April 17, 2005

4th Sunday in Easter

It was Easter Day, 1973. Idi Amin was terrorizing Uganda. His soldiers were cruelly beating, burning, and killing people. All for the crime of being Christians. But that Easter of 1973 a young pastor, Kefa Sempangi, bravely preached the risen Lord in his town's football stadium to 7,000 people. After the service, five of Idi Amin's Secret Police followed Sempangi back to his little church and closed the door behind them. Five rifles pointed at Sempangi's face.

“We are going to kill you for disobeying Amin's orders" said the captain. "If you have something to say, say it before you die." Sempangi, thinking of his beautiful wife and lovely little girl, began to shake. But the risen Lord living in his heart gave him the courage to speak. "Do what you must," he said. "The Word of God says that in Christ I am already dead, and that my real life is hidden with Him in God. It is not my life that is in danger, but yours. I am alive in the risen Lord but you are still dead in your sins. May He spare you from eternal destruction."

The leader looked at Sempangi for a long time. Then he lowered his gun and said, "Will you pray for us?” Sempangi prayed and witnessed, and from that day those five officers, now converted through the witness of Sempangi's bravery, protected the pastor with their very lives.

So tell me, HOW could Pastor Sempangi have been so brave? In a situation like this, WHY could he fear no evil? I think he told us in his response, didn’t he? He could fear no evil because his Lord is risen! Alive! And because of that, he was alive! He knew from Psalm 23 that the risen Lord was also his shepherd: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

As he was facing a very dire situation, Pastor Sempangi knew in faith that not only was the Lord alive, but as his Good Shepherd, He was with him! His Shepherd had promised to protect his soul from any harm with his powerful presence. No matter what happened to him as those guns were pointing in his face, he could be sure nothing could harm his soul, his relationship with God, or his eternal home that his Shepherd had prepared with his resurrection!

Friends, we have the same promise from our living Lord. The Lord is our Shepherd, who has promised to be with us and protect us. And He WILL protect us! Because of that, we can FEAR NO EVIL. Why not? Well, there are two ways that He protects us from “evil.” Here is the first way: Our Shepherd Protects His Own from Physical Harm.

There is an amazing testimony of that from the city of Meulaboh, Indonesia. In that city are about 400 Christians. A few months ago, they wanted to celebrate Christmas on December 25th, but were not allowed to do so by the Muslims of Meulaboh. They were told if they wanted to celebrate Christmas they needed to go outside the city to a high hill and there celebrate Christmas. So the 400 believers left the city on December 25th, and after they celebrated Christmas, they stayed overnight on the hill.

We all know what happened on the morning of December 26. The earthquake. The Tsunami. Meulaboh was one of the hardest hit cities. 80% of its people and buildings were destroyed. Thousands were killed. But the water didn’t touch the high hill. The 400 believers up there were all saved. Now the Muslims of Meulaboh are saying that the God of the Christians punished them for forbidding the Christians to celebrate Christmas in the city. Others are questioning why so many Muslims died while not even one of the Christians there died.

I don’t think we are wondering, though, are we? I don’t think hearing about this surprises us. We know that our Lord is capable of protecting us, no matter what the circumstances. We have seen Him protect his children again and again, in the face of tremendous odds. The three men in the fiery furnace. Daniel in the lion’s den. Noah and his family in the ark. The apostle Paul. Pastor Sempangi. These 400 believers. Your pastor, in a car crash in 1987 that should have taken his life. And I am sure each of you could add your own story.

What does this teach us? What does it assure us of? This. That God is powerful and God is good. Our Shepherd can protect us from any kind of harm or disaster. And He does promise a special level of protection for his children. Psalm 91 says: “If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the LORD, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

God is powerful enough to protect you from anything! A nuclear blast. A fall from a tall building. A deadly disease. A front-end collision with a semi. So, can’t He protect you from smaller harms? You bet He can! And He promises you the protection you need.

But He doesn’t always promise you the protection you want. It isn’t always in our best interests to be protected from physical harm. Sometimes we call earthly tragedies “evil” when God sees them as “good.” Good for our eternal souls. Our Shepherd has not promised to protect us from every hurt, suffering, disease, or even death! Look at Stephen, the first martyr. There have been many more. And look at all the ways you have suffered in life!

So does that mean God isn’t delivering you from evil? Not at all. God’s main concern is for our souls. We usually see death as a tragedy. God sees it as a way to bring us to our real home with Him. Notice how when Stephen was stoned to death, the text says: “he fell asleep.” His death was only a sleep, because through faith in his risen Saviour, Stephen passed from this life to heaven! And that is God’s promise for us. He promises us goodness and mercy all the days of our life. No matter how badly we have strayed from Him, God comes after us with his love, his forgiveness that He won for us by dying on the cross and rising again. That is the second, and most important way God protects us: He Protects our Souls for Eternity!

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life." That’s the translation most of you are used to, right? Goodness. All the benefits of God’s presence. In the valley of the shadow, it’s comforting to know that God’s goodness is with us. Mercy is the word for the kindness and love, the faithfulness of God, even when we ourselves are not faithful.

But the word that provided the "AHA!" moment we preachers search for is the word "follow." Goodness and mercy FOLLOW us. That’s the way we’ve always heard it, right? But the Hebrew word used here can also be translated "PURSUE." Is there a difference between being followed and being pursued? I think so. "Pursue" is a considerably more active word than "follow," don’t you think? Here I am, plodding my way through life, and I look back over my shoulder, and who is that behind me? Why, that’s just God’s goodness and mercy, following me, just tagging along. But wait – are they FOLLOWING me, or PURSUING me?

I think it is helpful that we think of our Good Shepherd as a relentless pursuer! There IS a difference between being followed and being pursued!. There’s a difference between looking back over your shoulder and seeing good old predictable goodness and mercy tagging along, trudging up the hill behind you, and being PURSUED by a breathless goodness and mercy, calling out: "We’re going catch up to you, no matter how fast you run!"

Once there was a grumpy old man. A mean old man. Chased kids and dogs away from his house. He was resentful and bitter. Some said he had a right to be that way. His wife had died giving birth to their only child, and the child, a girl, lived only a short time. The old man lived alone after that, and had very little contact with people. He never went to church, never ate at a restaurant, never had anything to do with anybody. Near the end of his life, when the rescue squad carried him out of his house and over to the hospital to die, no one came to visit him. No one called him. No one sent any flowers. He was prepared to die alone. That’s how he wanted it.

But there was this student nurse at the hospital, who tried to be a friend to the old man. Since it had been so long since he had a friend, the old man didn’t know how to act. She would reach out to him in friendship, and he would respond, "Go away! Leave me alone!" And the student nurse would smile, and try to coax him into eating one more bite of Jell-O. At night she would tuck him into bed, and he would growl at her, "I don’t need nobody to help me into bed! Leave me alone!"

Soon the old man grew too weak to resist the young woman’s kindness. Late at night, when she had finished her duties for the day, she would come back to the old man’s room and sit by his bed. Sometimes she would sing to him softly as she held his old hand. And he would look up at her and wonder if was looking into the face of a little one he never got to see as an adult. A tear would come to his eye when she kissed his forehead and whispered, "Good-night." One night, for the first time in many years, the old man whispered back, "God bless you."

And as the young student nurse left the room, two others remained behind, breathless from all the years of pursuit. Just before the old man slipped away into the dark valley, Goodness and Mercy whispered in unison the last words he would hear: "Don’t be afraid. We’re here. We’ve got you." Friends, that is how our risen Lord’s goodness and mercy pursue us! They won’t give up! Jesus wanted you to be his so badly that He gave his life for you! His resurrection assures us that He still is here – with us every day. And with his sacrifice of love, He has made it possible for God to love each one of us!

That is why we can Fear No Evil! Because no matter what happens to us, God’s goodness and mercy will pursue us to the end of our lives. Our Lord will protect our souls from all harm, so that one day He can bring us home with Him when we join Him in our own resurrection! We live in a harsh world. If an auto accident or bullet or tsumani or terrible disease doesn’t get you, old age finally will. But that will mean that we get to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever!” So friends, for all of you who are suffering the evils of this world, remember this: Goodness and mercy are pursuing you! So stop running from them! Let them catch up with you and heal you as only the risen Jesus can do. Amen.

 

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