“God's
Valentine” By Brother Kenneth Ray Sunday, February 14th,
2010 There were 3 parts to this message: 1)
Giving a valentine 2)
Receiving a
valentine 3)
Being a
valentine Giving a Valentine Looking at this process from God’s point of view, way back in Genesis, God saw that man was lonely, so God gave him a valentine, and her name was Eve. Many years later, after the fall of man, God repented that He had made man. He flooded the earth, and destroyed all humankind, except for 8 people: Noah and his family. After the ark rested, God gave Noah another valentine, the rainbow. The Bible calls it God’s bow. Genesis
9:13-19
…I do set my bow in
the cloud… The rainbow reminds us of God’s covenant; He still loves us. Another reminder: Luke
2:8-14
…the glory of the Lord
shone round about them…
The
angel was a messenger, bringing greetings from God.
Imagine sitting in the dark, and a heavenly
Host just appears, with all its glory, and singing about the goodness
of God. I don’t
think John
3:16
For God so loved the world… God sent the world a gift, and even in the gift, He brought a gift. We woke up this morning, and our bodies work. We don’t fully understand how they work, but we know that they do. Jesus came, and gave gifts in the form of healing, restoration, and recovery. He healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks. He healed many blind people, as well. After ward, the giving of gifts came by the Holy Ghost. At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples that He would send another comforter; by the Holy Ghost, we get gift of prophecy, interpretation, helps, governments, understanding, wisdom, and knowledge. Jesus left 11 disciples, but then Matthias was added. As you read the Word, His Spirit is stirred. Receiving a Valentine Jesus came, and some people received Him. Some people received Him to a degree. Some people didn’t receive Him at all. Some people are happy to receive Him as a friend (“What a friend we have in Jesus…”), but some people receive Him with a special interest (You know that there is a difference when I receive a valentine from a friend or an associate, as opposed to when I receive a valentine from my wife). Some people don’t believe in God at all. Jesus once asked the question, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Matthew
16:13-17
…Whom do men say that I
the Son of man am?... Do you know who he is? What does He do for us? You need to do more than just know about Him. Our bishop, Pastor Peter F. Paine, says, “We all want Jesus to be our Savior, but not everybody wants Him to be their Lord.” He needs to be our all in all; He is my everything: before family, work, obligation, or even myself. He does make the world go around. Today we look at receiving Him. Some people want to believe some parts of the Bible, like a bundle from the cable company. You should either except it all the way, not part of the way, or not at all. John
14:15
If ye love me, keep my
commandments. He didn’t say, “Keep some of my commandments.” Acts
2:38
…and ye shall receive the
Gift of the Holy Ghost… Acts
2:40-47
… And they continued stedfastly
in the apostles' doctrine… Three thousand souls were added to the church, and they were all in one accord, and they added to the church daily. If we do God’s will, we will see people added to the church daily. But that means getting out of our own houses, and making new friends. You may say, “But I’m not a good speaker,” well, neither was Moses. Being a Valentine
You
may remember Valentine’s Day at school, where you got many valentines,
but many
of those were from people that weren’t the popular kids, or maybe from
somebody
that you didn’t particularly care for.
There
were some that you really treasured, but then there were some that you
just
threw away. Matthew
7:21 Not
every man that sayeth unto
me, Lord, Lord…
Not
every one is a keeper. In
blended
families, not all of the children have the same last name. If those children are
adopted, then they take
on a new family name. In
God’s family,
once you are adopted, then you have His last name.
If the last names don’t match, then you aren’t
really of His family, and, come judgment, he will say, “I never knew
you.” John
6:39-40 …of
all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing…
God
never intended for us to have separation from Him.
He didn’t intend for man to go to Hell, but
He did want us to have free will.
Hell
was intended for Satan and his minions. John
14:3
…I go and prepare a place
for you…
The
place prepared for us has streets of gold.
It’s hard to quantify.
I can’t
really tell you what it’s like, but I know it’s going to be great. Revelations
21:4
…the former things are
passed away. He will wipe away our tears; there will be no mourning there. There will be the receiving of the saints; we will stand around the throne. He pulls for you to make it. There will be everlasting joy and celebration. The flesh will be gone; God’s children will be home. That is God’s true valentine, but it won’t be complete until you get Home. Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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