PENTECOST 2 – June 14, 2020 – Ex. 19:2-8
“GOD’S TREASURED POSSESSION”
Introduction: Grace be you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament lesson just read, from Exodus 19. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It is virtually inevitable, that because of our sinful nature we start out our relationship with God from and “anthropocentric” perspective. That means, we start out thinking of God first in relationship to ourselves. We come first, God is outside of us, so it is a matter of how we are going to fit Him in to our thinking.
- Starting out this way negates a critically important aspect of God’s being, one that we would not by nature think of. That is the wondrous, all encompassing love that He has for us. He loves all people, and wills for them to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [1 Tim. 2:4] But He especially loves His dear children of faith. We see this clearly in our text.
- Unfortunately, devoid of this assurance of God’s love, we are often full of doubt about His love, His goodness, and His commitment to our greatest good and welfare.
- But if we are to fulfill His good will, and His purposes for us, then we must know that He has made His dear people of faith “HIS TREASURED POSSESSION.” So let us first:
I. Look At How God Loves Us And Frees Us
A. He Frees Us From All Sin And Guilt
Epistle: “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.”
B. God Has Saved Us To Be His Own Precious Possession
Text: “I bore you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all peoples, for the earth is Mine.”
C. God Has In Fact Saved Us So That We Might Be His Precious Servants
Text: “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
1 Pet 2:9,10 “ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Statement: So you see, it isn’t your initiative that brought you back to God, but His great love for you, and what He brought to pass in the gift of His Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. And it is never a matter of whether or not you can gain His love, or somehow please Him with your performance. As we read in the Epistle Lesson: “Death spread to all men because all sinned.” “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God.” Rather, God first loved us. He redeemed us and saved us. He “brought us to Himself.” He has a divine and holy purpose for us, to be His royal priesthood, His holy nation, a people for His own possession!
Application: So dear friends in the Savior – let us fully grasp God’s immaculate goodness and love for us. Let us indeed keep His covenant – “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.” And why not embrace, and immerse ourselves fully in the blessedness of being His servants, accomplishing His work and His will in the world as His priests and kings! Let us respond to His announcement, His invitation, as did the children of Israel on the occasion of our text: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
Transition: And let us continue in this commitment and orientation. If we do, then we remain “GOD’S TREASURED POSSESSION.” And He will be watching over us to protect us at all times, for:
II. Consider What Happens To The Enemies Of God’s People
Text: “Say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.’”
Statement: You also remember the accounts of the Exodus – the plagues, and the death of the first-born of man and beast through the land, and finally the destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea! God does take vengeance upon the unrepentant and incorrigible unbelievers who try to prey on His dear people. He will not suffer His “treasured possession,” His precious little flock to be ripped apart! And because He protects us we are enabled to go out as did the disciples and proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom, His redemption and salvation.
Application: This is what our life together within the church is all about – living in, exulting in, rejoicing in – God’s great love for us. This is the self-realization that must sink in, finally, that we are precious to God and that we need fear nothing. In this realization we can indeed give all for the sake of serving God’s purpose and will, that we be His royal priests, His holy nation!
Conclusion: It takes time to adjust our thinking, our conception of ourselves in relation to God. It takes time to finally begin grasping just how much He loves, how close He has brought us to Himself, how much He entrusts into our care, how eager He is for us to succeed. It takes time for us to understand that everything is fact “Theocentric,” and nothing is truly anthropocentric. God is always at the center, the Creator, the Initiator. And thankfully, God is love.
It also takes time for us to fully embrace the beauty, the satisfaction, the pleasure of serving God by serving others. This likewise is contrary to the selfish, proud, and vain thinking of our sinful nature. But if we grasp His love, how great a salvation He has accomplished for us, and how dearly treasured we are by Him, then we ultimately accomplish His will for us, as He “works within us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
May He grant such blessed self awareness to each of us, that we may truly serve Him! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.