MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(PowerPoint slides used in this sermon are available at no charge. Just e-mail me at mnewland@sstelco.com with your request -#253.)
TEXT: Hebrews 1:3; John 14:7-9
After the end of Word War II the American Bible Society published a little pamphlet written by a soldier, Clarence Hall, who had been a part of the invasion of Okinawa. It was entitled, “What I Found At Shimmabuke.” Let me read a portion of what he wrote:
WHAT I FOUND AT SHIMMABUKE - by Clarence W. Hall
It was an obscure little community of only a few hundred native Okinawans. Thirty years before, an American missionary had stopped here. He hadn’t stayed long - just long enough to make a couple of converts, leave them a Bible & then go on.
One of the converts was Shosei Kina, the other was his brother, Mojon. Since the time of the missionary’s visit they had seen no other missionary, had no contact with any other Christian person or group.
But in those 30 years Shosei Kina & Mojon had made that Bible come alive. Picking their way through its pages, they found not only an inspiring Person on whom to pattern a life, but sound precepts on which to base a society.
Aflame with their discovery, they taught the other villagers until every man, woman & child in Shimmabuke was a Christian. Shosei Kina became head man in the village; his brother Mojon, the chief teacher.
In Mojon’s school the Bible was read daily. To Shosei Kina’s village government, its precepts were law. Under the impact of this Book pagan things had fallen away. In their place, during these 30 years, there had developed a Christian democracy at its purest.
Then came World War 2, the Japanese occupation, & finally the American Army storming across the island. Little Shimmabuke was directly in their path & took some severe shelling. When the advance patrols swept up to the village, the GI’s, their guns leveled, stopped in their tracks as two little old men stepped forth, bowed low & began to speak.
An interpreter explained that the old men were welcoming them as fellow Christians. They remembered that their missionary had come from America. So, though these Americans seemed to approach things a little differently, the two old men were overjoyed to see them.
The GI’s reaction was typical. Flabbergasted, they sent for the chaplain.
The chaplain came & with him officers of the Intelligence Service. They toured the village & were astonished at what they saw - the spotlessly clean homes & streets, the high level of health, happiness, intelligence, & prosperity of Shimmabuke.
They had seen many other villages on Okinawa - villages of unbelievable poverty, ignorance, & filth. In comparison to these, Shimmabuke shone like a diamond in a dungheap.
Shosei Kina & Mojon observed the Americans’ amazement, but mistook it for disappointment.
They bowed humbly & said: "We are sorry if we seem a backward people. We have, honored sirs, tried our best to follow the Bible & live like Jesus. Perhaps if you will show us how . . ." Show them??
Clarence Hall went on to say, "I strolled through Shimmabuke one day with a tough old Army sergeant. As we walked he turned to me & whispered hoarsely, `I can’t figure it - this kind of people coming out of only a Bible & a couple of old guys who wanted to live like Jesus!’ Then he added, `Maybe we’ve been using the wrong kind of weapons!’"
You see, the relationship we have with God is the pivotal point in our lives. Our relationship with God determines our values. It determines our attitude toward duty & responsibility - towards our homes & families. What we believe, or fail to believe, about God is the critical issue of life.
One thing is for sure, none of us can ever say that we don’t know God because God has not revealed Himself to us. Hebrews 1:3 says this about Jesus: “The Son (that’s Jesus) is the radiance of God’s glory & the exact representation of His being….” And in John 14: 9 Jesus Himself said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."
If you want to explain who God is, & what He is like, & what He is doing, all you have to do is look at Jesus, because in Him you have a picture of God. When you have seen Jesus, you have indeed seen the Father.
In fact, the revelation of God through Jesus Christ can be pretty well summed up in three simple statements that I want to share with you this morning: I. GOD’S LOVE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!
A. First of all, through Jesus, we learn this about the Father: “He will never let you down! God’s love will never let you down!”
We see that through the ministry of Christ. When people came to Jesus with questions, He always supplied answers. When they came to Him with problems, He always had solutions. I cannot think of one time in all of the Gospels when Jesus said to someone who came to Him with a real need, "I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that. You’ll have to fend for yourself."
It didn’t matter if their lives were caught up in immorality, or if they were searching for theological answers. It didn’t matter if they were physically ill. It did not matter what the problem or burden was. When they came to Jesus, He never let them down, but always lifted them up.
So, through Jesus, the first thing we learn about God is this: God will never let you down!
B. Now, sometimes it seems that He does. We pray for God to take away our aches & pains & solve our problems, & it seems that nothing happens. Therefore, we get the impression that God is far from us & doesn’t even hear our prayers.
C. But the problem is not that God is letting us down. The problem is our point of view. We tend to think that our little lives are the center of the universe - that everything revolves around what we want.
So, if God is taking care of my health - if God is taking care of my family - if God is taking care of my financial needs - if God is taking care of all my problems - then God is lifting me up.
But if God doesn’t take care of my little circle - then God is letting me down. We fail to realize that we are not the center - but rather that God’s plan is the center. Everything revolves around that.
Sometimes, as things revolve around the center of God’s Plan, you & I don’t get everything we want - or think that we ought to have - even though we have prayed fervently about it.
We must understand that just because I smash my finger - or have a flat tire - that does not mean that God has let me down. The overriding thing that governs everything in the world is still the will & plan of God, & it is being carried out.
That is the reason Paul tells us in Romans 8:28, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Paul is not saying that all things are going to be good - God never promised that to us. God never promised us that He would save us from trouble. He did promise that He would save us in the midst of trouble - but He never promised to save us from trouble.
There is a great verse that is found in the 23rd Psalm. You know it & can recite it as well as I. But have you ever thought about what it teaches?
Here is the verse: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Have you ever thought about what that means?
Now listen, it doesn’t say, "I will take away your enemies." It doesn’t say, "I will guarantee victory over your enemies." But it says, "In the midst of the struggle & the pain of life - in the midst of troubles & worries & cares & burdens too heavy to carry - there is always a table where God’s people can come & find strength for life itself."
ILL. Some years ago a widow shared some of the story of her life. When her husband was 39 he died in his sleep of a massive heart attack.
That day had begun like any other day - he awoke at the same time - went to work - performed his duties - came home at the end of the day - played with his kids - ate supper - watched TV with his family - tucked his kids into bed - kissed his wife "goodnight" & went to sleep - never to awake. He died in his sleep.
She was 37 when he died & left her with 3 children - a son, 15, a daughter 8, & another son, 6. She said, "I was not a Christian when he died, & at first the burden was so heavy."
She said, "I thought that God & everyone else had forsaken me & that life was no longer worth living. But somehow, in the midst of my struggles," she said, "God found me & lifted me up. I’ll not tell you that we didn’t have troubles," she continued. "I had rebellious teenagers & trouble making ends meet. I had to work day & night to be both a mother & a father to them.
"But now I look back on all that, & I can see 3 beautiful children, happily married, raising their children in the church. And I know that through it all - the tears, the trials & the tribulations - God never let me down!"
God will never let you down! I don’t care how heavy your burdens are. I don’t care how great your worries & concerns & problems - God will never let you down!
II. GOD’S LOVE WILL NEVER LET YOU OFF!
Secondly, through Jesus we also learn that “God’s love will never let you off!” In our attempts to preach about a God who will never let you down, oftentimes we forget to tell about a God who will never let you off.
A. God will never let you off the hook. Because God is Holy - because God is righteous, because God is love - God must punish sin. And, as surely as God is love - God is also just.
ILL. Jonathan Edwards, a great preacher of Colonial America, had a favorite sermon, "Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God." He would vividly picture sinners dangling over the pits of hell in the grasp of an angry God. He preached it so effectively that women fainted in the pews & men clung to the columns of the church building to find support - because he told them of the awful coming doom & wrath of God.
Now, we don’t do that - & maybe rightly so. It would be wrong to paint only the picture of God’s wrath. So, in our attempt to swing away from that, maybe we have gone too far in the other direction. Maybe everybody thinks that God will just forgive us - because it is God’s nature to forgive.
B. Maybe people have been left with the idea that it doesn’t matter how we live - it doesn’t matter how many times we have sinned - God is a God of love, so He will always pat us on the head & say, "It’s all right. I understand, & everything will be fine for all eternity."
ILL. If that is what we have done, we have made a tragic mistake. In trying to preach about God’s love, I’m afraid that we have pictured Him as a doting grandfather. But God is not a doting grandfather.
God is our Father - & because He is our Father, He will discipline us. Because we have sinned - because we have fallen short of His glory - because God is holy & cannot tolerate sin - any sin that is unrepented of & unredeemed will be punished.
Someone needs to speak that message. God’s love will never let you off!
III. GOD’S LOVE WILL NEVER END!
Finally, through Jesus we learn that “God’s love will never end.” God’s love never ends!
The first point of this sermon: "God’s love will never let you down" is a message of comfort to those who are sinking in the pits of life - caught up in despair & hopelessness.
The second point of this sermon: "God’s love will never let you off" is a message of warning to all who are flirting with sin & feel that they can get away with it. Galatians 6:7 warns us, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. What you sow is also what you are going to reap." God will punish sin.
And this third point: "God’s love will never end" is a reassurance that no matter how deep you may sink - how far you may wander - God’s love is still there.
A. The true test of love is love that will still be there when that love is not returned. The amazing quality of God’s love is that it is always there.
You see that illustrated in the life of Jesus. He kept on loving even though they nailed Him to a cross - even though they spat on Him & laughed at Him & mocked Him & ridiculed Him - He kept on loving.
He prayed for their forgiveness. Even though they returned hatred for His love - He never withdrew His love. And that shows us God’s love. It doesn’t make any difference how far we wander - how deep our sin - how great our trials & tribulations – God’s love will never end.
B. When Jesus was asked why He spent so much time with sinners & publicans, He told 3 stories that are recorded in Luke 15. You know them well.
ILL. Jesus told about a woman who had lost a coin. Jesus said that God is like the woman who searches for the lost coin until she finds it.
ILL. He told about the good shepherd who counted his sheep & discovered that one was missing - & went out into the night until he found the lost sheep & brought it home again. And God is like that shepherd.
ILL. And God is like the father waiting for his prodigal son to come home - looking out the window - watching down the long road that led into the far country.
One day there is a tiny speck. He squints his eyes, "It looks like my son," he says. "It walks like my son. It is my son!" And down the steps & out the gate & down the road he runs to greet him - because God will never, never withdraw His love!
He gives you the freedom to walk away - to go into the far country & stay there forever if you want to. He gives you the freedom to laugh at Him & reject Him if you want to. But God’s love never ends.
ILL. Henry Lauder was a comedian, & during World War II his 2 sons were drafted into the army. Both of them died in combat.
After the war was over Henry Lauder was near a nervous breakdown. He went to his doctor, who recommended complete rest & relaxation. So he went to the seashore & walked along the beach. He spent his time reading & meditating & relaxing.
He made a few new friends, & one of them was a small boy. One night Henry Lauder & this small boy were walking along the beach as the sun was going down. They listened to the waves, & looked at the scenery around them.
The boy noticed that there were little flags with stars on them hanging in the windows of some of the houses along the beach. He asked Mr. Lauder what that meant. Henry Lauder said, "It means that in every home where there is a flag that that family sent a son to war." "But," said the boy, "some of the stars are silver & some are gold. What does that mean?"
Lauder said, "Where there is a silver star it means that the boy came home safely. Where there is a gold star it means that the boy died in combat."
They walked a little further & night came upon them. The boy looked up at the first evening star, & he said, "There is a star in God’s sky - & it is a gold star! Does it mean that God sent His son to war?"
Lauder stood for a moment, & with a catch in his voice said, "Yes, son. It means that God sent His son into war - the greatest war that has ever been fought. And yes, the star is gold because God’s son died in that combat."
Folks, I can think of no better way to tell you of God than to say: "God’s love will never let you down. God’s love will never let you off. And God’s love will never end."
INVITATION:
