God

p>Matthew 20:25-28

25 – Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

26 – Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

27 – and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-

28 – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Introduction:

About a month ago I was down in Oriental, Mexico with 13 other Redlanders-ministering alongside of the Christians in the “Dios De Amour” – “God is Love”- Baptist Church. As you may or may not know, this was the third time our church has sent a team to Oriental. We had a three year commitment and now it is finished. We’re praying – seeking God’s will as to whether He wants us to return in future years.

One of the things we did while we were in Oriental was help that little church lead a Vacation Bible School and-as in past years-it was very successful. Around 140 children-pretty much every kid in town-came to our Bible school each morning to hear Bible stories and sing songs, and do crafts, and enjoy snacks-most of the same things our children do in VBS here at Redland each summer. However-unlike our VBS-in Oriental when it came time for RECREATION each day we would take the kids outside and hang a couple pinatas. Every day those of us who were doing construction on the church would stop long enough to watch this part of VBS because it was so much fun to see the joy on their little faces!

I mean, the children loved it-and I’m sure you can imagine why. You see, pinatas are a blast because its one time when kids are allowed to swing a big stick and try to hit something. Each child gets a turn at swinging a stick at a colorful paper mache animal-a figurine that has been stuffed with candy and prizes. The children of Oriental would sing a little song in Spanish as each child had his or her turn. They all knew this little ditty by heart. I never got the translation but apparently singing it was their customary way of making sure each kid got equal time at whomping the pinata. When the song was over you were done-you had to give the stick to the next child and they’d all sing the song again.

Well, eventually after a couple dozen kids had their turn, the pinata would start to come apart. And let me tell you, those children could sense when the last blow was about to be delivered.

They were experienced pinata players. They knew when it was about to open up and spill its contents on the street below. So, the instant that final whack was made and it finally broke open-well, like Olympic runners in the starting blocks each of them would spring forward. They’d spring forward with both hands…GRABBING for all the candy they could get. For the next few minutes the street was a mass of hundreds of grabbing little hands-kind of like a school of Pirana going in for the kill! Then the “winners” would emerge from the pile grinning from ear to ear as they CLUTCHED pieces of candy or small toys.

Sermon:

Now…I share that little portion of our mission trip experience with you this morning because I think it illustrates how ALL OF US go through life. I mean, the truth is we are all by nature GRABBERS or CLUTCHERS.

Bill Hybels refers to this and writes:

“When you were just a newborn infant, like all babies you came out with your hands CLOSED. And every time somebody put their little finger by yours, you would wrap your hand around it, HOLD ON TIGHT, and not let go. As a toddler…you started GRABBING rattles and little toys. When another kid came in your direction and wanted to take them away from you, you said, “MINE!” and HELD ON tight. When you were in Junior High School, you HUNG ON tightly to bicycle handlebars and batons and other things. In High School you HUNG ON to the hand of Betty Lou-and you were not about to let that go. In college you HUNG ON to a lot of different stuff…maybe some stuff we don’t even want to mention here…but when you left, you were CLUTCHING a diploma in your hands. When you started a career, you GRABBED the lowest rung on the corporate ladder and hung on. Then you reached for the second one and you hung on, and then the next one and the next. Since then you have been climbing ladders, CLUTCHING the rungs. Someday retirement will come and you’ll HANG ON to golf clubs or gardening tools-pension funds, and social security. When you near the end of your life, you will start HANGING ON to canes and walkers. And then do you know what happens to some people in the final moments of their life? They CLUTCH the edge of a hospital bed. They HANG ON tightly-as if to life itself. And then…when they die, only then do they finally RELAX their grip.”

You see, the truth is we ARE ALL like the children in Oriental with their pinatas because by nature you and I ARE ALL “clutchers-grabbers.” We scrape and claw and work and fret, and if we get ahead just a bit, we HOLD ON. I mean, for most of us, CLUTCHING is like breathing-it just comes naturally.

Now, with that in mind, I want to contrast our CLUTCHING, GRABBING hands with the OPEN, GIVING hands of God.

Think of it. In Creation, God lavishly formed and fashioned with His hands. He created that which was good….very good. And then…He OPENED UP His hands. He GAVE His creation to those He created as a gift to be cared for and enjoyed. Throughout the history of God’s people, again and again God opened His hands and generously provided them with food, drink-and protection, and blessing, and love. In Psalm 145:6 it says that God “…opened His hand to satisfy the desires of every living thing.” And this has never changed. God’s kindness and generosity continues today. As the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, “…God’s compassion never fails. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) James goes so far as to say that, “Every good and perfect gift…” every GOOD thing in life is a result of God’s open-handed giving. (James 1:17) You see, bound up in the very heart of God is the desire to OPEN His hands and shower His children with goodness. Our God GIVES and GIVES and GIVES.

On vacation one of the books Sue read was Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies. She came across a section where Lamott points out that saying God is FORGIVING also means that God is FOR-GIVING. He is PRO-GIVING. God WANTS to give to us. Our Creator longs to GIVE and GIVE and GIVE in order to meet our needs. I was thinking about this as we drove home from vacation-this fact that God has OPEN HANDS-that He is FOR giving and it hit home to me personally because I can think of time and time again that God has opened His hands and GIVEN good things to me. For example, my heavenly Father has given me…

• the world’s most loving, sacrificial parents.
• From the moment I was born, I’ve never wanted for food or clothing or shelter.
• God gave me three siblings who I know would do anything for me.
• 25 years ago He opened His hands and gave me the most wonderful girl in the world as a wife.
• God has given us three children who bring us joy after joy after joy…
• He’s given me 50 years worth of friends-dear friends-the BEST kind of friends scattered from right here into this room to literally all over the world…
• He’s provided Christian mentors to guide my spiritual growth throughout my life.
• He’s blessed me with a church to serve-one that I dearly love, more each day.
• He’s given me a HOME! I own a house-Only 3% of the people in the world can say that.
• God has provided for my children. In one year my son will graduate from college, debt free!

Well, I could go on and on-citing examples of the fact that God’s hands have been OPEN giving to more than meet my needs. I personally know what it means to have a cup that God has filled to OVERFLOWING! And I know that you can say the same thing! In fact, let’s stop for a few minutes right now and bow our heads and let’s each recall God’s blessings. And as you begin to compile your own mental list THANK HIM for each blessing. Thank GOD for opening His hands to provide for you! In a few minutes I will close our time of prayer by leading us in singing the doxology.

God does have open hands doesn’t He!? He is a GIVING GOD!

And, you know-this wonderful truth was most clearly seen when God became flesh. Think of it. When Jesus came and saw the needs of people, He opened HIS hands and served. He taught, healed, touched, loved, fed, and freed. Listen to just a few of Jesus’ own words as examples of His GIVING.

In John 4:14, He said, “Everyone who drinks the WATER I give him will never thirst.”

In John 10:28 He said, “I give them ETERNAL LIFE and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand.”

In John 14:27 He said, “PEACE I leave with you; My PEACE I give you. I do not GIVE as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.”

In Matthew 11:28 He promised, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you REST.”

Again and again and again Jesus opened His hands and GAVE. But you know, the greatest example of God’s open hand policy came when His only Son opened HIS HANDS so that they could be nailed to a cruel cross as a sin payment for us all. As Jesus said in our text for this morning, “…The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to GIVE HIS LIFE as a ransom for many.” We remind ourselves of this powerful truth today through the observance of Lord’s Supper. As we do let me invite all Christians present to partake with us.

Even if you are not a member of this church….If you are a Christian…if you are His, this is Yours.

COMMUNION

Invitation:

Before we conclude our service, I must point out that to receive God’s gifts WE must have open hands-hands that are lifted to God, open to receive His blessings. In this way we acknowledge our need for God. We open our hands as a way of saying, “I need Your help God. I can’t make it on my own. I need Your provision.”

I’m reminded of an old poem by Martha Snell Nicholson. Ms. Nicholson suffered from a serious form of vascular disease that caused her great pain and left her bed-bound for 35 years. Yet she wrote some wonderful Christian poetry like this one which is entitled, Treasures. It’s words go like this.

Martha Snell Nicholson understood that to receive God’s generous gifts-in order to obtain His forgiveness for sin, the promise of eternal life, His peace that passes understanding-to receive these things we must have open hands-hands that acknowledge our need for God. Well, let me ask you-this morning are your hands open to God? Or are you GRASPING something that prevents you from receiving His blessings? Maybe your closed hands have something to do with Jesus’ Lordship in your life. You have a decision to make but you pridefully-selfishly cling to your own will and this morning you see your need to open your hands and release your own will and then open them and say, “God, I want Your will to be done in my life. I want You to be first in my life. You take control.”

Or perhaps you are here and you are not a Christian. You’ve never opened your hands to receive God’s greatest gift-the forgiveness for sin and eternal abundant life that He offers through His only Son’s death on the cross. If that describes your situation then repent…let go of your sin-and open your hands to God asking for His forgiveness. Invite Jesus into your heart and life.

As we stand and sing I invite you to walk forward and share any decision you wish to make public with me right now. Won’t you come as God leads?