this thing could go two ways
won't be another exit for days
So let me ask you a question, “what’s going to determine your future?”
…Sure, plenty of you are well into your retirement, and maybe you think you don’t have to wrestle with questions like that anymore.
But don’t fool yourselves.
And just take a lesson from Courtney, or ___________________. They have no illusions, they know they have to wrestle with this question every day…
So, “who's going to determine your future?”
Recently I finished up this show called “Legion.” It’s a superhero story, from the X-men, I guess. Typically that kind of show would hold little interest for me; but the creator of Fargo was involved with Legion. So I watched it.
It’s about this guy, David. And David’s whole life, he’s been told he’s schizophrenic.
See, David thinks he can control things with his mind; and of course that’s crazy. So he meets with doctors, is prescribed medications and diagnosed with schizophrenia.
David’s future has been determined by this story, that something is gone wrong in his mind.
As the viewer, though, we’re in on the secret. David isn’t making it up, he really does have superpowers…
The series begins when a corrupt organization, Division Three, discovers David and his power. Posing as doctors, they infiltrate the psychiatric ward to try and figure out how to control David, and therefore his powers.
The forces of evil see an opportunity, and they try to take control of David’s diagnosis so they can determining his future…
This is a superhero story, though, and that’s not what happens.
Because all along, a rebel alliance has been watching. When Division Three tries to swoop in, the alliance strikes back. Posing as other patients, they intercept David and break him out.
And that all happens in the first episode!
…Because the real struggle of the show is David’s; the lie he must confront; that he’s schizophrenic.
David has to come to grips with the Truth; who he really is.
The alliance begins the painstaking work of determining David’s future. They go over the times David experienced his power, and show him it wasn’t a delusion, but reality…
The show Legion is pretty wild, but it met with critical acclaim. And I’d be willing to bet it’s because the show tapped into this assault we’re always under; what’s going to determine our future.
Because we can all relate to that, can’t we?
So, let me ask again, what’s going to determine our future?
A health report? Economic projections? A list of accomplishments? A political affiliation? The past?
My senior year of college; I made a mistake. One I couldn’t run from. As the consequences kept piling up, I finally went to Dr. Jones’ to confess. And I also admitted I was afraid, I didn’t know what I was going to do, what it all meant for my future.
Dr. Jones said there would be consequences; and that there should.
But as for my future, he said, that was in God’s capable hands.
“Ryan,” he said, “the world will determine your future by your past. These things will follow you, and you will be judged by them.
But God doesn’t work that way; God determines your present by your future.”
And then he asked if I wanted to know my future. And of course I did, because it was all falling apart all around me. It was out of my hands. It had gotten out of control.
Dr. Jones said, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit your sin is forgiven.”
In that moment, my future was determined, freed and forgiven.
Hearing that, I saw a Heaven and earth new created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea.
And that is what is happening to you right now; your future is being determined, freed and forgiven.
Maybe you’re here today, and the consequences are catching up with you. Maybe the future doesn’t feel all that promising. Or maybe you’re young and full of promise.
But today, Jesus interrupts and determines your the future. He takes it out of your hands. He takes it away from all those other forces fighting for it.
Jesus does this by sending his old servant John exiled on Patmos here breathlessly pointing up. “Don’t you see it? A new Heaven, a New earth! It comes from God! A ready for you as a bride for her wedding day!
Jesus does this by sending his servant Pastor Ryan here breathlessly holding his hand in an odd position and telling you;
you who sit there deluded that your future is secured by a number on a bank statement, look here! Or you, who sit there under the weight of it, look here! And you who sit there, overwhelmed by all the choices before you, look here!
you who sit there deluded that your future is secured by a number on a bank statement, look here! Or you, who sit there under the weight of it, look here! And you who sit there, overwhelmed by all the choices before you, look here!
Look here: your sin is forgiven. Maybe the sin comes to mind easily. And it is forgiven. Or maybe the sin is an old one that haunts you, and that one is forgiven too.
Look here: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit all your Sin is forgiven!
What was so great about that show Legion was how it illustrated a truth. So often the forces that control our future, are just that, forces. More often than we care to admit; our future is out of our hands.
Like David in Legion, our future is often determined by whatever force wins the day.
And often that sounds like bad news to us.
Because many of the forces we encounter in this life are malevolent. They’re dangerous. They’re all that Division Three represented. Forces that have no interest in us beyond what we can do for them.
Today though John shows the Love of God prevailing over all the forces that would stand against God. The new Heaven and new earth free of the Dragon and his forces. John shows us the strongest force that will determine our future.
The love of God in Jesus Christ is stronger than all else.
Your future is determined by a middle-eastern man, younger than me, hanging on a cross. By the love of God sentenced to death by the powers that be, in an pathetic attempt to show all the world who’s strongest. By an empty tomb on the first day of the week.
The one who determines your future is the one who makes a new Heaven and new earth that, although eternal, have no time left for evil.
Your future is determined by this new Heaven and new earth, coming not by our efforts, but as a gift from God out of Heaven!
In the end, David’s future comes to him by way a promise that interrupted his life…
And that’s how it’s happening to you right now.
All those other forces you’ve been listening to, MSNBC, Fox News, the stock report, the bank balance, the family tree, the medical history, the promotion, the unexpected call into the boss’ office; are not as strong as the voice that interrupts now:
Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The One enthroned continues, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”
There is your future. It’s determined. It’s finished.
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