We'll remain standing this morning for the reading of God's Word. If you have your Bibles with you, we will be reading from Proverbs 8. Our text is in the latter part of the chapter. I'll be reading some of the verses at the beginning which sandwich the wisdom's role in creation, which we'll also be talking about this morning. Hear now the Word of the Lord. Does not wisdom cry out and understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the hill beside the way where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors. To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart. Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things. For my mouth will speak truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are with righteousness. Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Receive my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better and rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way. And the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By Me kings reign and rulers decree justice. By Me princes rule and nobles and all the judges of the earth. And I love those who love Me. And those who seek Me diligently will find Me. Riches and honor are with Me. Enduring riches and righteousness. Moving down to our text in verse 32, And now therefore listen to Me, My children, For blessed are those who keep my ways, hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from Jehovah. But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate Me love death. This is the Word of the Lord. Let's give thanks and pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we ask that Your Spirit might be with us richly this morning, that His influence might help us to rightly divide Your Word of Truth, that we might see and hear those things that You would teach us. We ask and pray this in Jesus' name and all of God's people said, Amen. You may be seated. One of the final portions of the Christmas story that we try to review each year is the account of King killing all of the young children and babies in and around the city of Bethlehem. It comes near the time of year where we as Americans remember the dreaded Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand in all 50 of our states. Both of these were evil acts on the part of wicked ruling authorities that should be condemned by God's people. It's been our practice here at Church of the King to remember and to pray some of the imprecatory Psalms at this time of year, calling down God's judgment on those who shed innocent blood today. Now this year, these events come in a week where we have seen massive death a death toll that staggers us from the earthquake in Haiti. You know, it's never comfortable to talk and discuss death, but it is certainly important this year for us and for our children who need to understand these things at an appropriate level. TV cameras and press reports have brought pictures into our homes and accounts of unbelievable death and destruction. And of course, it brings many questions, and we hear many comments from many different people. Pat Robertson very early on pointed out that the poor nation of Haiti had a long history of practicing voodoo and devil worship, implying that God had sent the earthquake as a judgment upon them. On the other side of the political spectrum, Danny Glover said it was a direct result of global warming. He implied that we deserved this event because of how things turned out in the global warming summit in Copenhagen. A secular columnist in the Bee earlier this week was brutally honest, saying that the earth is cruel. His conclusion was that it is the lot of mankind to see things like this earthquake, to see them come time and time again. and then to simply have to pick up the pieces, bury the dead, mourn their losses, and move on with life. Now I'm sure there will be many attempts over this weekend to assure folks inside and outside of our churches that God had nothing to do with this tragic event. So with that as a background, I think we need to discuss death. As I said, it's difficult. It's difficult to discuss whether we're dealing with family tragedies where we tend to grieve very privately. We just lost a young man down at the Capitol, 41 years old, who dropped dead of a heart attack playing basketball with his children. These things happen. Sometimes we have to deal with national sins. And we have a special calling as Christians because the nation tries to hide what is going on. And of course, we also confronted with very public events like this earthquake. So making sure that we understand these issues properly from a biblical perspective is important. And it comes down to understanding how we answer a very simple question. A simple question that everyone must answer. What is death? Is it a natural event? Or is it an enemy? That's the one simple question that divides Lady Wisdom from Lady Folly throughout Proverbs. You see that contrast over and over again. It's why our reading from chapter 8 this morning ended with those chilling words. Those who hate me love death. To understand what I'm going to be saying, we need to go back once more to the book of beginnings. And we need to compare what God has revealed with the so-called wisdom of the world today. As we stress over and over and over and over again here at Church of the King, if you do not accept, understand, and believe as true history, what is taught in the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis, then you will not have a proper understanding of all that follows in the Bible. You will not understand the nature of the problem that man faces, nor will you see the glory of the salvation that God brings. You will not be able to deal properly with private grief. We won't understand the necessity and the means of properly confronting sins like abortion, nor will we be able to explain what is going on. when we see death on a massive scale like we have this week in Haiti. In the first two chapters of Genesis, we see the glory of God's creation where He speaks all that we know of existence into existence, or all we know of creation into existence out of nothing. And then we see God forming and shaping this creation. in the space of six ordinary days. We see man created in God's image and given the task of filling the earth and taking dominion. And we see that with beautiful pictures of gardens and rivers and resources and treasures. Working to expand God's garden and bearing children to fill the earth would have been a great blessing for all men and women. At the same time, God gave Adam one simple restriction and grave warning. He was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God told him that in the day that he did, he would surely die. If you want to discuss the importance of man's free will, here is the one place in the Bible where it is taught. Adam made a very bad choice. And we live with the consequences of that choice right down to today. Adam's choice was a real choice with real consequences. But it did not thwart or disrupt the sovereign will and actions of God. God's plan to fill the earth with men will still be accomplished. And death, which is the result of man's sin, will be the final enemy that is defeated when this great plan is complete. As one of the great Puritan writers explains so well, we will see the death of death in the death of Christ. When we understand this, it should not surprise us to see the results of death in our lives and in all the rest of creation. But we are not left without hope because we know that one day death will be cast into the lake of fire. After Adam sinned, The labor of His hand brought sweat to His brow, and He had to contend with thorns and thistles in His garden. Women are still bearing the children who will fill the earth, but it comes now with much labor and pain. After the fall, we see in the genealogies that are given over and over again these sobering words, and He died. We see sin ravage individuals like Cain. Then entire families. And finally, in a very short span of time, the entire world has come under the influence of sin, has become full of sin and wickedness. And it is here that God provides a very graphic reminder of the penalty for sin that He explained to Adam. as he wipes out every living creature with the flood, save Noah and his family. You see, we're troubled, as we should be, by the pictures from Haiti that are on TV or in the newspapers this week. And yet, how often do we think back to what really happened during that flood? You see, Christians should not have to hide from death. We can face it when an individual that we know is dying. We grieve, but we can understand. We should be able to confront, honestly, sins like abortion. And we can help people to understand the great loss that comes from an earthquake. And we can be there to help in all of those situations with great love and works of mercy. We can know that while it is difficult to see death, even on a small scale, no less something like what we're seeing in Haiti, it is only by the grace of God that we are not all wiped out because of the penalty of sin. We do not suffer because the earth is cruel or because we have abused Mother Earth with global warming. We do not suffer because God enjoys bringing earthquakes and floods to show us how powerful He is. We suffer because of man's sin. We suffer Because God told Adam that in the day he partook of the forbidden fruit, he would surely die. And had God not promised to bring salvation as well, we would all be dying with no hope. But because God so loved the world that He sent His Son, we know that death does not have the final say. There will be a resurrection for all who have lived. Those who have trusted Jesus to eternal comfort. And those who rejected Jesus to the lake of fire. Hope and justice. These are the results of believing that God has given us what He revealed as truth. believing what He has revealed about the creation and the fall. But you see, there's another answer that can be given to that question, what is death? We can also choose to believe that death is natural. And this, sadly, is the prevailing answer that is given in our world today. It is so pervasive that it has even impacted many within the church. This is why it is more and more difficult for Christians to give proper answers and to bring real hope when events like the Haitian earthquake take place. Within and without the church, this is called a natural disaster. One which we talk about as if somehow it was outside of God's control. Well, we need to ask a very important question. And if you don't, your children will. If that earthquake was outside of God's control, then what else is He not able to control? You see, that's a very, very slippery slope. But it is a slippery slope that the devil and his humanists want us to be on. Because it will lead to their position of hating God and loving death. Now you see, most people would not outwardly confess that they love death. But we must see that they do. And we must be careful not to join them. In contrast to what we are taught in the Book of Beginnings, the vain philosophy of the world wants us to believe that God has little or nothing to do with the natural world. All that we see and know today is the result of natural causes. Thus, we speak of events as natural disasters, and we speak of natural death or dying of natural causes. Consider the theory of evolution, which we discuss a lot. In that theory, or in the discussion of that theory, we're actually told that it is the foundation of all knowledge and science today. If you don't believe in evolution, you don't have a right to even be in the universities of this world. And you certainly can't speak up or learn to teach it. Evolutionary thinking, however, assumes that death has always taken place. In fact, death plays an important role in evolution. by ensuring the survival of the fittest. The weak die, and the strong survive, and thus progress is assured. This is what is behind that poor columnist's conclusion that the earth is cruel. There has always been death, and there always will be death, so man just has to learn to pick up the pieces. and move on. It is a grim worldview full of despair. And I think that's why it needs to be filled with so many distractions that we have in our modern world today. This is why the Proverbs proclaim that those who hate God love death. They do not like the idea of loving death. But they refuse to love God. Death can only be seen as an enemy if we accept what God has revealed. We can only know that death will be the last enemy to be defeated if we accept what God has revealed. The only alternative is to believe that death is natural. Let me repeat that. The only alternative is to believe that death is natural. And that is what the writer of the Proverbs means when he says, they love death. If you believe that death is natural, then you are rejecting what God has said. which is to hate God. If you believe that death is natural, then we do not need salvation. What is there to save us from? We need to understand that because man is made in the image of God, because he has a conscience within him, Paul says, And because he has to get up each and every day of his life and live in God's creation, we need to understand that it is not easy for any of them to be consistent with what they claim to believe. At bottom, most do not like the results of loving death. You see, if death is natural, and comes to us all with no hope of an afterlife. You just live and you die and that's it. If that's what we believe, then why are people shocked that some people commit suicide when things get rough? Why isn't that an acceptable way out for them? In our schools, we teach children that they are nothing more than sophisticated animals or even rocks. But we are shocked, simply shocked, When they act like animals in their sexual practices or when they kill others wantonly. After all, isn't the survival of the fittest a key component of evolution? Shouldn't the bullies be the ones that win at the end of the day? And this applies on a larger scale as well, and it gets even scarier. Think of Hitler's effort to create the super race and its results, or Paul Popp killing millions in his nation, who got in the way of his plans to advance his civilization. What if we apply the principle of evolution to nations? Haiti is the weakest and poorest nation on our western hemisphere. So perhaps, in evolutionary thinking, the earthquake was a good thing. And all this aid and help that we are sending is just getting in the way of what nature is trying to do. And that's to wipe out the weak, so the strong can survive. The weak must die, so the strong can prosper. Those who hate God love death. But it is very difficult for them to consistently live that way. This is where we as Christians must be ready, always, to give an answer for the faith. But it must be a wholesome and complete faith, ready to give real answers. If we have compromised along the way, if we have given up the creation into the fall, then we don't have any real understanding of these events and certainly no real answers. Here are a few things that I would like to suggest that we learn to do. First, we must follow the biblical command to mourn with those who mourn. We grieve for those who die. Whether it is few or many. Whether we know they are saved or lost. Whether they are a friend or an enemy. And never something. Death is an enemy. And we need to treat it as such. We are never to rejoice in death or to accept it lightly. We are to reflect our God's heart, who the prophet tells us takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Second, I would suggest that we must stand against those who practice their love of death. We must oppose things like abortion on demand, even if it is only practiced among those who hate the Lord. They're killing their children, so it doesn't matter to me. is not a Christian response. And third, we must stand against those who say that we must respect the cultures of others, even when they are cultures that bring much death. Whether Haiti made a pact with the devil or has been oppressed by outside conquerors, is not really the important point. What the people of Haiti need, as do all the nations, is the Gospel and the light and the abundant life that it brings. We talked at length last week about the advance of God's Kingdom over the past 2,000 years and the practical results that we have seen. And brothers and sisters, we can even see the impact of Christian thinking when it comes to catastrophes, catastrophic events like earthquakes. A seven-point earthquake is massive, and it can inflict the type of damage that we saw this week if a culture is not prepared. Contrast what Haiti has experienced with a few major quakes that have struck the United States over the past hundred years. In 1906, an even greater 7.8 quake hit San Francisco and we lost 3,000 souls. If you took the smaller population of San Francisco and brought it up to the three and a half million people that are in Port-au-Prince, it would have meant the loss of 30,000 lives, probably comparable to what we're seeing this week. And that should remind us that God pours out the blessing of rain and the chaos of earthquakes on the just and the unjust in this fallen world. But it is in what follows where we see how cultures make a difference. In the past 50 years, California has experienced three more massive earthquakes. And this time in population centers that are larger than the capital of Haiti. And we lost less than a hundred people in each of them. In 1971, there was a 6.6 quake in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. In 1989, a 6.9 quake in the Bay Area. And again in Los Angeles in the Northridge area in 1994, they had a 6.9 quake. The minimal loss of life was a direct result of the lessons that were learned from the quake of 1906 with greatly improved building standards and rescue efforts. The people of Haiti died this week by the tens of thousands because they did not even have minimal building standards. As personnel and supplies have poured into Haiti from all over the world this week, we have seen more results of the hundreds of years of neglect. There is no infrastructure and even vehicles capable of delivering the aid, not because of the earthquake, but because it was a backward nation. We also see a serious lack of community spirit to help one another. Time after time this week, we've seen someone on TV saying, when is someone going to come and help us? As the aid sits out at the Port-au-Prince Airport. The United States shares a large part of the blame for the condition of this nation. We occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1935. Since then, we've interfered several more times, militarily and politically, along with sending them hundreds of millions of dollars of support. What we failed to make a priority was the Gospel. We have exported to Haiti goods, people, democracy, medical clinics, education, but it has not changed the culture. Only the Gospel can do this. And we as Christians must once again boldly proclaim this truth. You see, we could be quick to judge, as Pastor Robertson did, or we could be quick to act that things like this are out of God's control. but neither of those, I would contend, are biblical. The biblical response is to remember to keep God at the center of all things. God is in control. Yes, this quake came from His hand, just as does every other earthquake. or volcano eruption or flood or hurricane. Nature does not run amok doing its own thing. God has appointed the day of each man's death, including all of those who lost their lives this week in Haiti. We know that God is in control and that He is a just and loving God. What we, as mere creatures, must not pretend to know is the vastness or even the wisdom of His plan. If you start to say, well, God is... please catch yourself. to say, I think God may be, and even there, be careful. You see, we know that death is real. But it is the enemy. It is the result of man's sin. As with the flood, God could be just if He wiped out all of the men living on the earth at any point in time. We also know that death is not the end, but that we will all be resurrected. Resurrected unto life or unto judgment. And that is what is important to consider as history moves forward. Sometimes a little perspective, as we talked about last week, is helpful. If CNN or Fox News had been around at the time of the Roman Empire, some of the coverage of events of those days would have been as graphic and hard to understand as Haiti has been this week. Watching the people of Jerusalem starve to death in A.D. 70 and then having the survivors wiped out by cruel Roman soldiers would have been very difficult to watch and would have brought a lot of questions. And yet we know from the Scriptures that this came upon them as a judgment of God. It was time to destroy the old creation. Later, we would have seen massive plagues wiping out tens of thousands of Romans and even Christian Romans, which could easily have been seen as a judgment from God as well. Payback for all those evil years of the Roman Empire. And yet, from history, we know that God used this tragedy to advance the growth of His kingdom. There was an explosion in the church population at that time. And the things that were learned and taught helped to advance Christendom over the next 1,500 years. So you see, I could stand up here this morning and I could paint a picture of what just happened in Haiti as a judgment from God for something they've done. Or I could paint it as an opportunity based on these two examples from history. And many are tempted to do so. But we must humbly confess that we do not fully know what God is doing. What we do know, brothers and sisters, is that we must respond with mercy and with love. That's why we're taking a special offering this morning to try to help those with incredible needs in Haiti. We must remember that the biblical priority is to preach the Gospel and to preach it in all of its fullness. We must challenge people who hate God about their love of death and call them to repentance. We must continually show that it makes a big difference which foundation you build a house upon. Whether you build it on a foundation of rock where you believe what God has revealed and know that death is the great enemy. That's a solid foundation. or a foundation of sand where we believe that death is natural and try to deal with its results as best we can. You see, Jesus used the example of two houses built on these kinds of foundations. And lest we wrongly sit in judgment about what happened in Haiti, we must remember that as Jesus told that story, it was not just the house with the sandy foundation that had the storms and the winds and the floods. Both houses were subjected to the winds and the storms. The results of sin in this world and in this creation. And it is only the house that was built upon the rock that survives. It's too late to bring this message to those who have perished this week in Haiti. But the Bible reminds us that it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. Our calling is to the living, both in Haiti and the rest of the world. We must reach out with much Christian love and mercy, and much Christian truth and teaching. We must pray that God's people remember their call to disciple the nations. And we must pray that God would bless those efforts with a revival and much fruit in the stricken nation of Haiti. Let's pray.