048. Redeemed, You’re Twice Mine

Very Jesus centred message

The title of the message today ---- 

Pp           Redeemed  -  You’re  Twice  Mine !

(boy and dad with boat)

----- Once upon a time there was a boy and his dad who just loved boats.  Under his father’s watchful eye, the boy designed a model sailing boat.

He designed it, and he went out and bought all the materials for that little boat out of his own money.  He carefully and patiently crafted that boat out of wood and cloth and string and bright paint.

When he had finished it, he hugged that beautiful little boat, and as they sat down and admired that beautiful boat, the boy’s father said, “Son, it is very good – and he blessed that little boat.”

They named it ‘Beauty’ because it really was beautiful.  It looked beautiful – it sailed beautifully.  The boy loved it so much.

Every weekend and sometimes during the week after dad had finished work, they would run down to the lake and sail that little boat. They watched with joy and pride as Beauty caught the wind and raced across the lake.

But one day a storm came up and the wind blew especially hard, and before they knew it, the boat was headed toward the far side of the lake where it emptied out into a fast-flowing stream. The boy hurried around the shoreline trying to get there as fast as he could, but when he got to the stream it was too late.  The boat was gone.  All he could sadly do was to watch it disappear from view down the stream as it was getting dark. The next morning he and his father walked a long way down that stream, but there was no sign of the boat. As they sadly walked back, the father said to his son, “Why don’t we build another boat?” “I don’t want another boat,” the boy said. “I want Beauty.” Weeks passed, and then months. The father and son found other things to do that summer but nothing quite as wonderful as sailing that boat on the lake.  The boy and his dad longed to have that boat back.

The next spring, father and son were out shopping in town and they walked past a second-hand shop. The boy stopped suddenly and pointed in the window. “Look!” he said, “I think that’s my boat!” The father looked hard and said, “I don’t know, son.” ---- The boat in the window was painted a dull grey colour; the hull was cracked; the sail was torn; and there were pirate flags stuck on top. But the boy insisted. So they went inside for a closer look, and sure enough, there were the letters B-e-a peeking through the chipped grey paint. “I knew it,” he said. “It’s Beauty.”

They ran in quickly. They were excited!  They found the store manager, and explained what had happened, how the boy had made the boat himself but had lost it in the storm last spring. “I wouldn’t know about that,” the store manager said. “All I know is that it’s got a price tag on it now. You’re welcome to buy it if it means that much to you.” The boy looked down at the price tag and back up at his dad. “Can we buy it, Dad? Can we buy it back?” “It’s in pretty bad shape, son,” the father said. “I don’t know if it will ever sail again.” “That’s okay,” the boy said. “I want it anyway. I’ve got some money saved up at home.” The father said, “But I thought you were saving that for a new skateboard.” “I’d rather have Beauty,” the boy said. So the father placed some money down on the counter.   As they walked out of the shop the boy was hugging that dirty, damaged, dull-looking boat and he was heard to say, …

pp   “I love you. I made you, I lost you, and I bought you back.  You’re twice   mine!”

---------  They took that little boat home with them. It was badly damaged and it took some work, but before too long the boat looked just like it did the day the boy made it. Soon after, he and his father were back down by the lake watching with joy and pride as that little boat caught the wind and raced across the water. -------

------ I began with that simple story because we’re going to be exploring a rather complex subject today - redemption.  Redemption is one of those big Bible words that we use a lot in church, like “justification,” “sanctification,” or “glorification.”   But Redemption is a word we also use in our everyday life.

We read about politicians who don’t live up to what we expect from them.  The media says, “Politician so-and-so came in as a redeemer to save us from the mess, but he didn’t redeem us!” 

What exactly does redemption mean? More importantly, what does God mean when he reveals Himself as Redeemer? What does it teach us about who He is and how He works in our lives and our world? That’s where we’re headed today, and I hope the parable of the boy and his boat might help us get there. One of the toughest things about this message was choosing which Scriptures to use.  There are over a hundred and fifty Bible verses that talk about God as Redeemer. We’re going to look at some of them.

Let’s begin with a classic definition of redemption. This comes right out of the Bible dictionary: “Redemption is the deliverance of the people of God from the bondage of sin by the perfect substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ and their consequent restoration to God and His heavenly kingdom.” That’s kind of a mouthful, so let’s break it down into three separate parts. Redemption in the Bible always involves at least three things.

Now, …

pp        Redemption always involves rescue.

The first part of redemption is rescue. Redemption always involves something of value that has been lost, ruined, or taken captive. Sports people and politicians often lose their popularity and the respect of their followers. The little boy not only lost his boat, he also lost those wonderful afternoons with his father down by the lake. Redemption is about rescuing something that’s been lost, ruined, or taken captive. And according to the Bible, we need to be rescued. Listen to these words from …

pp        Isaiah 43:1  

“But now, this is what the Lord says—

He who created you, O Jacob, 

He who formed you, O Israel:

‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

 I have called you by your name.

 You-are-Mine.”

God created us as surely as that boy made that little boat, and God made us for beauty and joy and goodness and purpose and love, and most importantly, He made us for HHHHimself—to enjoy relationship with Him today and forever. But something happened along the way, and we got lost and we got damaged. Our relationship was ruined by our foolishness and recklessness. We were taken captive by sin. Unlike the little boat that was swept away by outside forces, this isn’t something that just happened to us; this is something we brought on ourselves. And we need to be rescued. --------

So the first thing we need to be rescued from …

pp     1.  We need to be rescued    from darkness.

The Bible goes on to identify some of the things we need to be rescued from, and I want to share a few of them with you.   Let’s open our Bible first to Colossians 1:13 on page 1353. -  Page 1353 – Colossians 1:13.   “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” 

To be in the dark means to be lost, to be confused, to feel left out, forgotten, and alone. When you’re in the dark you don’t know exactly where you are or where you’re going. You don’t know if you should hurry or slow down. You don’t know if you should stop and sit still, or if you should get out of there. 

Do you ever feel like you’re in the dark spiritually? You’re not sure who God is or where God is or who you are or what you’re supposed to be doing in this world? -------  So we need to be rescued from darkness.

Now look at Titus 2:13 on page 1370 --- page 1370,  Titus 2:13,14.    “… looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us  (there’s that word redeem again) … that He might redeem us from every lawless deed (or as the old King James Version says, wickedness!)  and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.   

Have you ever done a ‘lawless deed’, ‘wicked’, something awful?   Have you ever said something that was downright hateful or intentionally hurtful or blatantly untrue? Have you ever had a thought that shocked you yourself  by its depravity? We need to be rescued from thoughts and words and actions like those. ---One of the songs on the radio was “Love the Way You Lie,” by Eminem and Rihanna—a gritty rap number that describes a man and a woman whose apparent love for one another has been consumed and is being destroyed by dysfunction and abuse. “I like the way it hurts,” she sings sweetly. “If she ever tries to leave again,” he boasts, “I’m going to tie her up and set this house on fire.” ----- I don’t know what’s more disturbing—the fact that so many men and women live that way, or that we play a song like that on the radio and call it entertainment. Either way, there’s something wicked going on. We need to be rescued from things like that.  We need to be rescued from darkness, from wickedness.  ----------------

Now here’s number two,…

pp     2.  We need redemption from    guilt.

Please turn to Galatians 3 on page 1339 ---  page 1339  ---  Galatians 3:13 says this:   “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.”   

What does that mean? I thought God gave us the law for our good. I thought it was supposed to help us. Well, He did. The problem comes when we take the law and use it to try to prove how good we are, to establish our own righteousness, to work our way to God, to impress other people with our goodness. When we do that the law becomes a curse, a taskmaster that’s always driving us to try harder and be better and do “good-er.” It’s a curse because we can’t keep the law in our own strength.   We’re always messing up. We’re always falling short. We’re always carrying around this burden of guilt and inadequacy. We need to be rescued from that.

And in case none of those first two fit you—darkness, wickedness, guilt—how about this third one, emptiness?    …

pp     3.   We need to be rescued from     emptiness.

pp      1Peter 1:18     “You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers.” 

Maybe you’re not feeling any of those other things we talked about, but every once in a while life just feels kind of empty—like you’re just going through the motions, like no matter what you achieve or accomplish or have or do, it never really feels like enough. We need to be rescued from emptiness.      -------- 

So, …

pp    1.   We need to be rescued from    darkness.

2.   We need redemption from    guilt.

3.   We need to be rescued from    emptiness.

We need to be rescued from all of those. ---   darkness, wickedness, guilt, emptiness.    That’s what redemption does. -----

So next, …

pp       Redemption always involves     ransom.

Having laid that foundation of rescue, we can move a little more quickly through the next couple of words that make up redemption. The second word is ransom. There’s always a price to be paid for our rescue. In order for a politician to recover his popularity and clout, he’s going to have to resolve some of the crises facing our nation.  Redemption always carries a price tag.

There are actually two words that mean redemption in the Scriptures. One of the words comes from the marketplace. It’s a simple word that you would use to buy something. You want an item, it has a price, you pay the price, and you receive it. You purchase it; you buy it. --------  The second word used for redemption is a word that’s used to release something. You pay money to release a slave, to release a prisoner of war, to release a piece of property that’s been mortgaged. In effect, you are paying money to buy something back, something that’s rightfully owned by you or someone else.     …

pp    (picture of boy and dad and        boat with title)

In our little parable, the boat belonged to the boy. He paid for the parts. He designed it. He made it. He even named it. It was his by rights. But something happened to that boat. It was lost and ruined and taken captive, and the boy had to buy it back. So it is with us. We were made by God and for God. We belonged to him by virtue of creation, but we became lost, ruined, and were taken captive. And we need to be bought back, and there’s a price for that.

Let’s take a look again at …

pp        1 Peter 1:18      “For you know it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ.” 

We tend to think of money when we hear the word ransom, but no amount of money can rescue us from darkness or emptiness or wickedness or guilt. No earthly currency at all—not good works, not religion, not sincerity—none of those things can buy us back. Only the death of Christ can pay that price.

pp     (picture of Jesus on cross      without text)

The cross reminds us of the price that Christ paid for our redemption. In fact, it turns out that this ransom, this payment, was the very reason Christ came to earth in the first place. Jesus tells us this in His own words in Mark 10:45 …

pp      Mark 10:45     “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

------------    In the movie Saving Private Ryan, an army captain named John Miller is given a mission: he and a small squad of soldiers are sent behind enemy lines to rescue a soldier named James Francis Ryan, whose three other brothers have already been killed in action. Their mission is to find Private Ryan and get him out of harm’s way, so he can return to his grieving mother back in the States. They accomplish their mission, but it costs Captain Miller and many others their lives. That was the price of saving Private Ryan. 

In a similar way, God sent his Son to earth to find us, to take us out of harm’s way, and to restore us to relationship with our heavenly Father. He accomplished that mission, but it cost Him His life.

Now, …

pp      Redemption always involves    restoration.

The goal of redemption is to recover what’s been lost, to restore what’s been ruined, and to return what’s been taken captive.

pp      (boy and dad and boat with caption)

When that boy brought the lost boat home, he didn’t leave it in its damaged condition up on the shelf somewhere. No, he repaired it, and as soon as he could, he got it back on the water to sail again. That’s the goal of our redemption as well. God hasn’t rescued and ransomed us so that we can continue to go on as we were, messing up our lives and living apart from Him. Colossians tells us: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”   He wants us to be in relationship with Him again, to enjoy life in His kingdom today and forever. Titus tells us the same thing: “Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”

God’s intent from the very beginning was that we would be His people, and that we would be as eager to do good as He is to do good. Not because we have to, to prove something to Him or to anyone else, but because we want to, because we’re free to. ----- When we’ve been redeemed, we are free to say no to greed, pride, jealousy, anger, and lust. We’re free to let go of bitterness, anger, hatred, prejudice, and resentment. We’re free to say ‘yes’ to beauty, and joy, and goodness, and purpose.

I think this next passage, a classic text on redemption, says it best …

pp      Galatians 4:3,4      “So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world, but when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights as sons.”  …

pp    (boy and dad and boat)

This is the language of the slave market. We used to be in bondage, prisoners of our own foolishness, and slaves to the foolish, reckless ways of the world. We couldn’t help ourselves. We couldn’t save ourselves. But God sent his Son into the slave market. He went looking for us and He found us, and He paid a price and He brought us home to our heavenly Father, who breaks the slavery shackles from our hands and our feet and declares us to be nothing less than sons and daughters, with all the rights and privileges thereof.    That’s Redemption!  --------------------

Friends, one day soon, everything on earth and in heaven will be restored to its original splendor, to all that God had in mind when He created it in the first place, for His glory and for our good. All this is possible because our God is a Redeemer.  -------------

What’s our takeaway line for this week?

Redemption - leads - us - to - Christ.

------  Because God is a Redeemer, I can be set free. 

Listen to this email from someone who has been attending a church. 

“As a Christian church, you’re all about believing in Jesus and being happy and at peace and having the wonderful life that God wants. It’s all good stuff. But it seems to me that no one says ‘why’? What I mean is that millions of people are happy, good people who do charitable work, devote their lives to serving others, and are at peace. But I don’t see why you have to believe in Jesus for that to be true. I think that as long as you are a good person who has a kind heart and does their best, that your belief system doesn’t really matter. (The person finished the email with this) So if anyone has any thoughts on this, please shoot me a line.” --------

Well, I have a few thoughts.   Certainly, people can be happy and do some good and find a measure of peace with any belief system, or even with no particular belief system at all. We were created by God for those things. We have the capacity for all of them, and sometimes we get it right. But what happens when we don’t get it right? What happens when you’re not a good person? What happens when you’re hardhearted instead of kindhearted? Instead of doing your best, you do something awful? Where do we go with our guilt and our grief and our disappointment with ourselves and our fellow human beings? Certainly we can be happy and do good and find a measure of peace when life is working pretty well for us. But what do you do when life doesn’t work, when life falls apart, when disaster happens, when tragedy strikes, when people hurt us and desert us? What do we do then?

When we realize, that in spite of our highest hopes and our best intentions, that there’s something fundamentally wrong with us and with our world, that’s when any old belief system won’t do. That’s when saving yourself won’t cut it. That’s when we need a Redeemer, someone who can rescue us from the mess we’ve made of things, someone willing to pay the price for that rescue, someone who can restore us to who we were meant to be and to the new heavens and the new earth  we are meant to live in. -----

You and I were created to catch the wind of God’s Spirit and race across the lake of life. ----   But something happened along the way. We got lost. Things got ruined, and we’ve been taken captive. We need a Redeemer. And praise God, there is one: Jesus Christ, God’s Son. ------------

------------  It turns out there is one more R word associated with redemption. It’s receive. This redemption isn’t automatic. That little boat had no choice but to go home with its owner, but you and I have a choice. God in His love and wisdom gave us that freedom. If you have never received this redemption, you can receive it today simply by saying yes to God’s offer of forgiveness and new life. 

If life isn’t always working perfectly for you, when things fall apart, when you need to be rescued, you know who to call on. And if you’ve done that already, if you have been rescued, ransomed, restored, and redeemed, then praise God for it today and go out and live like it, not because you have to, but because you’re free to.

So just like the boy said as he walked out of the shop, hugging that dirty, damaged, dull-looking boat, Jesus also wants to say to you and me, …

pp    “I love you.  I made you, I lost you, and I bought you back.  You’re twice mine.”

----------------------     Please stand as we pray.

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