BE GOD’S VALENTINE 2/10/03
1 John 4:19
We have just celebrated the Holiday referred to as Valentines Day. Some of you are still feeling the pain from the cries of your wallets. It is a time where people think of cards, candy, and flowers. It is a time when we show others that we care for them. I’ve sent valentines to people such as my wife, my kids, and my mother. I’ve sent valentines to friends and nieces and nephews. It is nice and needed to feel loved by others.
But it might surprise you to find out that this holiday started out as a day to remember a Christian martyr. You probably have heard the term, “Saint Valentines day”. This was a day called then the Feast of Saint Valentine. It was a religious holiday to remember and celebrate the life and death of a Christian martyr. This is before the world added the cupids and the other things to take the focus off the real reason of the day.
According to church tradition, Saint Valentine was a priest near Rome in about 270 AD. At this time the Roman Emperor was imprisoning Christians for not worshipping the Roman god’s. Valentine was arrested for performing Christian’s marriages and others say it was for helping Christians escape prison.
During the trial they asked Valentine what he thought about the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury. Of course his reply was that there was only one true God, and that was our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Romans threw him in prison.
While I prison he continued to witness. He witnessed to the guards, the very one who cast him there. To most he received a deaf ear, but one of the guards had adopted a blind girl. The guard asked Valentine if his God could help his daughter. Valentine prayed that the girl would receive her sight and just as God did for Elijah at Mount Carmel, he answered Valentines prayer and the girl received her sight. I don’t know but I can only guess that this guard had cried out to the gods of the Romans with no response and God used this as an opportunity to use this to win the guard and his whole family to the Lord, 46 people in all.
When the Roman emperor heard the news that Valentine was still making converts in prison, he became furious and had him beheaded.
Valentine knew that he would get caught in his Christian activities. He knew when he was arrested that when he told the truth about the Roman Gods that he would surely be put in prison. He knew that if he continued to witness in prison that it would mean a certain death. But he chose to do it anyway. Why would someone allow themselves to be put in that situation?
I’ll tell you why. It was because he loved the Lord and his fellow humans so much that he was willing to risk his life to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. This puts a new meaning when you think of God asking you, “Would you be my next Valentine?”
It is easy to say that you would give your life to him but praise the Lord in this Country that is not put to the test very much. I heard a story about a group of Christians that were meeting in homes where Christianity was prohibited. One night the German soldiers came beating on the door and upon their arrival they lined everyone against the wall and with their guns pointed, they asked all who were not Christians to leave at once. Several ran for the door and the soldiers again stated that they were going to shoot all of the Christians and this was their last chance to escape. Others left and finally a few people stood against the walls with their hands in the air. One of the guards then locked the door. Then all of the soldiers lowered their guns and began to hug the very ones they had threatened to shoot. They explained to the ones remaining that they too were Christians. And that they had to do that because they could not take the chance of reviling themselves to anyone who was not willing to die for their beliefs.
What would you do? If some armed people busted in those doors and stated that they were going to kill all of the Christians. I know what I hope I would do. I know what Cassie Bernell did when asked that same question at the Columbine shootings.
So today let’s look at why we should be God’s valentines.
Knowing God through Love (1 John 4:7-11)
God loved us so much that He left beauty of Heaven to come to the darkness of this world. The other day someone was talking about the beauty of this world. They had seen the beautiful blue ski, and the earth blanketed by the pure white snow. I’ve seen the sunsets, I’ve seen the mist of the rivers coming up from the mountains, and I agree that our God is an artist. But it is us in our sinful flesh that makes this world dark. And even the prettiest of scenes doesn’t hold a candle to the place where Christ is. And yet He left all of that to come here for you.
He not only came and dwelt among us but He died a cruel death on a cross. Not for anything He had done but for everything we have done and will ever do. A propitiation for us; when we sin He looks down and says paid in full.
Some of you can probably think of a few people that you would die for, but you can also think of a few that you wouldn’t cross the street to help. I believe that if I was the only person to have ever have lived that He would have done it all for me. For God so loved Dean Meadows that He gave His only begotten SON. That if Dean Meadows believes in Him, he will not perish but have everlasting life.
He loves so much that He is going to prepare a place for us. (John 14:2-3) It took Him six days to create the earth and He has had over 2000 years to make a place called Heaven. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Work for the Lord, the pay isn’t much, but the retirement plan is out of this world”.
So let’s work for the Lord. Let’s not lay up treasures on this earth. Let’s love one another. For some of us, that is a pretty hard task.
That reminds me about a guy who had a horrible week. By the time Wednesday had came, he couldn’t wait for Friday to come. Friday did come and upon his arrival he just wanted to have a nice relaxing evening at home. He fought the worst traffic that was just a reflection of his whole week. Much to his surprise, he found his wife getting ready for a diner engagement for that night. She explained that they had to go, they had already canceled before. He told her to start the car and pull it around to the front and he would freshen up a little and be right there. After a quick clean up, he exited out the front door only to see his wife standing outside of a running car. She explained that she had accidentally locked the keys up in the running car. That was it. All of the tension from the week exploded upon mistake of his wife. He told her he did not know how in the world that God could make her so beautiful and yet make her so stupid at the same time. She simple replied, “Well I guess that God made me so beautiful so that you could love me and He made me so stupid so that I could be in love with you”.
God loves us, we ought to love Him, and we need to love others.
Seeing God though Love (I John 4:12-16)
We notice in here that it states, we abide in Him and He abides in us. It is a relationship that requires the participation of two. Just as a good marriage requires two, our relationship with the Lord does also. No one has ever seen God and yet I can hardly look around without seeing wonders. When you start abiding in Him, he becomes so obvious. I see Him when I look at His creation. How anyone can look at the facts and proofs of evaluation and creation and not come out believing the latter amazes me. It would be like me taking my watch off and taking the back off and placing all the little pieces on this table and wait for it all to come together. And just where did the watch come from in the first place.
I’ve never seen God but I’ve witnessed His presence. As you abide in Him you find Him revealing Himself to you so clearly that it is almost as if you can hear His voice. If you have not done a lot of the abiding then you might have a hard time distinguishing the voice.
You see when you accept Christ, Christ abides in you with the Holy Spirit according to verse 13. It is the abiding in love as found in verse 16, that refers to us abiding back. That love is both experienced and expressed through the proper relationship with Him.
Did you ever think that you (if you have accepted Christ) might be the only Jesus someone might see; that you might be the thing that is keeping them from an eternity in Hell? Are you living the life that others can see Him through you? Do they see something that makes them thirsty for that living water?
People need to see God thru us, because someday whither you are saved or lost, we all will stand before Him one day. And that brings me to my last point.
The Consummation of Love (1 John 4:17-19)
A person who abides in Christ’s love will not be ashamed when He returns. When we are right with God then we have no fear of God’s judgment.
If you know anything about the courts system, or if you watch Judge Judy, the guilty ones show fear. That is why Judge Judy always wants the people to look her in the eye when they talk to her.
So if you were to be taken right now, would you be able to look God in the eye and listen to Him say, “well done”. Or would you be afraid of what judgment you are about to face.
The truth of the matter is, you don’t know when you will stand before Him. It could be today. There is no guaranty of a tomorrow or even this afternoon.
If you are here today and have not accepted Him, what are you waiting for? There will be no Doctors excuses. There will be no justification of all your good works. You can go to church, you can give to the poor, you can be a better person then most of the people who proclaim to be Christians, but He says in John 14:6, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, except through me.
If you are here today and you are not abiding with Him, as you should. You’ve have some sin in your life that is being a hindrance to your relationship with Him. You have something in your life that you are not ready to appear before the Lord on Judgment day. You might be thinking, well I’m saved and I’m not going to have to be judged. I’m redeemed; the debt has been paid. You said it yourself. We all will stand and be judged and any unconfessed sin will be judged.
2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
He seeks and desires a relationship with you. You can make things right with Him today.
If we really thought that today would be our last day on this earth, then I’m sure everyone here would be at this altar. And like I said before, you don’t know, it might just be.
