(Sermon by Don Brock: Delivered 12/16/12 in response to Newtown, CT
elementary school killings.)
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. (Romans
12:15)
God, we are weeping for the little children.
We are weeping for their parents, their brothers and sisters, their
grandparents. We are weeping for the community. Many in Newtown, CT have taken
down their Christmas decorations because it is now a time for mourning. I
thought we would ask God some questions this morning and hear what He has to
say.
Don: God, there are a lot of
questions… we are not even sure what to ask. The children who died, are they
with you in heaven?
God: The temptation is to base
things on emotions or sentimentality.
You can always trust my words and my son’s words. His words are my words.
Every person is marked by that first sin in
my garden. (Psalm 51:5) Although you
live with the consequences of that first sin, I do not hold you responsible for Adam’s
sin. I judge people on the basis of their sins. Each person will stand before
my son and give an account of his or her life. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
What I told Moses reveals part of
my nature to you. I passed judgment on my people when they rebelled against me
after I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. I told Moses that they would not
enter the new land as a consequence of their sin. But then I told him, I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent
children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who
occupy it. (Deuteronomy 1:39) I specifically exempted from the judgment those who “have no knowledge of
good or evil” because of their age. These “little ones” would inherit the
Promised Land, and would not be judged on the basis of their fathers’ sins.
(The
Salvation of the ‘Little Ones’: Do Infants who Die Go to Heaven? Article by Mohler
& Akin, 2009)
And
remember what my son said, when some parents brought their children to him so
he could touch and bless them, his disciples scolded the parents for bothering
him. When my son saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He
said to them, “Let the children come to
me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these
children.” (Mark 10:13–14)
It was not my will for a person with such
evil intent to destroy so many lives. Yet, know that I accepted these children
who died in this horrible event into my kingdom by my grace and my son’s death
on the cross.
Many try to impose on me their unbiblical
theology, their human logic or their sentimentalism.
Tell my people in my church who have lost a
child or lost children before they were even born, their child is with me in my
Heaven right now, in this very moment. They
were not made into angels as some have said. They have a much higher place.
They live here as my children, my heirs. (Romans
8:15-17) My home is filled with many
who never grew to maturity on earth. Tell those parents that their child will
greet them one day completed in my son Jesus. Warn them however to resolve by
grace to meet them there. What will be very sad is that many children who died
young and innocent and are with me, some of their parents will never see them
again because they have rejected my son. Pray for those parents in Newtown, CT
that they will open their hearts to my love and grace.
Don: So where have we gone wrong
Lord? How has it gotten so bad in our country?
God: Don, it’s nothing new. Remember
when my son was born? King Herod was filled with fear and evil that he tried to
kill my son. He sent his assassins to Bethlehem to kill all the male children
under the age of 2. “A cry was heard in
Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to
be comforted, for they are dead.” (Matthew 2:18) Herod is still paying for his sins… he will
never finish paying for them.
Don: But there are so many good
people in this country. Do we deserve this?
God: You have forgotten that I will
not be mocked. What you plant is what you will harvest. (Galatians 6:7) Just look at
my basic commands and see how far your country has moved away from me. See how
far even those who claim to know me are really far from me. See how you are harvesting what you have
planted. (Exodus 20:1-17)
1.
“You must not have any
other god but me.”
Yet you have many other gods… anything that you value or spend more time with
than me… that is your god. Where you spend your resources reveals your gods.
2.
“You must not make for
yourself an idol of any kind.” Yet you worship many
idols. You worship athletic superstars. You worship Hollywood celebrities. You
worship sports, entertainment; you worship your money and the things it buys.
Shall I continue?
3.
“You must not misuse the
name of the Lord your God.” Yet you misuse my name all
the time. You sit by and let others use my name or my son’s name as a curse
word. You have become accustom to it. That which offends me no longer offends
you. You have even made up your own slang words so as to not say the actual words
but it means the same. Remember I am looking at your heart. (Proverbs 21:2) So how are you doing so far Don?
4.
“Remember to observe the
Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.” You see, I made you. (Psalm 139) I know your limits and what
is best for you. I made you with a need for proper rest. If you think I am
impressed when you work 7 days a week… even if it is in the church, well, I am
not. I’m saddened that you think you know better than me. Even in church you
have taught this generation of children that church is what you do as long as
it doesn’t interfere with other events. See how easy it is to make excuses
about my command of the Sabbath?
5.
“Honor your father and
mother.” Yet
you have a generation of parents who don’t want to parent their children. You
have many parents who do not deserve to be honored. They want to be their
child’s buddy. Parents are sacrificing their children on the alter of
television, the Internet, video games. Your children are already addicted to
it. Younger and younger children are being absorbed by pornography. It destroys
my design of marriage. It destroys my design of sex. I see many parents to busy
for their children as they selfishly live their lives. They do not realize that
the innocent minds and hearts of their children are being destroyed. I
established parents as the authority in the family. Children often get their
first impressions about me from their parents.
6.
“You must not murder.” Yes, it breaks my
heart that a person filled with an evil heart would destroy so many innocent lives
in Newtown, CT. I watched as the country mourned, devastated, sickened,
disturbed at the deepest level. I was there. Yet you do not weep as I do for
the over 1 million children that were murdered before they drew their first
breathe in your country this year alone. You call it “a woman’s right.” I call
it murder.
7.
“You must not commit adultery.” Yet you
no longer value marriage. You so quickly throw it away. You have perverted my
design for marriage. My son told you that even when you lust in your heart and
fantasize about being with someone else, that is adultery! (Matthew 5:28) When you love
someone more than me, you are committing spiritual adultery. Remember I
invented marriage. I made it sacred. I
created marriage with Adam and Eve. I conducted the very first wedding ceremony
before sin was in the picture. And I am going to conduct the very last wedding
ceremony when I unite my son with his bride. The marriage ceremony is like the
bookends of the human story.
8. “You must not steal.” Yet you steal in so many ways. You
steal someone else’s work and claim it as your own. You steal when you are paid
for a job but do not finish the work. You steal when you do not pay someone for
the work they have done for you. You steal when you lie about your taxes. You
steal from your work place. You steal someone else’s homework. You even dare to
steal from me when you do not tithe. (Malachi
3:8)
9.
“You must not testify
falsely against your neighbor.” Yet you slander, you gossip, you pass along half-truths.
You are even eager to tell about someone else’s sin. And when you later discover that it was not
true, you don’t correct your lie. You will lie when it is convenient for you. You
lie to make yourself appear to be good.
10. “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your
neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that
belongs to your neighbor.” Yet, you look at their house, their car, their
boat and you desire. You compare yourself with others. You fill your heart with
jealousy and envy. You are never satisfied. You always want more.
You have made what I say is good and called it evil. You
have made what I say is evil and called it good. (Isaiah 5:20)
Don: When a tragedy like this
happens it absorbs us for a period of time, but we soon return to our daily
lives, consumed with ourselves. So, what do we do from here?
God: It breaks my heart when I see
the condition of your country. I raised up your country to spread my good news
throughout the world. I raised up your country to have the privilege of being
part of prophecy when I re-established Israel.
But now you think the answers are in
political system. How did that work for the Romans? You think the answer is in
more education and philosophical debates. Where did that get the Greeks? You
think the answer is in more will power; the power of positive thinking… some call
it New Age thinking. I call it the same old lie – man’s foolishness that had
it’s beginning in the Garden of Eden. Serpents still slither on the ground
don’t they? He is still paying for that one.
Your country has worked diligently to remove
me from every place. And you wonder why things like this happen! You fear man
and lawsuits when you need to fear me. (Deuteronomy
13:4) You are concerned that you will offend someone, when you need to be
concerned with offending me.
Don: That’s true. Even in our own
school district there is a lawsuit to throw out any prayers. There is a move to
remove you completely! What breaks your heart God?
God: What breaks my heart the
deepest… it’s not what I see in Washington DC. It’s what I don’t hear from my
own people. I don’t hear your broken heart praying for your nation. Remember
that time when Israel was spiritually bankrupt? One of my deepest hurts was
that among my own people… not a single one was praying. (Isaiah 59:16) I will
respond to your prayers. But let me get right to the point…
I’m not impressed with you playing church.
I’m not impressed with you being the next
“cool” church.
I’m not impressed with your sermons that
tickle the ears and entertain.
I’m not impressed with your slogans and
cleverness.
I’m not impressed with you as you coward in
fear of man.
I’m not impressed with you and your
self-righteousness.
I’m not impressed with you and your wisdom.
I’m not impressed with you and your agenda.
I’m not impressed with you and your plans.
I’m not impressed with you and your talents.
Basically, I’m not impressed with you!
However, when you get down on your knees and
you humble yourself before me with a broken and contrite heart, and you confess
your sins, and you seek me with all of your heart, when you give your full
attention to me and my commands… well, then... (1 Peter 5:6; 2 Chronicles 7:14)
That is when you have my attention!
That is when my ears are tuned in.
That is when my Spirit shows up.
That is when I change your life.
That is when I lift you up out the filth of
this world.
That is when I wash your sins away.
That is when I clothe you in my righteousness.
That is when I call you my child.
That is when I move mountains.
That is when I heal the disease.
That is when I cure the incurable.
That is when I make all things new.
That is when I make you holy, as I am holy.
That is when I bring revival in you.
That is when I bring revival in my church.
That is when I bring a spiritual awakening in
your community.
That is when I bring a spiritual awakening to
this land.
(2 Peter 3:3–18) Most importantly, I want to remind you that in
the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own
desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming
again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same
since the world was first created.” They deliberately forget that I made the
heavens by the word of my command, and I brought the earth out from the water
and surrounded it with water. Then I used the water to destroy the ancient
world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth
have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the Day of Judgment, when
ungodly people will be destroyed.
But
you must not forget this one thing, dear children: A day is like a thousand
years to me, and a thousand years is like a day. I am not really being slow
about my promise, as some people think. No, I am being patient for your sake. I
do not want anyone to be destroyed, but I want everyone to repent. But the day
I have already set will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will
pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will
disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve
judgment.
Since
everything around you is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly
lives you should live, looking forward to my set day and hurrying it along. On
that day, I will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in
the flames. But you should look forward to the new heavens and new earth I have
promised, a world filled with my righteousness. And so, my dear children, while
you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found
living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in my sight. And remember, my
patience gives people time to be saved.
I am
warning you ahead of time, dear children. Be on guard so that you will not be
carried away by the errors of wicked people and lose your own secure footing.
Rather, you must grow in grace and knowledge of my son, your Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Give me all glory, both now and forever!
(Revelation 22) Listen to my son when he said, “Look, I am coming soon!
Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book. Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward
with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through
the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside
the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the
idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie. I, Jesus, have sent my angel
to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and
the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star. The
Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let
anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water
of life. “Yes, I am coming soon!”
A Closing Prayer by Max Lucado
Dear
Jesus,
It's
a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good
eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.
These
killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil
demonstrated.
The
whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of
chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from
annihilation?
Your
world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right?
You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed
a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and
Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark
with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.
Herod
went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You
were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.
Oh,
Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We
are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like
the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.
This
Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.
