Title: You are Mine
By Pastor Lohn Johnson
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Text: Genesis 9:9 9
"Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after
you,… 12 And God said, "This is the
sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature
that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set
my bow in the cloud, …. 16 When the
bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
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INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, . Do you remember the
story in the movie Finding Nemo? It's about Marlin the clown fish who
sets out across the big blue ocean to rescue his son, Nemo. As Marlin
searches he meets various unusual characters: a fish with continuous memory
loss; a shark who is trying to give up eating fish; a surfer turtle; and then
some odd seagulls. The seagulls were memorable. The seagulls played a
small part. They had one line. No, one word. MINE! Mine, mine, mine.
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I. Do you ever
say those words? I'm sure you do. Mine, mine, mine. But maybe we
don’t say them out loud.
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A. Yes if we
are honest we are too much like those birds. It’s part of our sinful
self that has far more influence than we’d care to admit. Like this:
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1. A room full of toddlers, all having fun. In the
corner is little Billy with a fire truck. He's happy and content, having lots
of fun. Sam notices and runs over. "My truck." Mine, mine, mine . .
. a treasured possession.
2. The Black Friday sales are going on. The line
just to get into the store is long. Then the doors open. The store clerks
say, "No running," without effect. The crowd pushes and shoves
to get the greatest deal of the season. That TV, that new phone, that gaming
system is . . . mine, mine, mine . . . a treasured possession.”
3. A couple goes to a bar for drinks and dancing. He
goes to the restroom; when he returns, another guy is talking to his date.
He's jealous and says: “Mine, mine, mine.”
4. Two people are up for the promotion. They started
at the company at the same time. Both have been successful, leading various
projects. One gets the promotion. The other is jealous. He cries out, "Mine,
mine, mine." Oh, we know these feelings well! A treasured possession!
We love it! A jealousy because we love it! Mine, mine, mine.
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B. We know how
to treasure a possession, and so does God! Did you know God feels that way
about you? But He can treasure possession without sin.
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1. Consider the flood. It was unlike anything
mankind has seen before or since. The flood was, without doubt, a holocaust
of enormous and exceptional proportions.
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a. One day everything was normal, and then . . . the
deluge!
b. The water rose for 40 days, and the whole earth
remained flooded for 150 days. From this we learn that God is in charge.
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2. After the
great flood and Noah's ark, God told Noah and his family that we would always
be special to him. He made a special promise to Noah and to us that he would
never destroy the world again by a flood. That was a way of saying you are
God's treasured possession.
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II. So as God
created the world, he then re-created it after the flood. And in that
recreated world He set the rainbow in the cloud. The rainbow is a sign of His
covenant.
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A. With that
rainbow He established his covenant with “you all,” plural—that is, all of
you! He established his covenant with every living creature. He established
his covenant for all future generations. And he remembers His covenant.
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1. His covenant is everlasting and His
covenant endures.
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a. His covenant is with Noah. His covenant is with
Abraham. His covenant is with David. His covenant is with Israel. It’s God's
covenant.
b. His covenant is with you. He says you are Mine!
Yes, without a doubt, you are God's treasured possession. God said so
himself. He said, "When the bow is seen in the clouds, I will
remember my covenant."
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2. Sometimes I think we struggle with the meaning of
the term “covenant.” It’s not commonly used today. So what
is the covenant? Ultimately it means that He gives us a promise to
never forsake us. And he hasn't! Jesus Christ is God saying “I will never,
never, no way ever, never leave or forsake you.” That's like saying,
"You are mine, mine, forever mine, mine, mine."
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a. On that fateful night in the Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Mt 26:39). Jesus
did the will of the Father.
b. Jesus did the will of the Father and stood before
Caiaphas, stood before Herod, stood before Pilate.
c. Jesus did the will of the Father and took the
beating, the scourging.
d. Jesus did the will of the Father and endured the
weight of the cross.
e. Jesus did the will of the Father and willingly
gave up his spirit on the cross for you.
f. But more than that, he rose on Easter morn for
you. He paid for your sin and rose from the dead so that you can be his. So
that he can possess you for your benefit.
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B. Now He
comes to you to apply His covenant to you. A covenant signaled by the
rainbow and in another significant way.
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1. Scientifically we know that a rainbow is formed
by the sun shining on the droplets of water in the clouds. So a rainbow is
made up of sun and water and God's promise. His covenant is with you,
It was first given to Noah, and was attached to the S-U-N and the
water.
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a. Consider with me our baptism into Christ.
Doesn’t it show the same pattern as the rainbow? God's promise there is
attached to the S-O-N and the water. When the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
is in the water of Holy Baptism; when His words are joined to the water,
there is God's everlasting promise for you.
b. God's rainbow covenant is joined to the beautiful
creation formed when the sunshine comes into contact with the water in the
clouds. God's baptismal promise is joined to the beautiful
creation--you--which came about when His Son, our Lord, joined Himself with
the water in the font to make you a child of promise.
c. Just as the rainbow is a sign, so is your
baptism. The bow tells us that God will never again pour out His wrath
like a flood upon the earth. The sign of your baptism tells you that
because God's Son was poured out upon you, and into you, with the water, He
is never angry at you; He will never punish you for your sinful behavior; He
is at peace with you; He forgives you.
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2. Even more
than the rainbow, your baptism is that place where you see the merciful God
gazing upon you. As with a rainbow, so your baptism is a sign from God.
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a. Wherever
you go in life...walking down the sidewalks, driving the streets...there is a
rainbow covering you--the bow of your baptism into Christ Jesus.
b. Your
baptism reminds you daily that you are God's child; and even more, when God
sees that rainbow over you, He remembers that Jesus' blood covers you; that
because of your baptism you are always His forgiven one.
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3. God calls you his treasured possession! And
He says it over and over:
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a. Ex 19:5: “Out of all nations you will be my
treasured possession.”
b. Deut 7:6: “The LORD your God has chosen you
out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his
treasured possession.”
c. Ps 135:4: “For the LORD has chosen [you] to be
his own, to be his treasured possession.”
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III. God calls you his treasured possession,
and he is jealous for you! He said: [Ex 20:5]: "I the LORD your God
am a jealous God." He said: [Deut 5:9]: "You shall not bow
down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God."
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A. God calls you his treasured possession, and he is
jealous for you! Yes, he becomes jealous when you go off and about away from
Him.
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1. When we think we belong only to ourselves, God
says “Mine.”
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a. When we think we're in charge, God says “Mine.”
When we think we're in control, God says “Mine.”
b. Like this: During the summer of 2013, travelers
boarded a Las Vegas to Phoenix flight. The plane left the gate but wasn't
cleared for takeoff due to mechanical problems. So it sat on the tarmac, and
it sat for hours. Hours on the hot tarmac. Hours without air conditioning,
without food, without water. People were stuck for hours on the plane. Two
people even passed out. And then something happened. Whether it was a joke or
the person thought he could change things, a man held up his portable music
player and belted out the song "I Believe I Can Fly" by R.
Kelly. The passengers banded together in song, but it didn't change the
situation. As sinful human beings, we think we're in charge, in control, can
change things. But we always crash.
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2. Then His
word calls us back from our delusions that we can fly on our own. He
calls us back from the idea that we belong to ourselves.
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a. As He is
reminded of His covenant by the rainbow, we are reminded by our
baptism. His word reminds us that when we misbehave we are still His
treasured possessions. But He calls us back from our misbehavior. God
says you are (point) “Mine, mine, mine.”
b. When we are
running away from Him, we are still His treasured possession. God says
you are (point) “Mine, mine, mine.”
c. When you
are in trouble because we are caught in a sin. God calls you away from
that sin. And God says to you (point) “Mine, mine, mine”
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B. His Word reminds us that When Jesus was born at
Christmas, God was saying you are (point) "Mine, mine, mine."
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1. When Jesus
died on Good Friday, God was saying you are (point) "Mine, mine, mine."
When Jesus rose on Easter morning, God was saying you are (point) "Mine,
mine, mine."
2. When you
were baptized with the water and the word, God was saying “Mine, mine,
mine. When you receive His body and blood in the Supper, God
is saying: “Mine, mine, mine.”
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CONCLUSION:
You think you got it? God says you are (point) "Mine, mine, mine."
Yes, you are God's treasured possession! GOD'S COVENANT SAYS MINE,
MINE, MINE OF US, HIS TREASURED POSSESSIONS. And He brings us to
believe just that. "You are mine, mine, forever mine, mine,
mine." In Jesus' name. Amen!
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