Yours

 

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

April 27, 2008

 

Acts 17:24-26

 

 

^Acts 17:24-26  ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,  ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.  ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

 

            Traveling to another country really opens your eyes to the fact that this world is so much bigger than we ever imagine, a fact the 7 team members who traveled by air and car for a total of 28 hours just to come home to New Hartford learned first-hand. Being immersed in another culture yet reinforces the fact that while this world is so much bigger than we could ever imagine, there are commonalities that run throughout the world – friendships, laughter, a need to know Christ personally. What is even more amazing and awe-inspiring is that no matter where you go in this world, you are reminded that everything is God’s. God made everything in this world and He blessed me and the other 6 Hong Kong team members an opportunity to experience a new part of His creation. He allowed us to develop relationships and friendships with the students in Hong Kong who literally live on the other side of the world.

            Even after traveling for 28 hours, and being on the other side of this world, we did not leave the stretch of our Father’s arms. Everything that we saw was God’s. It was all his creation. They are all God’s people.

            The Apostle Paul experienced a very similar revelation in our text this morning. He was on his second missionary journey, and Paul was in Athens . As he roamed the streets of Athens , he took notice of several things. The first thing that he noticed was that the city was full of idols. The second thing that Paul noticed was that there was an altar with the inscription: TO AN UNKOWN GOD.

            Paul then began preaching the good news of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion and resurrection. He began by saying that he was going to clarify who this unknown God that they worshiped was. They were intrigued and pulled him aside wondering what these new teachings were all about. They wanted to know more.

            Paul clarified to the people in Athens that this unknown god that they were worshiping was indeed the one and only God, the creator of the universe and all of creation. This was the same God who loved his fallen creation so much that he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, into this sinful world to pay the price of sin and death.

            As much as these new cultures that Paul was experiencing were frustrating, Paul did not loose sight of the fact that everything that He saw was all God’s. Every building and every person was the sole property and possession of God, the creator of the universe. The people that he preached to were all his creation, God’s children.

            In our busy day to day lives, we tend to lose sight of the fact that we are only strangers in this world. We work long hard hours so that we can acquire more things. We buy bigger houses and newer cars. We buy new computers, gadgets and gizmos to occupy all of our free time. We go through this life and we try to accumulate as much stuff as we can.

            We like to call things our own. We like to write our names on them, to make sure that everyone knows to whom they belong. But in doing so, we quickly lose sight of whose world we live in. Technology and modern man do their best to try to keep God out of the picture.

            God never lost sight of His creation, not even when his perfect creation rejected him and disobeyed the one command he set before them. Adam and Eve were God’s perfect creation, created in his image. They were His… yet they still disobeyed God. They decided that they knew better than what God commanded them, and they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge, because they wanted to be like God. Even after they disobeyed Him, God did not disown his children, his creation. God didn’t just leave Adam and Eve to fend for themselves. God made clothing for Adam and Eve. God still cared for them and loved them.

            God loved them so much that even after His perfect creation disobeyed him, he promised them a redeemer and savior. God never disowned Adam and Eve, he still considered them his children. He still considered them his own.

            The Israelites wandering around in the wilderness thought that God had forgotten them. They griped and complained. They thought that they were led out to the wilderness to die. Yet God still cared for his children. God sent them manna and quail to eat. He gave them water to drink. God never forgot about them. God always provided for their needs.

            Just as God provided for the needs of Adam and Eve, and the Israelites, God cares for all of your needs. Why does God do this? Why does God bother to care for us, when we keep disappointing him? We promise God that we will not do those things that keep hurting him, yet we turn around minutes after asking for forgiveness and find ourselves smack dab in the middle of that same sin for which we had just asked for forgiveness.

            God cares for us, because we are all His Children. We are His children, his creation. God never forgets you, his child. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to this earth to die for each one of your sins. When Jesus was suffering on that cross he was thinking of you. He was paying the price for those actions that we do over and over again that hurt God. When Christ died on the cross he was showing you his eternal love. Jesus himself said in John chapter 13 that “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

            Jesus considers each and every one of you his friends. He loved you so much that he laid down his life for each and every one of you. He sacrificed his life for you, so that you could share eternity with him. It was on the cross on Calvary that you were made right with God. Your sins were forgiven; your sins were all taken away by Jesus Christ.

            We were all born into this world and we were full of sin. Jesus gave us something tangible that we can latch on to when we doubt our salvation. When each one of you was baptized, Christ came to you. Christ made you His child. It had nothing to do with the person who performed the baptism, or where it took place. The Holy Spirit came to you when you were baptized.

            For me, I was made God’s Child on May 14, 1978: Mother’s Day. I was only 9 days old when the Holy Spirit washed me clean of all my sin. However, I can look back to this specific date and say it was on that very day that I was made a child of God. It was on May 14, 1978 that I became a child of God.

            As I look back to my baptism, I remember with certainty that it was on that day that I became God’s Child. It was on that day that my life was no longer my own, it was God’s. I am God’s child. I live my life for him. I have made a lot of mistakes over the past 30 years, ones that I am not at all proud of. However, no matter what terrible things I have done in my past, I never strayed away from the arms of my Heavenly Father. God never left me. God never abandoned me. As Isaiah 41:10 reminds us, ”So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Even as I am reassured by this promise of steadfast love and strength from our Lord, I still find myself struggling at times to trust God completely with events and happenings in my life.  Giving things over to God are extremely difficult. I know that first hand from my short life’s experiences.

The past 9 months of my vicarage here at St. Paul ’s has already been a difficult year in the life of St. Paul ’s. We have had to say goodbye to many loved ones. In the past month, we have had to say our final goodbyes on this side of heaven to two of our faithful servants: our sister Annie Tullock four weeks ago, and yesterday our brother Al Werner. We don’t know the reasons why God decided to take our friends, our husbands, our fathers at this specific time. We may never know the reasoning behind God’s timing.

However, we do know something that can bring us great comfort. We have said our final goodbyes to our loved ones here on this earth, but we have entrusted them to the care of someone who has more love for us than we could ever imagine. We have given these loved ones back to our Savior Jesus Christ. They are now resting in his eternal arms. They were God’s children here on this earth, and we now entrust them to the care of their heavenly Father. There is no better place for them to be right now. It takes a lot of faith, strength and courage to say to God, “Ok, they are yours alone. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to love and cherish them, and to be a part of their lives here on this earth.”

The same prayer needs to be said, though, for those who are still on this earth.  Let me explain.

One of my personal highlights to our mission trip to Hong Kong was the fact that I was able to develop a close relationship with two guys: Kelvin and Alan. I had several opportunities to hang out with them after school and during some of the social functions that we participated in after school. I became pretty close with Kelvin and Alan; so close that I referred to them as my little brothers.

            On separate occasions I was able to speak with each of them separately about God and their faith. The relationship that we developed was very good, and something that I will treasure always. I am thankful for modern technology and the ability of email that we can still keep in touch.

            On our last day together several of the students joined our team for devotions before they attended church with us. During that devotion the emotions regarding leaving my “little brothers” hit me hard and I wept. I looked around and I saw the tables of these kids that we had all become close to and I wondered why we had to say goodbye. Why couldn’t we bring them back with us? Why did we have to say goodbye?

            However, I was reminded that I was not leaving them all alone. We left our new friends and family in the hands of our Savior Jesus Christ. The seeds of faith had been planted in each of them, and I was leaving them in the hands of Jesus Christ, because there was no better place for them to be. We were able to encourage those who were Christians, and we were able to share the Gospel with those who were not yet Christian. We were even able to give several of them Bibles to encourage them in a daily walk with Jesus Christ. The seeds of faith had been plated and watered. It was now up to the Holy Spirit to take care of the rest.

            So as our bus pulled away at 2:30 last Sunday afternoon I watched our new friends wave goodbye, and chase after our bus. As the tears flowed down my face I gave them back to God. I said: “Ok God they are yours now. We leave them in your hands. Take care of them. Watch over them. And may the Holy Spirit allow that seed planted in each of them to grow and flourish.”

            So as you go home this morning to begin a new week in our Savior Jesus Christ, remember that everything that you have is God’s. Your life, your family, your possessions, your decisions: everything that we call our own is actually God’s. When we place our fears, our hurts and our loved ones in the hands of God, there is no better place for them to be. God will take care of the hurting. God will take care of the pain. God will care for our loved ones no matter how far away they might be. Let us give everything over to God and place them back into his hands, because there is no better place to be. You are God’s child. You are His.

            Amen.

 

Lord, we thank you that you have made us each Your child. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your strength. Give us the strength to give everything over to you. I am yours.  Amen.