Our minister called Saturday afternoon sounding simply horrible. Seems he had come down with a nasty case of sinus/upper respiratory crud. He asked my hubby if he would preach today. I decided to steal borrow my hubby’s sermon and share it with you. Okay, I won’t actually steal his sermon but I will share some of the points he made with my own spin added to it. When I finish writing it in my own way, he probably won’t recognize it as his sermon anyway.
You Are Special
That was his title. My first reaction to it was “Oh, you mean like Barney?” (After hearing that song 539,835,743 times, Barney never fails to pop into my mind at the sound of those words.) It is a very good sermon title though, because we ARE all special. Sometimes, in a world inundated with evolutionary thought, we forget that we are special. Unique. Made in the image of the Creator of the universe. And NOT, as many would like you to believe, some evolutionary accident.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. …
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.”
– Genesis 1:26-27 (emphasis added)
So how do we know that we are special?
For one, look at the price that was paid for us. Things that cost us a lot are generally the things we prize the most. This is not only monetary cost, you prize your children partially because of the physical investment you have in them. You prize a job You prize a job that took a particularly large amount of work. The price paid for each of us was the blood of God’s own son.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
knowing that you were ransomed …, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, – I Peter 1:18-19
Another way we know we are special is that we are loved. This is demonstrated not only with the price paid for us but also in the fact that God desires to adopt us as his children!
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. – I John 3:1
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. – Galatians 4:4-7 (emphasis added)
So not only are we redeemed (bought) by the blood of Christ, we are also adopted as children in God’s family. This means that you have a new family besides your physical family. Your spiritual family is the church – your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Another reason that we are special is that no one else can do exactly the things you do. (I know this is really sounding like Barney now but there is still a great deal of truth to that statement). No other person on the planet has exactly the same family, friends, coworkers and associates so no one else is in the ideal position to reach those family members, friends, coworkers and associates for Christ. Furthermore, no one else has your exact combination of talents and opportunities. Take advantage of these talents and opportunities and use them to further the cause of Christ.
Sometimes, we don’t do what we can because we have let hurt feelings get in the way. Find a way to heal those hurt feelings. Forgive, forget, move on. Never let a hurt feeling separate you from God. Think of the suffering Christ endured for you and don’t let a little bruised ego cause you to stumble and fall away from God or prevent you from doing the work that God has for you to do.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” – James 4:17
Other times, the fear of failure cripples us. But we have no reason to be afraid. If someone rejects the message of truth, it is not really us but God that they have rejected. I read an anecdote recently about a little girl in the hospital waiting room who was sharing a story with a gentleman sitting there. When the time came for the young man to leave, he told the little girl that he had to go. She replied, “Oh, OK, I’ll just go tell my story to someone else. Bye!” That is the exact attitude we should have about sharing the gospel. If one person won’t listen any longer, we should go and tell our story to someone else. No hurt feelings, no sense of failure. Just go enthusiastically tell your story to someone else. Eventually, someone will want to listen. God expects us to plant the seed. But He gives the increase. If you are concerned with your knowledge of the scriptures, then dedicate some time to learning more about what the Bible says. But use the abilities you have, because you are in a unique position to reach someone that others cannot reach.
Remember that someone
- looks up to you
- sees you as an example, whether you realize it or not
- can be taught by you – and possibly by no one else
- can be helped by you- and possibly by no one else
- can be encouraged by you- and possibly by no one else
Take advantage of these situations and teach someone about Christ. Do whatever you can. Remember what was said about the woman who anointed Jesus with the costly perfume in Mark 14:3-9. Jesus said “She had done what she could.” Let’s strive to make sure the same can be said for each of us.
Bloom Where you are Planted
If you don’t know about Christ and would like to learn, email me at tabitha (at) tabithasheart (dot) com (replacing the stuff in parentheses with the appropriate symbols) and I will be glad to send you some Bible study material. Or you can visit Tabitha’s Heart and Hands for Bible study resources.
Note: All scriptures are quoted from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.