerned with moth and rust and everything else that decays and falls apart. How can you be sure about anything? How can you be sure about anything in this world? And Moses is saying I can be absolutely sure about God and about God’s word, and about God’s promise, and about what God has revealed Himself to be because He never changes. He’s outside of space and time. He exists in Himself, and therefore He’s my refuge.

Here’s a word for 2011 to look to God and to trust Him with all of our hearts as the one solid unchangeable factor in a changing world. Things have changed, and they will always change. But God remains the same, and He is my refuge. He’s my dwelling place. He’s my home. He’s my security.

 First there were sundials. Then came water clocks, hourglasses and mechanical clocks. Now we have digital clocks and watches that split time into hundredths of a second. Our culture is certainly concerned with time. But God is beyond and outside of time – God is consistent, the unchanging One in a changing world.

There’s a second thing Moses observed that will be true for this New Year. Whereas God is eternal, we are not. LIFE PASSES QUICKLY. (Vs. 3-6)

We are only passing through. Moses said that we came from dust and we are headed back to dust. Methuselah lived 969 years. But even the longest life lived is like a yesterday to God.

He says we are like the grass that is here today and gone tomorrow. Our life is like a dream. When you dream it can seem that you have been dreaming a long time when actually it is only a few seconds. One commentator said, “Imagine a room with a window open on both sides of the room. A bird flies in one window and out the other. That’s a picture of our lives.”

We are uncomfortable talking or even thinking about it but life is brief and very uncertain. The average life of copper wire is 20 years. Joe Hilt may very well have the oldest chicken on record at the age of 18 years. The average age for a cat is 15 years. The average life of a dollar bill is 18 months. The average life of a painted line on the road is 3 to 4 months. The average life of a pro basketball players shoes is 2 weeks. The average life of a tornado is 10 minutes, and the average life of a human is 25,550 days.

In a Peanuts cartoon strip, Charlie Brown comments to Lucy saying, “Someone has said that we should live each day as if it were the last day of our life.” Lucy cries, “AAUGH!  This is the last day! This is it!” She dashes away screaming, “I only have 24 hours left! Help me! This is the last day! Aaugh!” Charlie Brown, left alone, says, “Some philosophies aren’t for all people.”

However, this truth is for all people…life passes quickly. The harsh reality is this: though we like to think we are incredibly significant and important to the world, the truth is that within 150 years we will be forgotten. Our names may be written in family histories somewhere and there may be, for a period of time, be pictures or videos of our lives, but the reality is that we will be largely forgotten.

Moses is not saying this to depress us (even though I find his words do just exactly that). He is saying this to get us to live with perspective. He wants us to recognize the fleeting nature of our lives.

He says, “You turn men to dust”, reminding us that these bodies that we work so hard to take care of, to keep healthy, to make more attractive, will one day return to the earth and be turned to dust.

Some years ago, the group Kansas sang a song called, “Dust in the Wind.” “I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment’s gone. All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see. It slips away, and all your money won’t another minute buy. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.”

Moses is looking at the big picture. He sees that most of what we see as critical in our lives is but a moment in a lifetime. Rather than living for the moment we would be wise to focus on the eternal.

Seneca said, “Men complain that their days are few and live as if there was no end to them.” If you have limited funds, you want to spend them wisely. If you have limited days, you’ll want touse them wisely. You don’t want to gamble them away. Remember God is consistent and life is brief.

The third thing to remember in 2011 is this: OUR SIN IF OFFENSIVE BEFORE GOD. (7-8) Moses reflected on the sinful character of man. If our context is correct, Moses would have been very conscious of his own sin. Israel was complaining about not having water to drink. So God told Moses to speak to the rock and God would cause water to come from that rock. Instead Moses struck the rock and said, “Must WE bring water from this rock?” Moses in his frustration took at least some of the credit and glory from God. He did not do what God told him to do and as a result God told Moses that he would die before he would enter the Promised Land.

As we read this words we are reminded that “even the best of men are only men at best.” It may seem like God was being harsh with Moses, but Moses was the leader of the people. If Moses did not respect God, no one would do so. We are all sinful people. On our own, we do much worse than Moses. Our choices and the choices of those around us bring painful consequences into our lives.

The fourth reality we need to be reminded of in the New Year is this: LIFE IS HARD. (vs.9-11) Nancy Walker of Newport Beach, California was invited to attend the burial of a goldfish owned by her 5-year-old neighbor, Jimmy. Since Jimmy was not yet able to write he asked Nancy to do the honors for him, handing her a small, cardboard tombstone. She asked him what he wanted to say. Jimmy replied, “His name was Mobert.” Nancy Walker inscribed his name. She asked, “Do you want anything else?” Jimmy thought a moment and then nodded. “Put down, he was fun while he lasted.” But sometimes it isn’t fun.

Before he compared our life to a dream…you wake up and it’s over. He compared our life to grass that pops up and then is cut down and is gone. Now he says life is like a story. It has a beginning and an ending.

You end life with a moan…with days filled with trouble and sorrow. Moses sounds negative, but he is actually being realistic. The journey of life is not easy. Think about it.

·         In the toddler years, there is frustration that no one understands what you want/need.

·         In the school years, there are social cliques, physical awkwardness, new skills that must be learned and also the mean and insensitive classmates.

·         After school, there are the challenges of paying bills, finding jobs, managing a household, making good decisions, and gaining respect.

·         In middle age, we must deal with teenagers and also the increasing pressure to produce in our jobs. We run fast and feel like we are getting nowhere.

·         As you become a mature adult, there are a host of physical challenges: our eyesight and hearing start to go. There are all sorts of “fun” tests at doctor’s offices, arthritis and a host of diseases that lurk in the shadows.

·         In the senior years, we battle an increasing loneliness as our friends die; there is the reality that life is almost over and a feeling of increasing insignificance as you find yourself marginalized by others because of your age.

Let’s be honest. Life is not easy. Sometimes life is a struggle. Sometimes life seems meaningless. To one degree or another all of these things are the cumulative effects of living in a world of sin.

 Moses reminds us of some realities of life that will be true for 2011: God is consistent, Life passes quickly, Our sin is offensive to God and Life is hard.

II.                 A WISE RESPONSE TO THE REALITIES OF LIFE (12-17)

Having observed these realities, Moses makes 3 requests in the last portion of the Psalm.

TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS. In the cathedral in Milan there are three archways. Written over the first are the words All that pleases is but for a moment. Written over a second, All that troubles is but for a moment. And written over the third, All that is important is eternal. All that is important is eternal, and that seems to be the perspective of this Psalm. It wants us to get a grasp of the eternal, of the things that are important, the things that are lasting. Walk with me through that archway, the archway that says All that is important is eternal.

Moses is not suggesting that we consult an actuary table to figure out our anticipated lifespan. He is asking God to help us remember that life is short and to make the most of the days we have. He prays that we might live with perspective.

We live a day at a time. Usually, we don’t number our days; we number our years. When you have a birthday and someone asks how old you are, you tell them your age in the number of years. But we’d better number our days, because we live a day at a time. “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matt. 6:11) God has ordained that the entire universe functions a day at a time.

When we number our days, we spend them more wisely. We tend to think that because we only have a few fleeting years on this earth we should cram as much into our lives as possible. Our calendars are full and we are constantly on the run. We are overcommitted so we are never home and when we are home we are on the computer, talking on the phone, or watching television. We spend little time talking to our kids and our marriage consists of conversations we have in the car via our cell phone as we move from one place to another.

Numbering our days means a different approach. It means making decisions about what is really important and giving ourselves to the pursuit of these things. It means saying, “No” to some good things so we can do better things.

Numbering our days means we recognize the shortness of life so we stop to gaze at the stars and marvel at a sunset. It means we live mindful of the eternal. It means limiting our involvements so we can really spend time with people. It means making time for God because we know that this life will soon be past and our relationship with God will be all that is left.

Of all mathematical problems this is the most difficult. Men can number their herds and their flocks. They can estimate the revenues of their farms and businesses with relative ease. We can count our cash, balance our check books, and calculate what our retirement income should be. Yet, mortal man foolishly imagines that he is immortal. Most are persuaded that their days are infinite and innumerable. Therefore they do not number them. We look at a strong young man, one who watches his diet, exercises regularly, and seems to sparkle with life, and say, “He has a long life ahead of him.” And we look at an old woman, weak, worn, wrinkled, and ever weary, and say, “She will not be with us very long. Her days are few.” Thus, we imagine that we can number the days of others, but few will number his own days. What folly!

Numbering our days means you take each day as a gift. Time is like money. You can use it to buy things you need or want, but if you only have $100 to make it the next month, you’d be very careful about how you spent it. In the same way, live each day to make it count.

We often make one of 2 mistakes when it comes to time.

1.      We think we have so much time we can afford to waste some. We’ll get to important things later. But we often run out of time before we get to these things.

2.      We think we have too little time. We can’t possibly do anything significant for God or others, so we don’t try.

It’s a prayer we should all pray: “Help me to live my life with perspective and wisdom.”

SATISFY US WITH YOUR UNFAILING LOVE. (vs.14-15) Moses asked God to help him find his satisfaction in God’s great love. He asks that the time of trial turn into building blocks that lead to true intimacy and enjoyment of the Lord.

Saint Augustine wrote, “You made us for Yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they find rest in You.”

Do you feel restless in your life? Does it seem like you are on a treadmill and getting nowhere? Are you surrounded with stuff but still feel empty? If so, it is likely that you are looking for satisfaction in the wrong places.

Finding satisfaction in the love of God involves several things. FIRST, IT INVOLVES GETTING TO TRULY KNOW THE LORD RATHER THAN SIMPLY KNOW ABOUT THE LORD. You can read information about people and you can even memorize their resume…but that doesn’t mean you have a relationship with that person. Suppose there was a person you are fascinated by. You ask people about that person, you study the person; you are fascinated and infatuated by the person. However, you will not find any satisfaction for your longings until you actually get to know the person.

Our relationship with God is like that. If we will take the time to get to know Him we will discover that He is good, merciful, holy and loving. We get to know God by reading the Bible not as a history book, but as communication from God to us. We get to know Him by making prayer an intimate and honest conversation rather than a formal monologue. We get to know Him as we learn to listen for the whispers of His Spirit in our hearts and minds and through the lives of others.

SECOND, WE NEED TO DARE TO TAKE STEPS OF TRUST IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. As in any relationship, trust is the foundation on which we build. When we trust God we dare to do things God’s way even though it conflicts with the way of the world, our instinct, or our desires. It is like an apprentice doing what the experienced craftsman tells him to do even though he has always done it another way because he trusts the wisdom of his mentor. We must learn to trust God because we are confident of the love and wisdom of the One who gives the instruction. We don’t obey God because we fear Him; we obey God because we trust Him. As we dare to trust we discover His sufficiency and discover that satisfaction we have been looking for.

ESTABLISH THE WORK OF OUR HANDS. I think Moses is doing more than simply asking God to prosper what he does. I think Moses is saying, “Lord, help me to do something eternally significant with my life.” When all is said and done, most of us would like to look back on our lives and feel that we had done something that will live beyond us. The money will dissipate, the awards will be put in a box, and the stuff will eventually be sold in a yard sale or dumped in the garbage. Moses asks God to make a lasting difference through his life. Be honest with yourself. Isn’t this what you want also? “Only one life/ ‘twill soon be past./ Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

CONCLUSION – Let’s get practical. As you begin a New Year, let me give you some simple suggestions on how you can make a difference this year.

1.      MAKE TIME FOR PEOPLE. Remind yourself again and again that people matter more than things. Making time for people is more than spending time with people. We make time for people when we stop to listen, when we enter into the world of another, when we take time to care. Give yourself to cultivating real relationships. Start in your own home.

2.      LOOK FOR WAYS TO INVEST YOURSELF IN THAT WHICH WILL LIVE BEYOND YOU. Look for opportunities to share your faith with someone (the people we lead to Christ will last throughout eternity!) Give of yourself to meet a need. Be generous! Also do the little things. Write notes to family members. Write that family history before those who know the history are gone. Write down the story of your conversion so that others know how you came to Christ. Do something that will be significant even after you are gone.

3.      GIVE PRIORITY TO YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE. Life is short but eternity lasts forever. We should consistently invest ourselves in that which is eternal. Our relationship with God is not only the key to what happens after we die; it is also the key to our enjoyment and satisfaction now. The Christian life is not about rules, it is about a relationship. We serve God not in order to avoid punishment but because He is worth serving!

If I placed 2 stacks of money before you – one a stack of one-dollar bills and the other a stack of one-thousand dollar bills – then gave you a sack and told you you could keep money you could pick up in 30 seconds, which stack would you begin with? Since you have only a limited time, you would be foolish if you did not begin at the place where you could gather the most money in the shortest amount of time.

We all have a limited amount of time. Our supply of this precious commodity will soon run out. Wise living demands that we commit ourselves to those things that will give our lives the most lasting effect.

There is a good chance that most of us know what needs to be addressed or changed in your life. Perhaps there is a sin that needs to be abandoned. Maybe you need to limit your activities so you have time for what’s most important. Maybe you know and believe that true life is found only in Jesus Christ…but you have not made a commitment to Him. Maybe there is someone you need to talk to. Maybe there is a project that needs to be finished. The beginning of a New Year is a great time to take action. Let’s get to it! Our days on earth are fleeting. The wise person won’t want to waste a single day.

Warren Wiersbe, Prayer, Praises and Promises

Gary Harner, sermon, “Live Like You Were Dying”

Bruce Goeschette, sermon, “Numbering our Days”

Keith Davis, sermon, “Numbering our Days”