A TALK ON THE TOPIC:
YOU ARE A DOUBLE VIP!
BY
REV’D EGERTON GBONDA
AT THE
BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY SERVICE
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH BARKINGSIDE, LONDON-UK
ON SUNDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER, 2008
INTRODUCTION
I count this as a privilege to be at this all important service. I see it as an unmerited favour, because today I am in the company of some very important people- VIPs, celebrities.
In the eyes of God, VIPs or celebrities are you and I. We may not be at the limelight or constantly in front of television cameras. Yet God sees us as His VIPs. This will form the basis of today’s talk- i.e. our important status in the sight of God. I have therefore titled today’s message thus- WE ARE DOUBLE VIPs. For the next 15 minutes or so, I want us to spend some time examining the Bible- what it says about our special status in the eyes of God. I would love us to begin with a short prayer. Please let us pray: God we thank you once again for an opportunity of this nature- to worship you in such freedom and to fellowship with one another. You know we are about to spend some time looking at the Bible on this all important subject- our special relationship with you and fellow humans. Give us your own understanding of this subject; in Jesus’ Name we pray- amen.
WHAT DO I MEAN BY BEING DOUBLE VIPs?
First, we are all very important persons (I repeat- very important people) in our relationship with our creator- God. Secondly, we are very important pillars of the Body of Christ- that is the network of the fellowship of believers in Christ. God, our creator, has niche a position for us. I will use this mathematical illustration- God wants us to have a perpendicular line relationship. You may recall in maths, a vertical line and a horizontal line meeting at a point is a perpendicular line, to put it very simply (see diagram I).
Diagram I
A Perpendicular Line
Our creator wants us to be at the centre- at that point where the two lines meet. If we find ourselves at the centre, where the 2 lines meet, we position ourselves where God views us as very important individuals; as well as being an important pillar to fellow believers in Christ and those who are not. When we are at the centre, we share a very important relationship with God- this is illustrated using the vertical line and the horizontal line showing the role we play as very important pillars to fellow Christians and those who are not. Diagram II gives further explanation.
A paradigm showing our perpendicular line relationship we have with God and fellow humans
Diagram II
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT WE BEING VERY IMPORTANT PERSONS FROM GOD’S VIEW POINT?
Let us leaf through some parts of the Bible to see our unique position:
• The Bible tells us that of all of God’s created order, we were created in His image or likeness. You are special and important, I am also special and important from God’s own estimation; because we have that tendency in us to relate with God, to yearn for Him, to partner with Him- to bring what Jesus called ‘your Kingdom come on earth as it is Heaven’, that is Kingdom values on earth. (We must not forget this fact that God is the King of the entire universe). Being created in His own likeness is an indication of our special relationship with Him- how very important we are to Him. We are so important that He wants us to partner with Him, to fellowship with Him. This is a motif that is deeply buried in the Bible. In the cool of the day, we are told in the first Book of the Bible (Genesis chapter 3) that, our first parents- Adam and Eve- heard the sound of God walking in the Garden. They were able to recognise the sound because they have been used to it- the sound of God visiting them to fellowship with them in their own environment. We also see in the last Book of the Bible called Revelation in chapter 3- Jesus saying He is standing at the doors of our lives, knocking and requesting to come in have fellowship with us. It had always been God’s desire to fellowship and partner with us; because are very important to Him.
• Again the good old Book mentions that we are wonderfully made by Him. Listen to what the author of Psalm 139 verses 13 to 15 had to say about you and I. I will read it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible: ‘You are the one who put me together inside my mother’s body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you…!’ We were well designed by God, so marvelously made and we are not hidden from Him. I have no doubt that this particular passage in the Bible is very true- you know what? Each time I look at my wife I see the marvelous work of a great designer. My Christian friends, you are a very important person to God- you were wonderfully designed by Him, so am I.
Again this tells us the unique position God has put us- a special place that shows us how very important we are to Him.
• Let us examine another verse in the Bible. God had a message for an ordinary fellow like you and I, the guy was called Jeremiah. He had chosen him long before he was born. Definitely he has chosen us too. Though, perhaps, not like the same kind of prophet as Jeremiah. In the book of Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5, God said: ‘Jeremiah, I am your Creator, and before you were born, I chose you …’ the words of God to Jeremiah are also applicable to us today. God is calling us by name saying before we were born He has already chosen us, to make us the kind of very important person He wants us to be. Isn’t that unique? Telling us how special we are to God?
• Let me share another passage from the Bible. Most of us may be familiar with the feeding of the 5,000 people by Jesus. You will see it in the Gospel account. Let us look at John chapter 6. We are told that Jesus and His disciples were tired, as a result of their usual hard work and they needed some rest. But the crowd, who were very much captivated by Jesus’ works (in particular His miraculous healing of sick people) still lingered on; even though it was late in the day. Jesus knew their felt need and asked His disciples that they need to provide some food for them; the disciples saw this as something impossible. To make a long story short, one of the disciples spotted a chap with a very small quantity of pack lunch. Jesus used the little this boy’s lunch to feed the 5,000.
We can learn something from this- we are so special to God, so unique, so important that He understands our felt or real needs and nothing (I repeat- NOTHING) will stop Him from attending to those needs of ours. What may seem humanly impossible Jesus is ready to turn it to possibility.
We may be going through difficult times- perhaps the lost of a loved one or someone dear to you in a critical condition (be it financial, health wise or a broken heart because of a loved ones attitude to us or loneliness); whatever is our current felt need, let us be rest assured that Jesus cares. A popular passage in the Bible which most of us know is Psalm 23. We are told in this Psalm that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we should fear no evil; because Jesus is with us with His rod and staff to comfort us.
Saints (i.e. fellow Christians) have trod similar paths of difficulty and heart breaking times. Whatever we are going through, we are still very important persons to God. I do not know what you are going through; the words of this great English poet and hymn writer (William Cowper) may bless your heart. It has blessed my own heart. In his hymn ‘God moves in a mysterious way’; he penned the penultimate and last stanzas with these words- ‘Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. His purpose may ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower.’
God indeed moves in mysterious ways we do not understand. But despite our sad conditions we must remember- we are very important to Him. The sparrows that fall on the ground, Jesus said- God cares for them what about you and I. My friend- we are very important to God!
WE ARE ALSO VERY IMPORTANT PLILLARS
Let us take our minds once again to that perpendicular line illustration. On the horizontal line it indicates this- we share with other people. If we find ourselves at the centre of both the vertical and horizontal lines, we play a pivotal role- working with both fellow Christians and those who are not. Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians (in chapter 12) describes Christians as members of Christ’s Body. Indeed so we are- and we are very important pillars in the Body of Christ. Are we playing our role among this network of Christians; as well as those who are outside the network? I mean are we playing a balanced role? If we find ourselves at the centre of the vertical and horizontal lines, we are playing that role.
At times we are skewed too much to the left or the right. And this is what happens:
Diagram III
Certain factors may have led to us shifting from God’s original position He niche for us, that perpendicular line relationship- in which we are at right angle with Him and our fellow humans.
I do not know what factors would have made you to shift- perhaps towards materialism; that things of God do not actually matter. I find myself being convicted by God on certain tendencies that pull me away from the position God wants me to be. I get myself worked up doing things that definitely are towards materialism (especially this time of the season- approaching Christmas). Or perhaps we are now caring less about those who are not Christians- we may be shy or not bold to share the Good News, that God’s intention for humankind is that all be saved and spend eternity with Him. We may sometimes tend to be too over politically correct (the buzz word today), keeping our faith in the private spheres- not trying to hurt the next person- who does not share our faith and so we fail to share the Good News. We must not forget that ‘a charge to keep we have (and) a God to glorify; a dying to soul to save and fit him (her) for the sky’. God’s intention for us is to be back at that position He actually meant for us.
I believe this is the time for us to realign or get onto the position God wants us to be. Do not forget- you are a very important person to God; God needs you, He needs me too! He wants to partner with us, to fellowship with us- to bring about kingdom values where He has placed us.
We may sing this hymn- ‘Just As I am Without One Plea…’ I believe as we sing it, God will bring us or realign us to the status He wants to be- that very important person as well as that very important pillar.
