People Are Worth Saving
Sanctified: Purified for a Purpose • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 14 views(Main point: Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation and worth saving.) As surprising as it might be to us, the Creator of the Universe loves humans. He created us to co-rule with him over creation, to be his images in the world. So, when he sent his Son to become a human and die to rescue humanity, it makes sense within the overall story. Therefore, if God values human beings this much, how should we think of ourselves and other people? Shouldn’t we see in one another the image of God? You will never see anything more glorious or wonderful than every single human being you encounter.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
What is the most Amazing, Awesome, Breath-taking, Impressive thing you’ve ever seen…
- Maybe a place you’ve visited (Grand Canyon, Beach, Mountain Range)
- Maybe some historic building (Parthenon, Colosseum, Pyramids)
- Maybe some impressive athletic feat
I would propose…
You’ve never seen anything more awesome than every person you’ve ever encountered.
You’ve never seen anything more awesome than every person you’ve ever encountered.
The person you pass in the grocery store—without a second thought—is more impressive than the Grand Canyon!
The person in this room with you right now that you’ve never bothered to meet is just as amazing as the celebrities you would pay money to meet!
Biblical Text:
Biblical Text:
1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
O YHWH, our Adonai (Master)
How MAJESTIC is your name
mighty
magnificent
powerful
beautiful
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
What does this mean?
Babies and Infants - The weakest of the weak
“What can they possibly do?”
“How can they possibly contribute?”
God will use babies to “still,” or “silence” the enemy
by what comes out of their mouths
babel
Jesus quoted this in Matthew 21, after he cleansed the temple
the blind
the lame
the children
were coming to Jesus and praising him
the priests and the scribes were upset
Jesus quoted this passage
God does amazing things through the weak and the despised. Listen to what PAUL wrote
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
This is how God loves to work
the foolish
the weak
the low
the despised
the blind
the lame
the children
the babies
the infants
back to our text
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
Not…
“out of the sword of the warrior”
“out of the brilliance of the scholar”
“out of the riches of the wealthy”
“out of the power of the political leader”
Out of the mouth of babies and infants…you have established strength…to sill the enemy
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
On a cosmic scale, human beings are really just a speck of dust.
feeble
frail
mortal
SEEMINGLY insignificant
SHOCKINGLY
This majestic God is mindful of humans
This cosmic King cares for humans
God calls HUMAN BEINGS his IMAGES…
He protects them
He provides for them
He partners with them
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
In spite of the fact that HUMANS are so feeble and frail…
they are just a “little lower” than “heavenly beings” (elohim)
they are crowned with glory and honor
God gives them dominion over the works of his hands
God puts all things under their feet
We have to learn to see humans this way
[SLIDE] Every human being is someone God made to be crowned with glory and honor…
every human being in your workplace or school
every human being growing in the womb
every elderly human being, even when their mind or body is failing
every human being living on the street
every human being who is an immigrant or a refugee
every human being with whom you disagree politically
every human being who has made sinful choices
the human being you see in the mirror
9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You cannot HONOR GOD while DISHONORING human beings
This God loves human beings
This God has chosen
the weak
the poor
the vulnerable
the small
the seemingly insignificant
…To make great and to accomplish his will
Most surprisingly, but in keeping with this Psalm, God chose to BECOME HUMAN
In commenting on Psalm 8, the Hebrew writer says this….
…In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
The present world is not as it should be
Everything is not yet subject to humanity
But Jesus became human and suffered death WITH US and FOR US
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
So that we could share in his glory
so that we can be crowned with glory and honor
so that we could be what we were created to be
ANY human being who comes to Jesus in faith, he is not ashamed to call them his brother or sister.
Application:
Application:
So, how can we summarize all of this?
God sees every person as worthy of his attention and care. Do we?
God sees every person as worthy of his attention and care. Do we?
He was willing…
to become our brother
and die for us
so that we might be crowned with glory and honor
Do we see people as worthy of our…
attention
care
compassion
You cannot dishonor them and still honor the God who crowns human beings with dignity and honor
Invitation:
Invitation:
God looked at you and he saw someone worth saving
he saw someone worth sending his son to die for
That truth changes the way we see…
God
Ourselves
Each other
It should make us not only want to be committed to Christ, but also to love and serve one another.
