SPECIAL DAY: PATRIOT DAY: AMERICA REMEMBERS
TEXT: PHILIPPIANS 2:3-8
TITLE: “THANK GOD FOR HEROES!”
INTRODUCTION: A. The passengers on a luxurious cruise ship were having a great time when one of
the passengers, a beautiful young woman fell overboard. As soon as the cries for help
rang out, one of the men went overboard and rescued the young lady. The crew
pulled them both out of the dangerous waters.
When they got them back on board, the captain was astonished to find that the
man who rescued this young lady was 80-years-old. The captain made special
arrangements to honor this gentleman at the evening meal. An award was made up
and the elderly hero presented with the award was asked to say a few words. He said,
“The first thing I’d like to do this evening is to find out who pushed me!’”
B. Rom. 13 tells us to give honor to whom honor is due.
1. First, today is the fourth anniversary of the terrorist bombings on 9-11-01.
--We remember those who lost their lives and the families and friends who lost
loved ones.
2. We saw the heroism of law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel in its wake
3. We see the heroism of our military as they defend our nation against those who
would destroy us.
4. We’re proud to have our special and honored guests with us this morning to
recognize their work in our community, state, and nation.
--(a note to those reading this message: we invited representatives of our local
police, sheriff’s department, fire department, ambulance service, and National
Guard and honored them with framed certificates of recognition for their heroic
service to our community, state, and nation)
5. We can legitimately call them “heroes”
6. Heroes are the personification of our ideals, the embodiment of our highest values.
--Someone: “A society writes its diary by naming its heroes.”
C. Several years ago, researchers for the World Almanac and Book of Facts asked 2,000
American eighth-grade students to name prominent people they admired and wanted
to be like.
1. Those most frequently mentioned by the teens, as their heroes were sports
celebrities and movie stars.
2. The heroes and heroines created by our society are people who have made it big,
but not necessarily people who have done big things.
a. They are people who have sought self-fulfillment.
b. While celebrities may dazzle us, heroes enlarge us.
3. Although the men and women here today would probably deny the idea that they
were somehow “special” or “heroes,” we recognize in them the selfless sacrifice
that is inherent in heroism.
D. It’s also Grandparents Day
--have stand
1. Grandparents are great influencers of our kids
a. They do things that make their grandchildren feel special.
b. They, too, can become heroes in a grandchild’s life
2. Mom and Dad are the law. Grandma and Grandpa are grace.
--We honor our grandparents today also.
E. What are the marks of a hero?
--Phil 2:3-8 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your
own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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!”
I. HUMBLE, NOT PROUD
A. God despises proud behavior
1. Prov. 8:13 – God says, “I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”
2. Prov. 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
B. But He exalts the humble
1. Mt. 23:12 – “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be
exalted.”
2. Prov. 15:33 – “The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.”
II. CONCERNED ABOUT THE WELFARE OF OTHERS
A. It was a 99-degree September day in San Antonio, when a 10-month-old baby girl was accidentally
locked inside a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and aunt ran around the auto in near
hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the infant was turning
purple and had foam on her mouth.
It had become a life-or-death situation when Fred Arriola, a wrecker driver, arrived on the scene. He
grabbed a hammer and smashed the back window of the car to set her free. Was he heralded a hero?
Arriola reported, “The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, What’s more
important--the baby or the window?”
--heroes choose the baby before the window
B. Christ is both our teacher and example as a servant
1. Mt. 22:37-39 – “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
2. Mk. 10:43 – “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…”
3. Mt. 23:11 – “The greatest among you will be your servant.”
III. WILLING TO LAY THEIR LIFE ON THE LINE
A. Heroes sometimes are people who spend their whole lives doing something, for which they never enjoy
rewards.
1. Heroes are men and women of sacrifice -- in a great sense they lived their life or sacrificed their time,
talent, possessions -- or even lives
2. Jn. 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
3. Our honored guests this morning aren’t in this for the money, they aren’t in it for the glory.
--They are willing to put their lives on the line for us – that if it came right down to it, they would be
willing to sacrifice their own life in order to save the life of another person.
B. God’s word tells us that that kind of commitment is very rare.
--Rom. 5:7 - “Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person
someone might actually die.”
1. Paul is telling us that it is very difficult to die for someone else.
2. The general thought process is, if we do give our lives for someone else, we would like to think that
they “deserve” our sacrifice.
--We don’t want to “waste” our life, our sacrifice, for someone who hasn’t earned it.
C. Jesus Christ is our ultimate hero
1. Rom. 5:7 says “Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good
person someone might actually die.”
2. Now listen to v. 8 - “But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died
for us”.
--Amazing words from an amazing God.
a. The men and women who are heroes in our community are willing to sacrifice their lives for
someone else
1). Hopefully, it would be for a good and righteous person
2). But thankfully they don’t ask first
--They don’t check your references when they get to the scene to make sure you are worthy of
what the y do
b. In that behavior, they very much show Christ-like behavior.
--“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
CONCLUSION: A. Tom Allen, a pastor and former Army Ranger, tells this story:
I finally saw Saving Private Ryan about two weeks ago. I was extremely proud until the
last minute of the movie.
As the movie began, I was proud watching the Rangers take Omaha Beach. Then the
story begins when they receive a mission to go deep into enemy territory to save Private
Ryan. They hit skirmish after skirmish, and some of them are killed along the way. They
finally get to where Private Ryan is holed up, and they say, "Come with us. We’ve come
to save you."
He says, "I’m not going. I have to stay here because there’s a big battle coming up, and if
I leave my men they’re all going to die."
What do the Rangers say? "We’ll stay here and fight with you." They all stay and fight,
and it’s gory and hard, and almost everyone dies except Private Ryan. At the end, one of
the main characters—Tom Hanks—is sitting on the ground. He’s been shot and he’s
dying. The battle has been won.
Private Ryan leans over to him, and Tom Hanks whispers something to him. Everyone in
the theater is crying because Tom Hanks was shot; I was crying because of what he
said—it was so terrible. Private Ryan bent down and Tom Hanks said, "Earn this." The
reason that made me angry is no Ranger would ever say, "Earn this." Why? Because the
Ranger motto for the past 200 years has not been "Earn this." The Ranger motto for the
past 200 years has been Sua sponte, "I chose this."
So, when Private Ryan bent down, if Tom Hanks was really a Ranger he would have
said, Sua sponte, I chose this. This is free. You don’t pay anything for this. I give up my
life for you. That’s what I do.
And so when you look at the cross and see Jesus hanging there, what you do not hear is
"Earn this." You never hear Jesus say, "Earn this." He doesn’t say, "I’ve given everything
for you. Now you need to gut it out for me." What he says is "Sua sponte." I chose this
B. How do you respond to a hero who saves you?
1. You give them gratitude, respect, and honor
2. Christ gave His life for your sins
--How do you respond to Him?
