"VISITORS FROM HEAVEN"
Readings: Luke 2:21-38
Hebrews 11: 8-16
Theme/Thrust:
In view of
a) the relative shortness of life and
b) our call to be effective witnesses for God in our time on this earth,
I want us to both
a) grasp a vision of our potential for God in our time on this earth and also to
b) embrace that vision and rise to the challenge of being effective visitors from heaven in our pilgrimage on this earth
By means of
Ø grabbing attention by speaking of speaking of some really brief visitors from heaven, Gabrielle Goodwin and Roy Rogers' daughter Robin, who make an enormous impact on those whose lives they were/are part of, moving on to
Ø speaking of those who seem to die prematurely with so much to do and yet have been very effective,
Ø reminding us that Jesus died a young man and had a very short ministry period - and so was a visitor from heaven - finally,
Ø showing us from the heroes of faith in Hebrews 13, that we are strangers (foreigners/refugees even), visitors to this earth,
Ø challenging us that we can be effective when we look for what God wants to build in and through our lives as we pass through on our way to our eternal home.
Visitors From Heaven: Let's meet Some Examples
I want you to listen to some of the words of a song, “Visitor from Heaven” and then I want to introduce you to Gabrielle Hannah Goodwin
Gabrielle Hannah Goodwin was and is gift from heaven who continues to live in many hearts,
“a visitor from heaven if only for a while, a gift of love to be returned.”
Her growing life in the womb of Tanya her mother brought many people into a huge worldwide bond of the love of God, as people prayed for a life constantly threatened by the loss of the fluid necessary to the safe and healthy development of a life.
Gabrielle emerged into this world on the 3rd June 2004 and lived four
hours.
For those who were part of those few hours (which I wasn't), for those of us who held her, and for all who experienced the love the development of her life and her time on earth brought forth,
“It hurt so much to let you go
But we're so glad you came
We're so glad you came
A visitor from heaven
If only for a day”
Roy Rogers was a loving husband and proud father of nine children, with 15 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren. He and Dale Evans his wife, had a truly International family, adopting Dodie, an American Indian girl, Debbie, a Korean American girl, and Sandy, a little boy from Kentucky, who had been severely abused. Marion , a foster daughter from Scotland, came to live with them as a teenager.
Roy and Dale loved children and spent a lifetime devoted to children and children’s charities, including the Happy Trails Children’s Foundation for severely abused and neglected children. Through the years, they made hundreds of visits to children’s hospitals and orphanages all over the country. Roy made many long-distance phone calls at his own expense to sick and dying children. He was not a stranger to sorrow and tragedy.
He lost his first wife, Arlene, one week after Dusty was born, leaving him with an infant and two small girls, Cheryl and Linda. He and Dale lost their only biological child, Robin, who was buried on her second birthday. Debbie, their adopted Korean American daughter, died in a church bus crash when she was twelve years old and Sandy, their little Rebel from Kentucky, died while serving in the Army in Germany.
Robin was a down's syndrome child and I remember reading when I was quite young a book her parents wrote about her. They considered her an angel who came to visit them for two years.
Olivia Gibson was such an angel [my joy at being part of her coming into this world]
Lives Too Short
This year I've encountered people who've died far too young and/or those who've been part of their lives - people round my age. I've conducted funeral services for those even younger in past years.
Bryan Foster was such a person, cut off it seemed in the midst of a
life that was blossoming in God.
I encountered Brian only briefly, but hearing his story is one of the things that's made a profound impact in my life and challenged me to get things right in my life and make it count for God.
Is the truncation of such a life a waste?
No way! For can we measure the effectiveness of a life in years?
No, we measure it in terms of knowledge of God and how that life counted for God in their time on earth.
We remember the most effective ministry ever as we remember,
The Most Precious Birth, Life And Ministry Ever
Jesus was a longed for child like any other baby born.
Once Mary coped with the news of the amazing birth that she would give, dealt quickly with her fears and obeyed God, she would have looked forward to that birth like any other mother.
She and Joseph would have had the joy and pride of any new parents, but it was enhanced by the circumstances surrounding the birth that produced worship.
Just as Christian parents bring a child to God, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple.
There they received the first glimpse of the fact that Jesus would not live to see them die in a good old age.
When Simeon held Jesus and declared God's words over him, he spoke fateful words to Mary (Joseph apparently died when Jesus was young),
“sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart.”,
words fulfilled as Mary witnessed Jesus die on Calvary's cross.
Yet those words through Simeon, were preceded by the declaration,
“This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts.”
A Life Not Wasted
A life of about 33 years and a ministry of about three years were not long, but Jesus' life was a life not wasted.
It changed history.
His seemingly crazy choice of disciples, carried on that short ministry that turned people's ideas of the kingdom of God upside down.
It continued to turn the world upside down and the church founded on that short life by those fallible disciples, has defied every attempt to suppress and destroy it.
It flourished in an amazing and astronomical way and continues to do so today.
That church was preceded by the
Heroes Of Faith: Strangers And Visitors To Our Earth
The heroes and heroines of faith, a minute number of whom whose stories are told in Hebrews 11, are said to have been strangers (foreigners/refugees even) and visitors to this earth.
Hebrews 11:13 tells us that,
“These people of faith I have mentioned, died without ever receiving all that God had promised them; but they saw it all awaiting them on ahead and were glad, for they agreed that this earth was not their real home but that they were just strangers visiting down here.”
When they spoke like this, verse 14 goes on to tell us,
“.. they were looking forward to their real home in heaven.”
They went out like Abraham who,
“… had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen. Because Abraham had faith, he lived as a stranger in the promised land. He lived there in a tent, and so did Isaac and Jacob, who were later given the same promise.”
He “did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city that God had
planned and built.”
Abraham's life counted.
He came to be known as the “friend of God” and he was the “father of many nations.”
Will Our Lives Be so Effective?
When Bryan Foster was told his life was to be cut short (in our eyes that is…), his life became even more effective and it continues to speak.
Jesus' life will continue to speak until he comes again to reign on this earth.
The ministry of those first disciples who built Jesus' church lives on.
We don't know how long our visit on earth on earth will last, but the decision that is in our hand, is how we will use the time we have.
Our lives will be effective when we look for what God wants to build in and through our lives as we pass through on our way to our eternal
home.
A Visitor From Heaven~
By Twila Paris
A visitor from heaven
If only for a while
A gift of love to be returned
We think of you and smile
A visitor from heaven
Accompanied by grace
Reminding of a better love
And of a better place
With aching hearts and empty arms
We send you with a name
It hurts so much to let you go
But we're so glad you came
We're so glad you came
A visitor from heaven
If only for a day
We thank Him for the time He gave
And now it's time to say
We trust you to the Fathers love
And to His tender care
Held in the everlasting arms
And we're so glad you're there
We're so glad you're there
With breaking hearts and open hands
We send you with a name
It hurts so much to let you go
But we're so glad you came
We're so glad you came