We Serve a "Lifting Up" God
April 6, 2003
John 12:32
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
larry@larryjameson.com
back to our church home page
(Sing this Scripture song I learned in my youth.)
Psalm 3:3
My glory and the lifter of my head
my glory and the lifter of my heard
but thou, O Lord, art a shield for me;
my glory and the lifter of my head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
and he heard me out of his holy hill.
Dear ones we serve a “lifting up” God.
The Lord, is merciful, and kind.
He uses his power to lift us up,
out of sin,
out of pain,
out of trouble,
out of sorrow,
out of our ruts,
out of death,
out of hurt,
out of misery
and into life, love, and joy.
I learned to sing Psalm 3:3 when I was a teenager,
and I have never forgotten this song.
The message is simple.
God lifts us up.
He restores our dignity
so that we feel confident to lift up our head.
Someone with low self esteem
doesn’t feel comfortable enough
to look up
or to hold themselves with pride.
God puts his “lifting power” into you and me.
That power gets into every nook and cranny of our souls.
There isn’t anything that compares
to the lifting power of God.
God lifts up individuals.
God lifts up families.
God lifts up congregations.
And God lifts up nations.
The Lord Jesus said:
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all people to myself.”
In this sentence, Jesus was talking about the cross.
The crowds didn’t understand what he was saying.
The disciples didn’t understand either,
even though Jesus had explained it to them
time and time again.
It wasn’t until much later,
after the resurrection and ascension
that the disciples put it together.
How could a cross be good?
How could torture, public humiliation, and death
benefit anyone?
It was the cross that lifted Jesus up
and
it was the cross that lifts you up too.
In the days of the Exodus,
one million Hebrew people left Egypt
and followed Moses into the wilderness.
God showed them where to travel
by giving them a pillar of cloud by day
and a pillar of fire by night
so they were be able to travel by day or by night.
(Exodus 13:21)
They had to look up
to see where God wanted them to go.
Just by doing that simple thing
they were inspired, and filled with confidence.
One million people is a lot of people.
And remember they were on the move.
They didn’t stay one place too long.
One million traveling people created a
lot of logistical problems.
For instance, let’s say
you were from the tribe of Benjamin,
and you went out on a hunting trip.
So you go out, find some game, and come back,
but when you get back,
you notice that everyone has moved
to a new location.
It’s easy enough to follow their tracks,
but once you find the new campsite,
how do you locate your tent
in a brand new camp
where one million people are living?
The answer is flags.
Every tribe had a flag.
Flags were put on tall poles
and lifted up so that people could
find their way home.
You can read about this in the book of Exodus.
Dear ones,
Jesus Christ is the flag of salvation
for everyone in the world.
He draws the whole world to himself.
Isaiah 53:6 says
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Have you ever gone to the mall
or to the grocery store,
and forget where you parked your car?
That’s frustrating.
I’ve had that problem a few times.
But I figured out a way to solve it.
When I pull into a parking lot
the first thing I do
when I get out of the car
is to find a landmark.
If I am at Lowe’s
I might be parked straight out from the w in the sign.
Or if I am at the mall
I look at what store I am closest too.
If you spend just a second or two of preparation,
you will look like a genius later.
A few weeks ago,
my wife and I went to Lowe’s in Dover.
And you know, their entrance is quite a distance from the exit,
so it’s easy to get turned around there.
I knew right where our car was parked,
and I so, I led the way with confidence.
After we had walked quite a ways,
my dear wife said,
“do you really know where we are parked?”
“Yes”, I said. “We are directly out from the last letter
on the big sign.”
And in few moments, we were in the car.
It felt great to be right,
because it happens so seldom for me!
This happened because I had looked up,
got my bearings,
and trusted something that was higher up than me.
Isn’t that what the Sunday School does?
We teach men and women, boys and girls,
to start out their life
by looking up to Jesus Christ.
We look up to Jesus,
get our bearings,
and move out into the shopping mall of life.
Our personal relationship with Jesus
keeps us oriented:
morally, spiritually, emotionally,
financially, physically, and in every other way.
We look up to Jesus
and we find our way home.
Do you want the church to grow?
Here is a basic truth
for the Sunday School and the Church:
When we lift up Jesus Christ
people are attracted.
There is power and effectiveness
in this simple truth.
Gimmicks come and go.
Trends last for a season.
But the lifting power of Jesus Christ is without end.
When we give glory and honor
to Jesus
and acknowledge his cross,
his resurrection,
and his promised return,
lives are changed
people are lifted up
and people, lots of people, are attracted.
(Sing this Scripture song I learned in my youth.) Psalm 3:3
My glory and the lifter of my head
my glory and the lifter of my heard
but thou, O Lord, art a shield for me;
my glory and the lifter of my head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
and he heard me out of his holy hill.