Never Forsaken
Isa 53:6, Rom 8:7, Jam 4:4, Rom 5:10, 2 Cor 5:19, Rom 5:8, Phil 2:5 - 8
December 3 , 2000
I. I have preached this sermon before, and it is a rare thing that I preach the same exact one twice.
A. But, in light of what I have been preaching about lately this one needs to be heard again.
II. Five year-old Madeline climbed into her father s lap. "Did you have enough to eat?" He asked her. She smiled and patted her stomach. "I can t eat any more.
A. "Did you have some of your Grandma s pie?" "A whole piece!"
B. Joe looked across the table at his mom. "Looks like you filled us up. Don t think we ll be able to do anything tonight but go to bed."
C. Madeline put her little hands on either side of his big face. "Oh, but, Poppa, this is Christmas Eve. You said we could dance."Joe faked a poor memory. "Did I now? I don t remember saying anything about dancing."
D. "But, Poppa," Madeline pleaded, "we always dance on Christmas Eve.
1. Just you and me, remember?"
2. A smile came from underneath his thick mustache. "Of course I remember. How could I forget?"
3. And he stood and took her hand in his, and for a moment, just a moment, his wife was alive again, and the two were walking into the den to spend another night before Christmas as they had spent so many, dancing away the evening.
4. They would have danced the rest of their lives, but then came the surprise pregnancy and the complications. Madeline survived. But her mother didn’t. And Joe, the thick-handed butcher from Minnesota, was left to raise his Madeline alone.
5. "Come on, Poppa."She tugged on his hand. "Let s dance before everyone comes." She was right. Soon the doorbell would ring and the relatives would fill the floor and the night would be past.
6. But, for now, it was just Poppa and Madeline.
E. The love of a parent for a child is a mighty force. Think about the couple with their newborn child.
1. The baby has absolutely nothing to offer its parents. No money. No skills. No words of wisdom.
2. To see an baby is to see utter helplessness. What is there to love?
3. Whatever it is, the parents have no trouble finding it. Just look at a mother’s face as she nurses her baby.
4. Or watch a Dad s eyes as he cradles the child.
5. And just try to harm or speak evil of that infant and you ll face a wrath that you’ll never want to face again, because the love of a parent is a mighty force.
F. Jesus once asked, if we humans who are sinful have such a love, how much more does God, the sinless and selfless Father, love us?
G. But what happens when the love isn t returned? What happens to the heart of the father when his child turns away?
III. Rebellion flew into Joe s world like a Minnesota blizzard. About the time she was old enough to drive, Madeline decided she was old enough to lead her life. And that life did not include her father.
A. "I should have seen it coming,"Joe would later say, "but for the life of me I didn t."
B. He didn t know what to do. He didn t know how to handle the pierced nose and the tight shirts. He didn t understand the late nights and the poor grades. And, most of all, he didn t know when to speak and when to be quiet.
C. She, on the other hand, had it all figured out. She knew when to speak to her father—never. She knew when to be quiet—always. The pattern was reversed, however, with the lanky, tattooed kid from down the street. He was no good, and Joe knew it.
D. And there was no way he was going to allow his daughter to spend Christmas Eve with that kid.
E. "You ll be with us tonight, young lady. You ll be at your grandma s house eating your grandma s pie. You ll be with us on Christmas Eve."
F. Though they were at the same table, they might as well have been on different sides of town.
1. Madeline played with her food and said nothing. Grandma tried to talk to Joe, but he was in no mood to chat.
2. Part of him was angry; part of him was heartbroken. And the rest of him would have given anything to know how to talk to this girl who once sat on his lap.
3. Soon the relatives arrived, bringing with them a welcome end to the awkward silence.
4. As the room filled with noise and people, Joe stayed on one side, Madeline sat sullenly on the other.
5. "Put on the music, Joe," reminded one of his brothers. And so he did. And, Thinking she would be honored, he turned and walked toward his daughter. "Will you dance with your poppa tonight?"
6. The way she huffed and turned, you d have thought he d insulted her.
7. In full view of the family she walked out the front door and marched down the sidewalk.
8. Leaving her father alone... Very much alone.
G. According to the Bible we have done the same thing. We have rejected the love of our Father.
(Isa 53:6 NIV) We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
H. Paul takes our rebellion a step further. We have done more than turn away, he says; we have turned against.
(Rom 8:7 NIV) the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
(James 4:4 NIV) You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
1. We are all at times friends with the world at least at times..
2. We all at times exercise a sinful mind.
3. The bible says that these things are actually seen by God as hostility.
I. Paul speaks even more bluntly later "We were God s enemies." says in (Rom 5:10 NIV) For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
J. Those are harsh words. An enemy is an adversary. One who offends, and not out of ignorance, but intentionally.
K. Does this describe us? Have we ever been enemies of God? Have we ever turned against our Father?
L. Have you...?
1. Have you ever done something, knowing God wouldn t want you to do it? Have you ever hurt one of his children or part of creation?
2. Have you ever supported or applauded the work of his adversary, the devil?
3. Have you ever turned against your heavenly Father in public?
M. If you have, you have taken the role of an enemy?
1. So how does God react when we become his enemies?
IV. Madeline came back that night but not for long. Joe never faulted her for leaving. After all, what s it like being the daughter of a butcher?
A. In their last days together he tried so hard. He made her favorite dinner—she didn t want to eat. He invited her to a movie—she stayed in her room.
B. He bought her a new dress—she didn t even say thank you. And then there was that spring day he left work early to be at the house when she got home from school.
C. Wouldn t you know that was the day she never came home.
D. A friend saw her and her boyfriend in the vicinity of the bus station. The authorities confirmed they bought tickets to Chicago; where she went from there was anybody s guess.
E. The most notorious road in the world is the Via Dolorosa, it is called "the Way of Sorrows." According to tradition, it is the route Jesus took from Pilate s hall to Calvary.
1. Today, this path has stations frequently used by Christians for their devotions. One station marks Pilate passing his verdict.
2. Another, marks the place where Simon took the cross. Two stations remember the places where Jesus stumbled.
3. There are fourteen stations in all, each one a reminder of the events of Jesus’ final journey.
4. Is the route accurate? Probably not. When Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 and again in A.D. 135, the streets of the city were destroyed. So no one knows the exact route Jesus followed that Friday.
5. But we do know where the path actually began.
F. The path didn’t start in the court of Pilate, it started in throne room of God. The Father began his journey when he left his home in search of us.
G. Armed with a passion to win your heart, he came looking for a way to find you.
H. His desire had one purpose—to bring his children home. The Bible has a word for this: it’s reconciliation.
(Rom 5:10 NIV) For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
(2 Cor 5:19 NIV) that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
I. The Greek word for reconcile means "to render something otherwise."
J. Reconciliation re-stitches the lives that have been unraveled, and reverses the affects of the rebellion.
K. Reconciliation puts its hand on the shoulder of the wayward and leads them home.
L. The path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back. It didn’t start in Pilate’s court, it started in the throne room of God.
V. The scrawny boy with the tattoos had a cousin. The cousin worked the night shift at a convenience store south of Houston. For a for few bucks a month, he would let the runaways stay in his apartment at night, but they had to be out during the day.
A. Which was fine with them. They had big plans. He was going to be a mechanic, and Madeline just knew she could get a job at a department store.
B. Of course he knew nothing about cars, and she knew even less about getting a job—but we don t think of things like that when we re intoxicated on what we see as freedom.
C. After a couple of weeks, the cousin changed his mind. And the day he announced his decision, the boyfriend announced his. Madeline found herself facing the night with no place to sleep and no hand to hold.
D. It was the first of many such nights. A woman in the park told her about the homeless shelter near the bridge.
E. For a couple of bucks she could get a bowl of soup and a cot.
F. A couple of bucks was about all she had. She used her backpack as a pillow and her jacket as a blanket. The room was so rowdy it was hard to sleep.
G. Madeline turned her face to the wall and, for the first time in several days, thought of the whiskered face of her father as he would kiss her good night. But as her eyes began to water, she refused to cry She pushed the memory deep inside and determined not to think about home.
H. She d gone too far to go back. The next morning the girl in the cot beside her showed her a fistful of tips she d made from dancing on tables. "This is the last night I ll have to stay here,"she said. "Now I can pay for my own place.
I. They told me they are looking for another girl. You should come by." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a matchbook. "Here s the address."
J. Madeline s stomach turned at the thought. All she could do was mumble, I ll think about it."
K. She spent the rest of the week on the streets looking for work. At the end of the week when it was time to pay her bill at the shelter, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the matchbook. It was all she had left.
L. " I won t be staying tonight,"she said and walked out the door. Hunger has a way of softening convictions.
VI. Pride and shame are two things that we would never guess to be so closely related. They appear so different.
A. Pride puffs out its chest. Shame hangs its head. Pride boasts. Shame hides.
B. Pride seeks to be seen. Shame seeks to be avoided.
C. But don t be fooled, the emotions have the same parents.
D. And they have the same impact. They keep you from your Father.
1. Pride says, "You re too good for him."
2. Shame says, "You re too bad for him."
3. Pride drives you away.
4. Shame keeps you away.
5. If pride is what goes before a fall, then shame is what keeps you from getting up after one.
E. We have rejected God’s love, and our pride our self sufficiency makes us harden, and then our shame makes us hide.
VII. If Madeline knew anything, she knew how to dance. Her father had taught her that.
A. And, now men the age of her father watched her. She didn t rationalize it—she just didn t think about it. Madeline simply did her work and took their dollars.
B. She might have never thought about it, except for the letters. The cousin brought them.
C. Not one, or two, but a box full. All addressed to her. All from her father.
D. "Your old boyfriend must have squealed on you. These come two or three a week," complained the cousin. "Give him your address."
E. Oh, but she couldn t do that. He might find her.
F. Nor could she bear to open the envelopes. She knew what they said; he wanted her home.
G. But if he knew what she was doing, he wouldn’t be writing.
H. It seemed less painful not to read them. So she didn t. Not that week, or the next when the cousin brought more, nor the next when he came again.
I. She kept them in the dressing room at the club, organized according to postmark. She ran her finger over the top of each one but couldn t bring herself to open one.
J. Most days Madeline was able to numb the emotions. Thoughts of home and thoughts of shame were shoved into the same part of her heart. But there were occasions when the thoughts were too strong to resist.
K. Like the time she saw a dress in the clothing store window. A dress the same color as one her father had bought for her.
L. A dress that had been far too plain for her. With much reluctance she had put it on and stood with him before the mirror. "My, you are as tall as I am," he had told her. She had stiffened at his touch.
M. Seeing her weary face reflected in the store window, Madeline realized she d give a thousand dresses to feel his arm again. She left the store and decided not to pass by it again.
N. In time the leaves fell and the air chilled. The mail came and the cousin complained and the stack of letters grew. Still she refused to send him an address. And she refused to read a letter.
O. Then a few days before Christmas Eve another letter arrived. Same shape. Same color. But this one had no postmark.
P. And it wasn’t delivered by the cousin. It was sitting on her dressing room table.
Q. "A couple of days ago a big man stopped by and asked me to give this to you,"explained one of the other dancers."Said you d understand the message.
R. "He was here?"she asked anxiously The woman shrugged, "Suppose he had to be."
S. Madeline swallowed hard and looked at the envelope. She opened it and removed the card. "I know where you are, and I know what you do.
1. This doesn t change the way I feel. What I ve said in each letter is still true."
2. "But I don t know what you ve said," Madeline thought. She pulled a letter from the top of the stack and read it.
3. Then a second and a third. Each letter had the same sentence. Each sentence asked the same question.
4. In a matter of minutes the floor was littered with paper and her face was streaked with tears.
5. Within an hour she was on a bus. "I just might make it in time." She barely did.
T. The relatives were starting to leave. Joe was helping grandma in the kitchen when his brother called from the suddenly quiet den. ‘Joe, someone is here to see you.
1. Joe stepped out of the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. In one hand the girl held a backpack. In the other she held a card, and Joe saw the question in her eyes.
2. "The answer is Yes," she blurted out. "If the invitation is still good, Joe swallowed hard. "Oh yes, the invitation is good."
3. And so the two danced again on Christmas Eve. On the floor. near the door, there was a letter with Madeline s name and her father s request."
4. Will you come home and dance with your poppa again?"
VIII. I want you to understand that as far as this father went to bring his daughter home, God went farther. Let the Cross on a hill in the nation of Israel be a constant reminder of that.
A. As much as this father forgave to bring his child home God forgave more. Let the spit on his face be a constant reminder of that. And let the Thorns on his head, and the list of your sins, that the blood that ran down the Cross and covered be a constant reminder of much God loves you.
B. As much as this father paid a price to bring his child back God paid more. Let the Cry of Jesus on the Cross "My God, My God why have you forsaken me be a reminder of that
(Rom 5:8 NIV) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Phil 2:5 - 8 NIV) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
C. The road that started in the throne room of God ended on a cross, but it went through a manger first.
D. God loved you enough that he came to you!
E. Love him enough to go to him and say, I want what you died to make possible.
F. I accept your gift of salvation on your terms. I trust that what you did on the Cross is enough to make me right with you.
G. And accept your father’s invitation of love.
H. In (Heb 13:5 NIV) it says "God has said, "NEVER will I leave you; NEVER will I forsake you."
I. He meant it! And he waits for you to make the decision to come home to your Father.
J. He doesn’t care what you have done, or where you have been.
K. He just wants the relationship with you, that to Him was worth dying for.
L. Swallow your pride, and push aside you shame, or anger, or whatever else it is that keeps you from admitting that you need him and come to him.
M. It is what he has been waiting for since the day you were born.
N. And then never forget that he says "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
