KIN

[DanL]

Here's the sermon I preached last Sunday. (11-25-2018)

KIN

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— John 1:12 (NIV)

Most of you know that I spent a week in October as part of a team that went to Vidor, Texas, to help repair some of the homes devastated by Hurricane Harvey last year. I’ve told you a little bit about that during Celebration Church and in some conversations with some of you, but I’d like to “fill in some blanks” for you and I’d like to talk about something God showed me through that trip.

First off, Vidor is a town of about 10,000 tucked back into the corner of southeast Texas. It’s less than 25 miles from both the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana.

Now, as I’m sure you know, I don’t talk like the folks that are from Vidor Texas. Granted, I did catch myself saying “y’all” once or twice and it was very easy to respond “Yessir,” and “Yes, ma’am,” when asked if I enjoyed the jambalaya, creole shrimp, blackened redfish, and/or gumbo. The people of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church were very loving, generous, and hospitable when it came to feeding the 30 of us like kings.

 

But one of the words I noticed in their conversations was “kin.” I’m sure most of you know what that word means, but I’ve never heard anyone here in the frozen north casually remark, “Yessir, they’re kin.”

But it’s a very relevant word for what went on during that week.

Before I left for Vidor, I did an internet search just to find out where it was. In doing so, I discovered that Vidor had at one time been a “sundown town” where black people were not welcome after dark –and it was enforced by the town police. The Ku Klux Klan had held a march Vidor texas in 1993 protesting plans to bring African Americans into public housing.

It was one of the first things we talked about with Pastor Skipper Sauls when we arrived. While we were still in the parking lot, before we were even finished unloading our bags, the subject came up. Skipper did not dodge the question. He admitted that Vidor had indeed engaged in racism in its past. He grew up there and he remembered Klan events taking place when he was a child about 40 years ago. He said all that has changed now, and although there were probably still a few old racists  in this town, anyone and everyone was welcome in this church to experience the love of Jesus Christ.

But let me back up for a moment and give you some background: Hurricane Harvey came ashore on August 26, 2017, near Rockport, Texas, southwest of Vidor, with winds of 130 mph. The storm’s winds weakened shortly thereafter, but the megastorm slowed to a crawl and began dumping absolutely phenomenal amounts of rain over the course of the next two days. At one point, an official in nearby Tyler County announced: “Anyone who chooses to not [evacuate] cannot expect to be rescued and should write their social security numbers in permanent marker on their arm so their bodies can be identified. The loss of life and property is certain. GET OUT OR DIE!”

Before it was over, Houston had been saturated with over 30 inches of rain and Nederland, Texas, (right next to Vidor) measured over 60 inches of rainfall. The rain came so hard and so fast that the Army Corp of Engineers had opened the gates on reservoirs upstream from Vidor for fear that the levees holding back the waters would fail. With five feet of rainfall and the dam gates opened, the entire area was absolutely inundated.

Skipper took us on a tour of some of the areas where he and others from the church had rescued people using a boat. We stopped at one point and he showed us  the place where the boat’s propeller had hit the top of a stop sign beneath the flood waters. We turned down a side street and he showed us a video taken in that boat motoring along in that exact location. At one point, the motor hit a submerged object and they later found out it had broken the sunroof out of a parked car.

Of course, the damage to homes and cars was devastating. Most of the homes sit on concrete slabs just a couple of inches above ground level because the frost never enters the ground there. Even in homes that sit on blocks, all the carpet and all the drywall and all the appliances in virtually every home was destroyed.

Skipper has a background in construction and remodeling and the Lord opened doors for donated materials from numerous companies, ministries, and churches. I was among a crew of 15 that arrived at the church two days before another crew of 15 arrived to also participate in the work of restoring homes.

One crew was building a porch, another was hanging drywall in a different home, and I was working on a home in need of interior paint, kitchen counters, and floor tile. I was assigned to floor tile because I had some experience in that area.  Over the course of five days, we tiled four bedrooms, a bathroom and a half, a hallway, the laundry room, and a section of the main living area. It quickly became obvious that my “experience” with floor tile was approximately equal to my experience with flapping my arms and flying to the moon in comparison to what Skipper’s 16 year-old son, Isaac, knew about the subject. After five days, I can now truthfully say I know how to effectively mix up a five gallon bucket of thin-set mortar.

I can also say that, although I now have much more knowledge, there is no way my now 60 year-old body could be used to support my family as a professional tiler.

But much more importantly, I am the recipient of the incredible joy that comes from knowing that within a couple of days the family that has been living in an RV trailer in the backyard of their own home will be able to move out of that cramped space and cook meals, wash clothes, and sleep in their home. I just saw pictures of the Thanksgiving meal the family had prepared in their home.

Lyle and Thuy and Von and Angelina are beautiful people who helped us any way they could, lifting heavy tile, sweeping up dusty construction debris, and radiating appreciative smiles for all we did over the course of that week.

And as we all stood in that house for a final prayer and blessing over this home and this family, we were all tired and hot and aching and dusty and dirty.

And we all looked a little like Jesus.

We all looked and felt like kin.

We weren’t just acquaintances or friends, we were family. That bond, that tie that comes from being together, working together, eating together in Jesus is strong and solid and real and glorious.

It’s amazing.

And I’ve felt that same family of God bond on both mission trips to the Dominican Republic, the trip to Guatemala last March, the trip to see Pastor Betty and Ron in June, the time at MANCAMP, and the Leadership Conference where I spent time a with a dozen pastors last August.

I’ve spent most of my life not venturing very far from Minnesota, but the LORD has sent me over 12,000 miles in the past nine months.

He’s up to something in my life and it’s wonderful! Hallelujah!!

It’s wonderful because I’m traveling to be with family, which is what a lot of us just did and are still doing this for Thanksgiving. Over 54 million Americans traveled more than 50 miles away from home over the Thanksgiving holiday. That’s a 4.8 percent increase over last year, and most of them did it to be with family.

All that travel reminds me of some people in the Bible who were also traveling: Luke 2:1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David.)

It was a family thing. They were traveling because Caesar had decreed that they were to be taxed and counted by according to their family lineage.

And, when we believe in Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior, we become part of His family.

Let’s look at just some of the verses that talk about this:

We already read John 1:12 -- Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— John 1:12 (NIV) Now the NIV uses the word, “right” while the KJV uses the word “power.” The Berean Literal Bible, however uses the word “authority” and indeed, in the Greek the word is “exousian” which Strong’s Greek defines as, “power, authority, weight, especially: moral authority. So, believing in Jesus gives us the rightful authority to claim that we are truly children of God. What that involves and to what degree are made clear in Scripture.

Let’s Turn to 2 Corinthians 6:18

And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”  

Lets go to Romans 8:15 next:

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

 

And then there is Ephesians 1:15

…. he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–

 

And Galatians 4:5

to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

 

And as sons and daughters, let’s look at Romans 8:17

Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

How about Galatians 3:29

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

And Titus 3:7

so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:7

 

Another verse on heirs is Ephesians 3:6

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

 

And then there’s Acts 3:25

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’

Even James speaks of it: James 2:5

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

And this right, this power, this authority is so powerful it even comes with a guarantee:

Turn to Ephesians 1 and lets looks at verse 13 and 14:

13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

It bears all the weight and power of a legal contract with God himself! And His own Holy Spirit is our guarantee that we are indeed sons and daughters of the One True God -- the God who created the universe and everything in it!

So, brothers and sisters, now that we know we really are sons and daughters with a guaranteed inheritance, does that change how we look at each other?

Or at others who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?

And, here’s another amazing thing I found as I was pondering this:

Turn to Matthew 6:19 &20.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

I am convinced that the treasures Jesus is speaking of here in these verses are the relationships we create and forge here on this earth. We know we’re not going to take our cars or our homes or our gold to heaven with us, right? I mean, God uses gold for asphalt in heaven, right? But I believe we will recognize and know each other in heaven. I believe heaven will not only be a grand reunion with God, but between all His sons and daughters!

The things we do for other people and with other people and the relationships created are indeed treasures. Those are the real treasures of this life.

And, just like it always does, it all comes down to love.

 

In all those travels this year, in all the relationships God gave me, they all involved eating together, praying together, singing together, worshiping together, laughing together, working together, sharing His Word together, and loving together.

They all involved being together as family.

It’s abundantly clear that all who believe in Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior are all sons and daughters. All who believe have been brought into the same family. We share the same Father who has adopted us into the family of God by the death and resurrection of His Son out of His great love for us and to the praise of His glory!

We will all spend eternity together praising Him. We will all be gathered into one place sharing a richness and a celebration of life and love that never ends. We will finally be united with each other and with Him as He intended from the beginning. The treasures we will revel in and celebrate will be the eternal relationships we have.

Love will finally reign completely, utterly, and without corruption of any kind.

And that, my beloved brothers and sisters –my kin, is the ultimate cause for giving thanks! Because kin is thicker than how you talk or the color of your skin or the depth of the flood waters. AMEN!