Message by Mrs. Gerda VanStralent
January 22, 2023
Scripture: John 1:1-5, John 1:14, and John 3:16
When my old watch stopped working, my husband bought me a new watch. I like it very much but there was something I had to learn when I began wearing it. The clasp had a different way of locking together. In the beginning I would carefully attach the two ends using the clasp and it looked fine. However, often it would suddenly fall off my wrist just a few minutes later. I realized, finally, not only did I need to put the two ends together properly but I had to listen for the click. That click sound told me my watch was securely attached and would not fall off.
I have been thinking of clicks lately and how many things send a signal to us with a click sound. What are some things you use quite often that signal to you that things are properly in place with a click? Think of a pen. How many times do you depend on the click of your pen to let you know it is ready for you write with it? Or think of your front door. Without the firm click when you lock it at night, you may not be as confident that you are safely inside your home.
Perhaps you can think of other things that click but the one we are most familiar with is our seat belt. Without that click, we are not safely buckled into our seat. At the very least, without the click, we will be hearing that annoying beeping sound when our vehicle reminds us to buckle up. At the worst, we could be thrown out of the car, right through the window, if we were in a car crash. That click is an important part of saving our lives.
Let’s use the analogy of the seat belt system as we look at the life saving work of Jesus. We can do this by asking three questions.
First question: Why did Jesus come down to earth? The first half of the Bible is called the Old Testament. “Testament” means witness or authorized recorded history. In the Old Testament, we can read about the people of Israel who lived over hundreds, even thousands, of years ago. This Testament is not something that starts out, “Once upon a time…” No, the people in the Testament were real people, living in real places at a real time in history. This Testament also is not a photo-shopped edition of people. It is not enhanced or doctored to make things look better. This Testament shows how the people cycled in and out of wars, sometimes victories, many defeats, famine, prosperity, slavery, hard, scary times and also good times.
Every nation has a similar history. The good, the bad and the ugly is every nation’s history because we are pretty much all the same, the world over. Early on, all history starts to sound the same, almost like children who need an authority figure, like a good Dad, to make them behave. But they don’t listen.
God gave many rules and regulations to the people in the Old Testament to show them how to live right and to do what is right. But, as we read their history, this Testament, or testimony, definitively proves that rules, laws and regulations don’t have a permanent effect. Sooner or later, usually sooner, people choose to do the wrong thing and their bad choices lead to fighting and wars and death.
The big lie in today’s thinking is that we can fix ourselves. Maybe we just need a different philosophy. Maybe we just have to try a little harder. Maybe if we understand science better. Maybe if we had more laws. But there are no laws or punishments that can permanently change people for the better. The reason is these laws and punishments work from the outside in, putting on outside pressure, trying to force people to behave.
But a bad heart produces bad words and actions. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
God knows people’s hearts must be changed first before truly right actions and behaviors can happen. Change must come from the inside out. Imagine a child who has an innate desire to be good as opposed to a child who only does good when disciplined or closely watched. The child who needs constant discipline is in rebellion. That child is not motivated to do good. Their heart is not right. That is what history reveals about all people everywhere. But God has the solution, plain and simple. He sent his Son Jesus and he is the only person who can change hearts. Yes, a person, not a new concept or an expensive new program.
Everything Jesus did and said and taught tells us that he has the capacity and the willingness to change hearts. He gives each one of us an invitation to let him do that. He doesn’t pile on more rules and regulations, just a simple invitation: “Let me change your heart.”
This invitation can be compared to the first anchor for our lives. It is like the seat belt anchor that is positioned above and to the side of us.
That anchor holds us close across our chest, where our heart is. It may be difficult for us to believe, that Jesus really can change our hearts, but trying to do it ourselves would be like trying to stop yourself from flying out of the window in an accident. We don’t have that kind of power or control.
The second question is: Why did Jesus have to die?
Because there was no other way. This question goes with the second anchor that we have in our cars. It is the anchor down below and behind us.
And so it is with Jesus. He is our low anchor. He went low, even as low as death on a cross. He did that willingly for you and me. Still beside us, just as the second anchor on our seat belt is beside us, Jesus died as one of us, as our representative. He died one of the most cruel, public deaths known to people. Why? Because sin is that bad. Our sin. Our sin that Jesus took on himself separated him from those he loved. He was the scapegoat.
Why did Jesus die? Because the penalty for sin is death. Sin is any rebellion, any disobedience, whether in actions or words or even thoughts. Jesus never sinned in any way but we do. We know that is true. We are not perfect. Sin demands the death penalty, not just for our bodies but also for our souls.
Sin stains our lives like a permanent dark blue dye and we cannot make ourselves clean. Sin separates us from God who gives life and light and love. Jesus was the only one who could die for us and that makes him our perfect anchor.
This second anchor, of knowing we have a substitute who paid the penalty for our sins, is hard to believe. Can anyone love us that much? But this anchor of faith is important. In fact, it is essential in receiving our new heart and therefore our new life. A life that is in perfect relationship with God our Father. This anchor is for our body at mid-point. In the middle of who we are when life and death intersect.
The third question: What happened when Jesus died? Was that the end? If that was the end, we would have changed hearts but we would still die. Our bodies would stay in the grave. No. We celebrate Easter because the Bible tells us that Jesus was raised from the dead, brought back to life with a new body, new and improved! Alive again. Able to live in perfect harmony with God his Father just as we will.
He proved there is life after death. New life with new bodies. New life for our soul and spirit after our old bodies die. Our new life will be at home in heaven with Jesus and God our Father. They are waiting for us with arms open wide to welcome us. This promise of life after death is the third and final anchor which is located on the other side of where we sit in our car.
It is on the other side of the two anchors of Jesus birth and death. It is on the other side of our own birth and death. It is also beside us because Jesus chose to come along side us and save us so we can live with him forever. Difficult to believe? Yes, but the alternative is much more difficult to live with and die with.
So, we have talked about the three anchors but what about the belt part of our seat belt system? The belt can represent our lives. It winds around our bodies but, without the anchors, it has no real future or meaning. The belt just lays there, loosely flopping and unsecured. It is not doing what it was created to do. If we only use the first two anchors, Jesus’ birth and death, there would be a changed heart but no life after death.
We want all three. We want to have a new heart. We want our sins gone. We want to have life after death. Just as we want to feel safe in a car crash. But how does that come together?
Knowing these three things, knowing about all three anchors for our belt, doesn’t do much good unless there is something very important bringing it all together – the click. That point in which it all becomes one unit that does its job. The point in which its purpose is fulfilled. It is when the belt is securely locked into place using all three anchors. This is the all-important “click.”
The “click” in our lives comes when we say yes to our need to be safe and secure. The “click” in our lives comes when we say yes, this is exactly what I need: a new heart – and we acknowledge that the only person who can give us a new heart is Jesus. We need to say yes to Jesus. It may be difficult for us to believe but this is God’s plan for us, his invitation.
In the Bible, God tells us how to do that: First we agree we have sinned and need Jesus’ sacrificial death to remove the sin. Second, we ask Jesus for a new heart. And third, we tell God we want to live with him, now and for eternity. This is all a free gift. Ours for the asking. Our “click,” our yes to Jesus’ invitation, locks it all in place and we are secure for now and for eternity.
Today is a good day to make the click. Everything is ready for you. Just say yes.