You Are Mine

Title: You are Mine By Pastor Lohn Johnson

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."

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.

I. Do you ever say those words? I'm sure you do.  Mine, mine, mine.  But maybe we don’t say them out loud.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1.  His covenant is everlasting and His covenant endures.

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."

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."

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.

B. Now He comes to you to apply His covenant to you.  A covenant signaled by the rainbow and in another significant way.

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.

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.

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.

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.

3. God calls you his treasured possession!  And He says it over and over:

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.”

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."

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.

1. When we think we belong only to ourselves, God says “Mine.”

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.

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.

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”

B. His Word reminds us that When Jesus was born at Christmas, God was saying you are (point) "Mine, mine, mine."

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.”

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!