Whose world is it? – May 2024

Whose world is it?

At times, people are asked in surveys: “What was the highlight of your week?” or “What was the moment or event in the past week which gave you the most satisfaction? People give a wide range of answers to such questions – happy family occasions; success with a project at work or in an exam at the end of a course of study; or perhaps a sporting achievement of some kind.

For how many people is the highlight of the week to listen to the sermon at a Sunday morning worship service. It isn’t that the preacher has an entertaining style, or that the content of it is full of humour. In fact, it is serious and profound. It comesacross as the voice of God, speaking unchanging and eternal truths with authority.

That is what a sermon is meant to be about – a preacher is seeking to explain to a congregation what God wants people to know and to act upon. God loves the world and the human race which he has created. He wants the best for every member of the human race. 

In the light of such love, it is tragic that so many people areindifferent to him, or live as though God is not involved and they themselves are the masters of the world they inhabit. The truth is that “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” [Psalm 24:1]

Since the earth belongs to the Lord, it is right that the Lord should dictate the terms under which man inhabits the world and enjoys the provisions God has put in place for ouroccupation of it.

Consequently, it is right to delight to listen to sermons which tell us more about God’s good plans for this world and the whole of humanity. But it is not sufficient just to listen. We also need to act upon what we hear, and in the light of what we learn, to please God by the way we live.