All my sermons use illustration found at sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted.
HE’S ALWAYS THERE!
I know that I have battled with something many people in our world battle with on a regular basis, and that is the feeling of loneliness. More people in our world today feel alone, even if they are continually surrounded by people. Preachers, pastors, ministers of the gospel are extremely susceptible to this feeling because they are in a position where they must be very guarded about who they consider close friends. They are shepherds by trade and no good shepherd can show any kind of favoritism, as a matter of fact, they must guard against anyone perceiving that there is favoritism going on.
When I speak of loneliness, I am not speaking of people being hermits, or about people who no one likes, I’m speaking of the feeling of not being understood, or perhaps feeling like people are constantly judging you. I’m talking about those of us who feel mis-understood, those of us who want badly to find others who view things the way we do, who know how we feel, who know what we aspire and people who are ready to come along side us. It is when we are unable to find these kind of people we feel alone. Now I know that most people don’t want to admit that they suffer from feeling alone. People today will admit any problem - drugs, divorce, alcoholism - "but there’s one admission that people are loath to make, whether they’re a star on television or someone who fixes televisions in a repair shop. It’s just too embarrassing. It penetrates too deeply to the core of who they are." People don’t want to admit that they are (sometimes) lonely. "Loneliness is such a humiliating malady that it ought to have its own politically correct euphemism: ’relationally challenged.’ Or its own telethon. Anything to make it safer to confess. Because right now it’s a taboo, an affliction of losers and misfits. And - to be honest - of respectable people like you and me."
I have no problem saying that I suffer from being lonely, and I know that many of you here today feel the same way. The housewife who keeps house all day, does all the chores, fixes the meals, runs all the errands, she stays so busy, but she feels so all alone. The businessman who goes off to work every day, works his shift, comes home and relaxes, but he feels so all alone.
Our world has changed and there is a greater amount of stress in the world today then in days gone by.
It is correct to assume there has never been a more stress-ridden society than ours. For many, gone are the days of enjoying bubbling brooks along winding pathways or taking long strolls near the beach. The relaxed bike ride through the local park has been replaced with the roar of a motorcycle whipping through busy traffic. The easy-come, easy-go lifestyle of the farm has been preempted by a hectic urban family going in six different directions…existing on instant dinners, shouting matches, strained relationships, too little sleep, and too much television. Add financial setbacks, failure at school, unanswered letters, obesity, loneliness, a ringing phone, unplanned pregnancies, fear of cancer, misunderstanding, materialism, alcoholism, drugs, and an occasional death: then subtract the support of the family unit, divide by dozens of opinions, multiply by 365 days a year, and you have the makings of madness! Stress has become a way of life; it is the rule rather than the exception”
All of us feel the stress and the loneliness of the world in which we exist, but don’t always feel a very important part of it.
However, for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of their life and Master of their future, they are never alone, because Jesus promised us we would never be alone.
Matt 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Throughout scripture we see that God never allows His children to be all alone, He is with them every step of the way.
Moses was faced with a difficult task but God was there every step of the way.
Noah, Daniel, David and Gideon all turned to God when they felt alone. David questioned God many times in the Psalms, asking if God had abandoned him, yet he always answered his own question, knowing that God was still there and would never leave him all alone.
NOW, it is so much easier to talk about never being alone because God is with us, then it is feeling we are not alone because God is with us.
Dr. James Dobson relates a story of an elderly woman named Stella Thornhope who was struggling with her first Christmas alone. Her husband had died just a few months prior through a slow developing cancer. Now, several days before Christmas, she was almost snowed in by a brutal weather system. She felt terribly alone——so much so she decided she was not going to decorate for Christmas. Late that afternoon the doorbell rang, and there was a delivery boy with a box. He said, "Mrs. Thornhope?" She nodded. He said, "Would you sign here?" She invited him to step inside and closed the door to get away from the cold. She signed the paper and said, "What’s in the box?" The young man laughed and opened up the flap, and inside was a little puppy, a golden Labrador Retriever. The delivery boy picked up the squirming pup and explained, "This is for you, Ma’am. He’s six weeks old, completely housebroken." The young puppy began to wiggle in happiness at being released from captivity.
"Who sent this?" Mrs. Thornhope asked. The young man set the animal down and handed her an envelope and said, "It’s all explained here in this envelope, Ma’am. The dog was bought last July while its mother was still pregnant. It was meant to be a Christmas gift to you." The young man then handed her a book, How to Care for Your Labrador Retriever.
In desperation she again asked, "Who sent me this puppy?" As the young man turned to leave, he said, "Your husband, Ma’am. Merry Christmas." She opened up the letter from her husband. He had written it three weeks before he died and left it with the kennel owners to be delivered with the puppy as his last Christmas gift to her. The letter was full of love and encouragement and admonishments to be strong. He vowed that he was waiting for the day when she would join him. He had sent her this young animal to keep her company until then. She wiped away the tears, put the letter down, and then remembering the puppy at her feet, she picked up that golden furry ball and held it to her neck. Then she looked out the window at the lights that outlined the neighbor’s house, and she heard from the radio in the kitchen the strains of "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come." Suddenly Stella felt the most amazing sensation of peace washing over her. Her heart felt a joy and a wonder greater than the grief and loneliness.
"Little fella," she said to the dog, "It’s just you and me. But you know what? There’s a box down in the basement I’ll bet you’d like. It’s got a little Christmas tree in it and some decorations and some lights that are going to impress you."
God has a way of sending a signal of light to remind us life is stronger than death. Light is more powerful than darkness. God is more powerful than Satan.
BUT, it is one thing to SAY that we are not alone in this world and another to convince ourselves that we are not alone. Even knowing that God has never left our side doesn’t mean that we don’t feel all alone. Most of us ask the question, “How is knowing that God is with me, because the Bible says He is, supposed to keep me from feeling all alone in this world?” I have felt this question at the very core of my being. All of us have felt betrayed by other people, we have felt the weight of the world and feel as if there is no one can understand our pain. We have felt the pressure of unpaid bills with no one to make it go away, we have felt the sting of broken relationships with no one to make it better.
There are so many that feel real loneliness during the Christmas season, those that are away from home, those who really don’t know where to call home, but in Him we will always be at home. Christmas may not measure up to the warmth projected from your favorite Christmas catalog, because loneliness, alienation, and trouble are real. Some people will always have to live in their own, private war zone. Life can be hard. However, it was into that kind of world that God sent Jesus, and it was to the people of that world that the angels sang! Even without a Christmas tree, Christ can be born in our hearts today. Let’s remember the true message of Christmas: Emmanuel- God with us!
BUT?
HOW, can knowing that God is with us take away the loneliness?
I’M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION.
I believe with all my heart that the reason that Christians feel all alone is because they have not asked God’s forgiveness and done their part in the one relationship that will never let them down. I have always known that God is with me, I have studied the Bible and I know that God made us a promise, it says in Hebrews 13:5 because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." AND, I have asked the question, “Then, why do I feel so all alone?’
But then as I watched The Passion I came to the part of the crucifixion were He cried out in pain with these words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” And I saw something I never saw before. This moment in time is freeze framed into my mind and into my heart.
The darkness has settled in at this point, the physical agony is ripping at Jesus’ life. Then it happens it’s a flash flood of something foreign to His very nature. Sin enters into His sinless life. Yes, sin invades like a Cancer into His being and the horror of sin rushes over Him.
I thought about the darkness for a moment and this thought entered my mind, “The darkness of the day is reflective of the darkness that invaded the light of the world. Light has been invaded by the darkness and the loneliness of sin is setting in.”
Perhaps, I thought, the reason Christians feel all alone, feel as if God has left them, is because we have not done our part to keep our relationship with Christ where it needs to be.
We only pray at meals and even then it’s a cheeseburger prayer at best. The only time we read the Bible is during Sunday School or Worship service and even then it’s usually from the power point that the preacher provided. We spend little to no time at all serving God by doing work for the less fortunate, we don’t give back a tenth of what God so readily provides us with and we ask “WHY DO I FEEL SO ALL ALONE?”
God is always there, but like a parent who really would rather not speak to their son or daughter after they have done something truly hurtful, God our Father is waiting for us to GET RIGHT.
I have felt the strength and the closeness of God when I am actively serving Him, when I am deep in prayer with Him, when I am singing His praises, or dwelling on His powerful word. I have felt the strength of God when I have given unselfishly to others as Christ gave to us. I have felt the joy of the Lord when I have unconditionally loved those who have not loved me back. I have felt close to the best friend anyone can have, when I have drawn close to God. So perhaps the question is easy to answer:
Matt 4:19-20 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matt 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matt 19:21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
COME TO JESUS – here in just a bit I am going to offer an invitation for anyone who feels led to come forward to do so and today I want you to think about what you hear God saying to you. If you have experienced that feeling of loneliness as I have, please COME TO JESUS. Don’t worry about what everyone else might think, don’t worry about keeping up the wall that makes you look good in front of others, only Jesus can make you feel wanted and special forever. Now I am not delusional, (well at least not all the time) I know that some will still refuse to come, the Bible speaks of them.
Matt 22:3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
Everyone is invited but still many will refuse to come.
BUT – HE ALWAYS THERE!!
I invite you to come to the Lord and feel the power of God in your life, to know, not only are you not alone but you are truly blessed with the greatest source of power in the world, and all you have to do is COME to JESUS and serve Him.
Franklin Roosevelt’s closest adviser during much of his presidency was a man named Harry Hopkins. During World War II, when his influence with Roosevelt was at its peak, Hopkins held no official Cabinet position. Moreover, Hopkin’s closeness to Roosevelt caused many to regard him as a shadowy, sinister figure. As a result he was a major political liability to the President. A political foe once asked Roosevelt, “Why do you keep Hopkins so close to you? You surely realize that people distrust him and resent his influence.” Roosevelt replied, “Someday you may well be sitting here where I am now as President of the United States. And when you are, you’ll be looking at that door over there and knowing that practically everybody who walks through it wants something out of you. You’ll learn what a lonely job this is, and you’ll discover the need for somebody like Harry Hopkins, who asks for nothing except to serve you.” Winston Churchill rated Hopkins as one of the half-dozen most powerful men in the world in the early 1940’s. And the sole source of Hopkins’ power was his willingness to serve.”
HE’S ALWAYS THERE
Do you want to get rid of the feeling of loneliness in your life, do you want to feel strength and know that you are here for a purpose? THEN COME TO JESUS, AND SERVE.
INVITATION
