A Joseph & Mary had been planning a wedding until God told them to prepare a nursery.
a Hebrew marriages had two stages.
(1) Kiddushin (engagement, betrothal): legally the couple was married, but not living together, have not consummated the relationship. The Kiddushin could last as much as 12 months. Tested fidelity, integrity. In order to break the engagement you had to get divorced. Now you just say "let’s call it off."
(2) Huppah (Marriage ceremony itself)
b *Joseph was planning on marrying his sweetheart, drawing up house plans, carving their marriage bed...BIG PLANS.
*Mary was planning an elaborate wedding, picking out china patterns, looking for the perfect lingerie for the honeymoon...BIG PLANS.
*Can you imagine a 15 year old Mary going to her 20 something fiancee and Joseph starts talking about floor plans and wall color...Mary says, "Joe, honey, we need to talk....I’m pregnant."
Short of divorce, death or dismemberment...very few of us will have holiday plans interrupted as much as Joe and Mary’s!
Joseph could have really blown this one.
a Joseph’s knee jerk reaction was to divorce Mary. (vv:19)
*Joe could have embarrassed her, disgraced her socially, had her executed..he chose to divorce her quietly. (Bought her time)
b vv:20-25
Joseph got God’s take on the matter!!
Who named Jesus? (Joseph!) I’m sure glad Joseph got it!!!
2 things happened (1) He got to marry his sweetheart. (2) He was honored to have been chosen to raise God’s only begotten Son.
Young people had little to do w/ the process as most marriages were pre-arranged. This marriage was likely arranged when Joseph and Mary were little kids! A legal contract would be signed w/ details of the dowry put in writing! [ “2 Chickens for your daughter!” ] They grew up knowing who they would marry and didn’t question it (divorce rate was low then!)
Joke—little boy said, I hope a pretty girl moves into the neighborhood…on my side of the street! Someone asked, why your side? “’cuz someday I’ll want to get married and momma won’t let me cross the street!”
After the contractual stage was the espousal stage, what we would call an engagement period, which normally lasted about a year. Now they were allowed to spend time together and start getting to know each other (told to learn to love each other! [not fall in love] Love is a choice, a decision, a commitment! [Eph. 5--God commands men to love their wives…a decision, not just a feeling] Today we make much more allowance for attraction, and none of us would want our marriage completely arranged for us as it used to be, but you have to admit we often err on the superficial side of things as a result. Nowhere does God tell us to wait until we ‘fall’ in love…rather, we are commanded to love…because we can ‘fall’ for anything!
In Matt. 1 they are in that espousal stage…they are supposed to spend lots of time together, but must keep themselves pure during this time.
Temptation is the strongest at this time, esp. if the couple believes the lie: “oh, we’re gonna get married anyway”.
What would Joseph do? If Joseph said it was his, it would be a lie…and if he accused Mary of unfaithfulness, she would be stoned. He did not want that. What would they do?
v. 19 His dilemma was between the law and love. He and Mary were Jewish, and the law said that if Mary were found to have been unfaithful, she was to be stoned! But on the other hand, he loved her…so there was a dilemma here between law and love / conviction and compassion.
Joseph decided that he would put her away as the law demanded, but to do it privately to spare her the public humiliation.
Three points:
Joseph's Dilemna
Joseph's Dream
Joseph's Decision
v. 24 key word: “did”—Joseph’s decision was to be faithful to the will of God / do what God told him to do / to bear the responsibility and shame as if he and Mary had sinned!
Keep in mind, we hold them in high regard for being the people we know them to have been…but it wasn’t like that in their day! They lived under a cloud of public shame, as though they were guilty of immorality, and Joseph accepted the responsibility of caring for a woman thought to have been a fornicator, and rearing a child thought to be illegitimate!
Joseph’s decision was to do what was right no matter the cost, to do God’s will even in the face of criticism, even if we’re misunderstood or falsely judged!
Joseph stayed by Mary’s side…made the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Why? To do the will of God!
In Matt. 2:14 he leads Mary and the baby Jesus into Egypt. Why? …Because God told him to in 2:13…he’s doing the will of God.
Then we see Joseph later raising the child, Jesus, teaching Him a trade, taking Him to the temple…what’s he doing? He’s doing God’s will!
And nothing greater can be said of you and I when we are dead and buried than that we did the will of God!
If we’re honest, we all struggle w/ God’s will…because we have a will of our own…a free will! And everyone in this room likely has a struggle w/ God’s will in some area of their life.
What is God’s will?
1st of all--For you to be saved:
2 Pet. 3:9 -
The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2nd—For you to be sanctified:
1 Thess. 4:3 -
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…
This is only possible by keeping His commandments, the most basic of which is found in Heb. 10:25 and elsewhere…
Heb. 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together... (don’t have to pray about things which have been commanded) It’s God’s will that you be in His house, that you be in church (not necessarily this one). When? At Christmas? Sure! And whenever your church assembles together…even when the Pastor is gone! [cat’s away…mice play!]
Joh 9:31
…if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
We need to come together to worship God, and to work on that sanctification (life-long process!)
Rom. 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Getting in church and getting faithful is the most basic step of doing God’s will, and yet some still stumble over it…or rationalize it away.
Joseph had a dilemma…but he was a good man seeking God’s will, and I’m so glad that Jesus’ dad heard from Jesus’ Father in a dream, and then made the right decision.
We too have a dilemma, the need to be saved and sanctified. We’ve heard from the Father today, and now is the moment of decision. Get saved, or get right…get on track w/ God’s will and get into church all year long!
a Hebrew marriages had two stages.
(1) Kiddushin (engagement, betrothal): legally the couple was married, but not living together, have not consummated the relationship. The Kiddushin could last as much as 12 months. Tested fidelity, integrity. In order to break the engagement you had to get divorced. Now you just say "let’s call it off."
(2) Huppah (Marriage ceremony itself)
b *Joseph was planning on marrying his sweetheart, drawing up house plans, carving their marriage bed...BIG PLANS.
*Mary was planning an elaborate wedding, picking out china patterns, looking for the perfect lingerie for the honeymoon...BIG PLANS.
*Can you imagine a 15 year old Mary going to her 20 something fiancee and Joseph starts talking about floor plans and wall color...Mary says, "Joe, honey, we need to talk....I’m pregnant."
Short of divorce, death or dismemberment...very few of us will have holiday plans interrupted as much as Joe and Mary’s!
Joseph could have really blown this one.
a Joseph’s knee jerk reaction was to divorce Mary. (vv:19)
*Joe could have embarrassed her, disgraced her socially, had her executed..he chose to divorce her quietly. (Bought her time)
b vv:20-25
Joseph got God’s take on the matter!!
Who named Jesus? (Joseph!) I’m sure glad Joseph got it!!!
2 things happened (1) He got to marry his sweetheart. (2) He was honored to have been chosen to raise God’s only begotten Son.
Young people had little to do w/ the process as most marriages were pre-arranged. This marriage was likely arranged when Joseph and Mary were little kids! A legal contract would be signed w/ details of the dowry put in writing! [ “2 Chickens for your daughter!” ] They grew up knowing who they would marry and didn’t question it (divorce rate was low then!)
Joke—little boy said, I hope a pretty girl moves into the neighborhood…on my side of the street! Someone asked, why your side? “’cuz someday I’ll want to get married and momma won’t let me cross the street!”
After the contractual stage was the espousal stage, what we would call an engagement period, which normally lasted about a year. Now they were allowed to spend time together and start getting to know each other (told to learn to love each other! [not fall in love] Love is a choice, a decision, a commitment! [Eph. 5--God commands men to love their wives…a decision, not just a feeling] Today we make much more allowance for attraction, and none of us would want our marriage completely arranged for us as it used to be, but you have to admit we often err on the superficial side of things as a result. Nowhere does God tell us to wait until we ‘fall’ in love…rather, we are commanded to love…because we can ‘fall’ for anything!
In Matt. 1 they are in that espousal stage…they are supposed to spend lots of time together, but must keep themselves pure during this time.
Temptation is the strongest at this time, esp. if the couple believes the lie: “oh, we’re gonna get married anyway”.
What would Joseph do? If Joseph said it was his, it would be a lie…and if he accused Mary of unfaithfulness, she would be stoned. He did not want that. What would they do?
v. 19 His dilemma was between the law and love. He and Mary were Jewish, and the law said that if Mary were found to have been unfaithful, she was to be stoned! But on the other hand, he loved her…so there was a dilemma here between law and love / conviction and compassion.
Joseph decided that he would put her away as the law demanded, but to do it privately to spare her the public humiliation.
Three points:
Joseph's Dilemna
Joseph's Dream
Joseph's Decision
v. 24 key word: “did”—Joseph’s decision was to be faithful to the will of God / do what God told him to do / to bear the responsibility and shame as if he and Mary had sinned!
Keep in mind, we hold them in high regard for being the people we know them to have been…but it wasn’t like that in their day! They lived under a cloud of public shame, as though they were guilty of immorality, and Joseph accepted the responsibility of caring for a woman thought to have been a fornicator, and rearing a child thought to be illegitimate!
Joseph’s decision was to do what was right no matter the cost, to do God’s will even in the face of criticism, even if we’re misunderstood or falsely judged!
Joseph stayed by Mary’s side…made the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Why? To do the will of God!
In Matt. 2:14 he leads Mary and the baby Jesus into Egypt. Why? …Because God told him to in 2:13…he’s doing the will of God.
Then we see Joseph later raising the child, Jesus, teaching Him a trade, taking Him to the temple…what’s he doing? He’s doing God’s will!
And nothing greater can be said of you and I when we are dead and buried than that we did the will of God!
If we’re honest, we all struggle w/ God’s will…because we have a will of our own…a free will! And everyone in this room likely has a struggle w/ God’s will in some area of their life.
What is God’s will?
1st of all--For you to be saved:
2 Pet. 3:9 -
The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2nd—For you to be sanctified:
1 Thess. 4:3 -
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…
This is only possible by keeping His commandments, the most basic of which is found in Heb. 10:25 and elsewhere…
Heb. 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together... (don’t have to pray about things which have been commanded) It’s God’s will that you be in His house, that you be in church (not necessarily this one). When? At Christmas? Sure! And whenever your church assembles together…even when the Pastor is gone! [cat’s away…mice play!]
Joh 9:31
…if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
We need to come together to worship God, and to work on that sanctification (life-long process!)
Rom. 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Getting in church and getting faithful is the most basic step of doing God’s will, and yet some still stumble over it…or rationalize it away.
Joseph had a dilemma…but he was a good man seeking God’s will, and I’m so glad that Jesus’ dad heard from Jesus’ Father in a dream, and then made the right decision.
We too have a dilemma, the need to be saved and sanctified. We’ve heard from the Father today, and now is the moment of decision. Get saved, or get right…get on track w/ God’s will and get into church all year long!
Will there be a tomorrow?
2 Peter 3:10-13
JOKE: A pastor visited an older man. The Pastor said, “At your age you should be thinking about the hereafter.” The older man replied, “Oh, I do all the time. No matter where I am - in the living room, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement - I ask myself ‘What am I here after?’”
For several years now the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has pictured a clock on its cover. It's called the doomsday clock. The position of its hands shows the minutes before midnight. According to the symbolic clock when the hands reach midnight, humankind will have brought about its own destruction. Currently, scientists have set the clock at 11:57 p.m., three minutes to midnight. Of course we don't need a scientific clock to tell us when the end will be but it begs the question: "Will there be a tomorrow?"
A young couple looks with pride at their new baby who has just been born. But with that joy and pride over a new born baby there is always a question concerning the child's future. What kind of world will the child grow up to inherit? Will there even be a tomorrow? We can ask the same of our children and grandchildren. What kind of world will they live in when they grow up and hopefully have families of their own.
Many people today fear economic collapse or nuclear war or killer diseases, and maybe they have good reason to fear. The threat of terrorism is a constant threat. As Christians we don't have to fear tomorrow because we know that no matter what happens in our world God is in control. But we do know that according to scripture the world as we currently know it is coming to an end. When Christ returns it will mean the end of this current age.
Our text tells us that in the day when Christ returns, the heavens will pass away with a great noise. The earth and everything in it will be burned as the elements melt with fervent heat. Just as the ancient world was destroyed by a flood of water in the days of Noah, this present world will be destroyed by fire. In place of that which is destroyed there will be a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Knowing that the present world order wasn't going to last forever, Peter asked an important question: "Seeing then that all these things will be dissolved, what matter of persons ought you to be?"
Peter's question is essentially rhetorical because the answer is contained in the question itself. He says, "what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness."
We must have the right attitude.
The word translated "manner" literally means "exotic, out of this world, foreign." He's saying "what kind of exotic, out of this world kind of people should we be?" As those who have "escaped the corruption that is in the world" (2 Peter 1:4) we must live differently from the people in the world. To the world we behave like foreigners because we really are, as Peter said elsewhere, "strangers and pilgrims" who are headed for a better land. Christians don't necessarily have to be odd and outlandish but we should be different from those who don't know God.
Our conduct should be characterized by holiness and godliness. In the Greek world godliness meant "respect and awe for the gods and the world they made." It can also be translated "piety" and it means "to worship well." Holiness means that we are called out from the godless world around us and are set apart for God alone.
In addition to being a people of right attitude...
Second, we must be people of anticipation.
We must live holy lives in anticipation of the second coming of Christ.
Some people may scoff at our belief in the imminent return of Christ to earth but that's to be expected. In Peter's day scoffers looked around at the world and said, "nothing has really changed. Everything just continues as it always has." But to scoff at the doctrine of the second coming and the subsequent end of the age is to ignore at least one historical fact; God destroyed the world once before. Only eight people escaped the massive flood which wiped out the entire population of earth. He did it before and He will do it again. In the meantime, people still have an opportunity to be saved.
ILLUSTRATION: On August 30, 2005 Coast Guard Lieutenant Iain McConnell was ordered to fly his H46 helicopter to New Orleans and to keep that machine flying around the clock for what would turn out to be a heroic rescue effort. None of his crew were prepared for what they were about to see. They were ahead of every news crew in the nation. The entire city of New Orleans was under water. On their first three missions that day they saved 89 people, three dogs and two cats.
On the fourth mission, despite twelve different flights to New Orleans, he and his crew were able to save no one. None! They all refused to board the helicopter. Instead they told the Coast Guard to bring them food and water. Yet they were warned that this was extremely dangerous. The waters were not going to go away soon. Sadly, many of those people perished because of their refusal to be rescued.
The same thing happened in Noah's day. Sadly, there's an element of it in our day as well where people refuse to be rescued from the power and penalty of sin in their lives. They are like the people of New Orleans, "feed us and clothe us and leave us alone."
(From a sermon by Michael P. Walther, Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord, 5/25/2011)
Peter said we should be "looking for and hastening the day of God." It is this expectancy of Christ's return that motivates us to live pure and holy lives. This is not a time for one last fling or for sowing wild oats while we can. It is a time to get right with God before the window of opportunity closes.
Despite the doubts and questions and scoffing of some we believe....
The return of Christ is an actuality (a reality).
It will happen. Not in humanity's time but in God's time. God doesn't count time as we do. With God a thousand years are as one day and one day is as a thousand years. God is not slack concerning his promise but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
The delay of Christ's return to earth is an act of mercy. The longer He delays the more opportunity people have to turn to Him in repentance and faith. There's never been a better time to serve God. His return will be sudden and unexpected. The vast majority of people will be caught completely off guard. As Jesus said they'll be eating and drinking and getting married and going about their daily lives and suddenly, like a thief in the night, Christ will appear and the world as we know it will end. (Matthew 24:38)
For the unsaved this is not really good news but for the saved it's a message of hope. When Christ returns He'll make everything right as He ushers in His kingdom on earth. There'll be no more concerns over the economy. No more reports of terrorist attacks and mass shootings. It will be a time of peace and joy like never before.
On the other hand our hearts should break for those who are not ready to meet the Lord. We should do everything we can to bring people to Jesus before its too late. Jesus Himself repeated the warning several times that we all should be prepared for His return. And what an opportunity we have to witness to the world of the grace and mercy of God. The delay of Christ's return gives us that opportunity to share the gospel with those who are lost and dying in sin.
ILLUSTRATION: In 1967 Charles Murray was a student at the University of Cincinnati and was preparing for the summer Olympics in high diving. He was not a Christian and had never gone to church. One day he met someone in a class that was a Christian. His new friend shared with him that God loved him and wanted to have a relationship with Him. He honestly was quite skeptical but interested. So over the semester, he talked this friend about God’s love and how much he mattered to God. One night he decided to call his friend up. He said, “Tell me again those verses in the Bible that says God cares about me.” And his friend shared those verses.
After he hung up he decided to go over to the school pool to do some practice diving. Because he was preparing for the Olympics, he had special privileges and he could use the pool even when it was closed. At the University of Cincinnati, it is an indoor pool and of course the lights were off because it was closed but it has a glass ceiling and there was a full moon that night so he could see his way to the diving board. He climbed up the top of the diving platform, turned around to do his first dive backwards and stretched out his arms. When he did that the moonlight coming through the ceiling shown his shadow on the wall and formed the shape of a cross. He looked at that and for the first time Charlie felt God’s love. He realized that Christ had died for him. That is how much God loved him. And in that moment on the twenty-plus feet diving platform, he sat down and opened his life to God. He said, “Jesus Christ, come into my life and make a difference in my life,” and he became a follower right there twenty feet up. He was sitting there in the dark when, about five minutes later, a janitor walked in and suddenly flipped on the light. It startled Charlie. He got up and as he looked down he saw that the pool had been emptied for repairs.
Charles Murray did not deserve heaven. He could have ignored the shadow of the cross and jumped into eternal separation from God. Instead he found grace. Likewise none of us deserve heaven. The fact that anyone is saved is a miracle of grace. God is waiting for the right time, however that will be decided, and then sin will be dealt with once and for all.
be(From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, Harvet Time, 10/27/2009)
2 Peter 3:10-13
JOKE: A pastor visited an older man. The Pastor said, “At your age you should be thinking about the hereafter.” The older man replied, “Oh, I do all the time. No matter where I am - in the living room, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement - I ask myself ‘What am I here after?’”
For several years now the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has pictured a clock on its cover. It's called the doomsday clock. The position of its hands shows the minutes before midnight. According to the symbolic clock when the hands reach midnight, humankind will have brought about its own destruction. Currently, scientists have set the clock at 11:57 p.m., three minutes to midnight. Of course we don't need a scientific clock to tell us when the end will be but it begs the question: "Will there be a tomorrow?"
A young couple looks with pride at their new baby who has just been born. But with that joy and pride over a new born baby there is always a question concerning the child's future. What kind of world will the child grow up to inherit? Will there even be a tomorrow? We can ask the same of our children and grandchildren. What kind of world will they live in when they grow up and hopefully have families of their own.
Many people today fear economic collapse or nuclear war or killer diseases, and maybe they have good reason to fear. The threat of terrorism is a constant threat. As Christians we don't have to fear tomorrow because we know that no matter what happens in our world God is in control. But we do know that according to scripture the world as we currently know it is coming to an end. When Christ returns it will mean the end of this current age.
Our text tells us that in the day when Christ returns, the heavens will pass away with a great noise. The earth and everything in it will be burned as the elements melt with fervent heat. Just as the ancient world was destroyed by a flood of water in the days of Noah, this present world will be destroyed by fire. In place of that which is destroyed there will be a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Knowing that the present world order wasn't going to last forever, Peter asked an important question: "Seeing then that all these things will be dissolved, what matter of persons ought you to be?"
Peter's question is essentially rhetorical because the answer is contained in the question itself. He says, "what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness."
We must have the right attitude.
The word translated "manner" literally means "exotic, out of this world, foreign." He's saying "what kind of exotic, out of this world kind of people should we be?" As those who have "escaped the corruption that is in the world" (2 Peter 1:4) we must live differently from the people in the world. To the world we behave like foreigners because we really are, as Peter said elsewhere, "strangers and pilgrims" who are headed for a better land. Christians don't necessarily have to be odd and outlandish but we should be different from those who don't know God.
Our conduct should be characterized by holiness and godliness. In the Greek world godliness meant "respect and awe for the gods and the world they made." It can also be translated "piety" and it means "to worship well." Holiness means that we are called out from the godless world around us and are set apart for God alone.
In addition to being a people of right attitude...
Second, we must be people of anticipation.
We must live holy lives in anticipation of the second coming of Christ.
Some people may scoff at our belief in the imminent return of Christ to earth but that's to be expected. In Peter's day scoffers looked around at the world and said, "nothing has really changed. Everything just continues as it always has." But to scoff at the doctrine of the second coming and the subsequent end of the age is to ignore at least one historical fact; God destroyed the world once before. Only eight people escaped the massive flood which wiped out the entire population of earth. He did it before and He will do it again. In the meantime, people still have an opportunity to be saved.
ILLUSTRATION: On August 30, 2005 Coast Guard Lieutenant Iain McConnell was ordered to fly his H46 helicopter to New Orleans and to keep that machine flying around the clock for what would turn out to be a heroic rescue effort. None of his crew were prepared for what they were about to see. They were ahead of every news crew in the nation. The entire city of New Orleans was under water. On their first three missions that day they saved 89 people, three dogs and two cats.
On the fourth mission, despite twelve different flights to New Orleans, he and his crew were able to save no one. None! They all refused to board the helicopter. Instead they told the Coast Guard to bring them food and water. Yet they were warned that this was extremely dangerous. The waters were not going to go away soon. Sadly, many of those people perished because of their refusal to be rescued.
The same thing happened in Noah's day. Sadly, there's an element of it in our day as well where people refuse to be rescued from the power and penalty of sin in their lives. They are like the people of New Orleans, "feed us and clothe us and leave us alone."
(From a sermon by Michael P. Walther, Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord, 5/25/2011)
Peter said we should be "looking for and hastening the day of God." It is this expectancy of Christ's return that motivates us to live pure and holy lives. This is not a time for one last fling or for sowing wild oats while we can. It is a time to get right with God before the window of opportunity closes.
Despite the doubts and questions and scoffing of some we believe....
The return of Christ is an actuality (a reality).
It will happen. Not in humanity's time but in God's time. God doesn't count time as we do. With God a thousand years are as one day and one day is as a thousand years. God is not slack concerning his promise but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
The delay of Christ's return to earth is an act of mercy. The longer He delays the more opportunity people have to turn to Him in repentance and faith. There's never been a better time to serve God. His return will be sudden and unexpected. The vast majority of people will be caught completely off guard. As Jesus said they'll be eating and drinking and getting married and going about their daily lives and suddenly, like a thief in the night, Christ will appear and the world as we know it will end. (Matthew 24:38)
For the unsaved this is not really good news but for the saved it's a message of hope. When Christ returns He'll make everything right as He ushers in His kingdom on earth. There'll be no more concerns over the economy. No more reports of terrorist attacks and mass shootings. It will be a time of peace and joy like never before.
On the other hand our hearts should break for those who are not ready to meet the Lord. We should do everything we can to bring people to Jesus before its too late. Jesus Himself repeated the warning several times that we all should be prepared for His return. And what an opportunity we have to witness to the world of the grace and mercy of God. The delay of Christ's return gives us that opportunity to share the gospel with those who are lost and dying in sin.
ILLUSTRATION: In 1967 Charles Murray was a student at the University of Cincinnati and was preparing for the summer Olympics in high diving. He was not a Christian and had never gone to church. One day he met someone in a class that was a Christian. His new friend shared with him that God loved him and wanted to have a relationship with Him. He honestly was quite skeptical but interested. So over the semester, he talked this friend about God’s love and how much he mattered to God. One night he decided to call his friend up. He said, “Tell me again those verses in the Bible that says God cares about me.” And his friend shared those verses.
After he hung up he decided to go over to the school pool to do some practice diving. Because he was preparing for the Olympics, he had special privileges and he could use the pool even when it was closed. At the University of Cincinnati, it is an indoor pool and of course the lights were off because it was closed but it has a glass ceiling and there was a full moon that night so he could see his way to the diving board. He climbed up the top of the diving platform, turned around to do his first dive backwards and stretched out his arms. When he did that the moonlight coming through the ceiling shown his shadow on the wall and formed the shape of a cross. He looked at that and for the first time Charlie felt God’s love. He realized that Christ had died for him. That is how much God loved him. And in that moment on the twenty-plus feet diving platform, he sat down and opened his life to God. He said, “Jesus Christ, come into my life and make a difference in my life,” and he became a follower right there twenty feet up. He was sitting there in the dark when, about five minutes later, a janitor walked in and suddenly flipped on the light. It startled Charlie. He got up and as he looked down he saw that the pool had been emptied for repairs.
Charles Murray did not deserve heaven. He could have ignored the shadow of the cross and jumped into eternal separation from God. Instead he found grace. Likewise none of us deserve heaven. The fact that anyone is saved is a miracle of grace. God is waiting for the right time, however that will be decided, and then sin will be dealt with once and for all.
be(From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, Harvet Time, 10/27/2009)
