God Has Rights Too

Text: PSalms 24 1-2

1  The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof;

The world, and they that dwell therein.

2  For he hath founded it upon the seas,

And established it upon the floods.

Introduction

There’s alot of things that are being said nowadays about people’s rights. - We here alot about the homosexuals wanting rights. They want you to believe that they dont have rights, but in the end they have the same rights, they just want different rights. Never in our country has such a small group of people, a small percentage, had such a loud voice in the populace.

We hear alot about womens rights and equalities. People become very passionate about the proposed disparities between gender pay gaps and working wages.

We hear alot about issues of racial in equality, injustice, abuse of power, and honestly many others. Our country is in the middle of a battle with a very damaging ideaology called Critical Race Theory. CRT teaches that because my sin is white, I am inherently racist, and cant help it. I need to accept that I am an oppressor, a white demon.

All of the outcry for rights, did you know that this desire for things to be right in our eyes is in us for a reason? It comes from God!

Is the slaughter of chickens comparable to the Holocaust? Karen Davis says "Yes" -- and she's devoted her life to saving them.

In a recent Washington Post interview, Davis described poultry farms as "huge prison camps" where chickens are humiliated, tortured, and murdered. Yes, murdered.

In a strange -- I might say feather-brained sort of way -- Davis, who says she does not believe in God, is providing evidence of God's existence, and of the unique role human beings play in His creation.

At her Virginia home, Davis keeps more than a hundred Chickens, many of whom she rescued after they fell off poultry trucks. She devotes hours every day caring for them, and spends the rest of her time fighting political battles on their behalf.

The cause has not been without its sacrifices. Davis' husband, tiring of her single-minded devotion to chickens, left her. Her home is almost entirely bereft of furniture so the chickens can roam freely. Davis is so committed to her fowls that she even missed her father's funeral to care for them.

Of course, scripture teaches that Christians ought to be stewards over animals. But is it normal to view chickens as the moral equivalent of humans, and to sacrifice everything for their sake?

Most animal rights activists would answer, "Yes," because they believe in Darwinian evolution, which teaches that there's no clear dividing line between animals and humans.

But Darwinian evolution teaches other things as well -- things that don't fit so comfortably with Davis' commitment. Darwinists teach that life has no meaning or purpose. They also teach the survival of the fittest -- the idea that the strong survive and the weak get selected out.

But Davis' fanatical commitment to chickens flies in the face of this naturalistic belief. A consistent naturalist, you see, would not care if chickens were winnowed out by a stronger species. But Davis DOES care. She believes that humans, as the stronger and more intelligent species, ought to protect the weaker species.

Clearly, something is driving Davis to rise above her own self-interest. That "something," however misdirected, is the Imago Dei, the image of God planted in all of us and which makes us realize we are created for a higher purpose.

Davis' devotion to her feathered friends is evidence that she is looking for something transcendent, for some calling beyond herself. She's proving that the Darwinian worldview is false, because she cannot live with its logical conclusions.

The true test of a worldview, after all, is whether it conforms to reality. Davis says she does not believe in God -- and yet in a twisted way, by seeking a higher purpose, she's validating the Christian worldview.

It's tempting to laugh off people like Davis as eccentrics. But Davis is well-educated, a former college professor. People like her are deadly serious. The real problem is that she and other animal rights activists have a flawed worldview, a wrong understanding of the doctrine of creation.

Animal rights activists are having a serious impact. Our job is to expose the failure in their underlying belief system and then lead them to the One who cares about every sparrow that falls to the ground-and Who values humans so much more that He sent His Son to die for them.

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d

I. Why the Fight over Right?

A. To know this we must ask the question, where do rights come from? The basic answer is this, rights are Rooted in being

i. Human beings have rights because they are different than animals.

During a heated debate at a church's board meeting, one of the

overheated deacons rose to his feet and with clenched fists declared,

"I have my rights!"

Quickly and sensitively, one of the older men replied, "You don't

mean that. If we had our rights we would all be in Hell."

"To have the right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be

right in doing it."

--G.K.Chesterton

ii. If we stop here we can see the belief that some have come to that animals should have the same rights as humans.

As you may note, often in the winter you may see a social media post with certain breeds of dogs laying in the snow outside. There will insue a hailstorm of comments condemning the animals owners for leaving a dog outside, making comments like, “if it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for them.”

As noble as this sounds, it may be noted that the dog breed is a husky or malamute or similar. It turns out they LOVE the weather and many would rather stay there in comfort than come inside.

People dont know where there rights come from from.

Several years ago a couple of reporters conducted an experiment on the streets of Miami, Florida. They printed up a copy of the Bill of Rights in the form of a petition, put it on a clipboard, and then stopped people on the sidewalk and asked them to sign it. As you know, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are the Bill of Rights, and they were adopted and put into effect in December of 1791. The reporters were surprised at people's reaction when asked to add their names to the so-called petition. Most people glanced at the document, shook their heads, and walked on by without signing. Several people became angry with the reporters and accused them of being radical enemies of the American way of life. In fact, the experiment ended when the reporters found themselves surrounded by a dozen or so passers-by who were shaking their fists at them and calling them subversive Communists who ought to be thrown in jail.

What the experiment demonstrated is what we already know. Many citizens of the United States pay lip service to their country and its heritage. They claim to be loyal and patriotic in every way. They say they are proud to belong to a country as great as ours. And yet at the same time they haven't the vaguest notion what the United States Constitution actually says, and they consider the Bill of Rights to be a radical, anti-American document. In other words, these people claim citizenship, but they have not internalized the basic meaning of being a citizen. They claim the privilege, but they will not eat and drink the ethos of United States of America.

The same sort of thing is described in today's Gospel. Jesus says, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven... Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." Most people probably think Jesus is talking about communion. He isn't. He's talking about the difference between external lip-service and internal embodiment. He's talking about the difference between admiring him and actually taking up one's cross and following him. He's talking about the difference between acting like a Christian on the outside and being a Christian on the inside.

B. Being is realized in the Creator

i. Why does being different give humans rights? We were made in the image of God. Everything else is created in a new likeness, but man is made in His image.

ii. As such we retain a diginity that bugs and reptiles do not have.

Rights are Realized in Personality

In our constitution in the 14th amendment we find a fundamental belief. “no State shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

Thus the rights that everyone is so passionately advocating for are rooted in personhood. We can deprive a bug of life, liberty, and the pursuit of property because it does not have personal being.

Humans are persons because we are created in the image of God who is a person.

16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. 17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. 22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. Matthew 22

God is Always Right

God is absolute being and has absolute rights

As the source and original of all personal being, he has all the rights that persons have who are created in his image. If beings beneath God have rights because they are nearer to God in their being, then God has infinitely greater rights than all human persons.

So why are we not outraged that God’s rights are not acknowledged in America? Why do cities burn over the denial of a man’s rights but not over the denial of God’s rights?

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). So all that exists is God’s property. It exists for his purposes. But contrary to the 14th amendment he is deprived of this property without due process of law. People take houses and cars and businesses and parks and schools and theaters and newspapers and TV stations and use them without any consultation with the Owner at all. They deny his ownership and act against his stated purposes for why these things exist. His rights are violated every day. Where is the outrage?

The root of every injustice in Los Angeles or anywhere else is the pervasive human injustice against God. Where the rights of our Creator and Savior are daily denied with impunity, we should not be surprised that the rights of persons created in his image are denied in a cavalier and selfish way. Until God is given his rights, no human rights will have significance beyond convenience. And when they are no longer convenient, they will be ignored, whether by violent police, traffic violators, looters or murderers. The end of godlessness is anarchy.

God has rights too

God has all the rights of the universe. This is part of his glory that we are commanded to declare to the white and black and brown and yellow and red nations of America. To mention a few:

He has the right to forgive sin (Matthew 9:6)

.He has the right to command unclean spirits (Matthew 10:1).

He has the right to take his life back from the grave (John 10:18).

He has the right to execute judgment (John 5:27).

He has the right to give eternal life (John 17:2).

He has the right to cast into hell (Luke 12:5).

He has the right to fix times and seasons (Acts 1:7).

He has the right to create any kind of person (Romans 9:21).

He has the right to control plagues (Revelation 16:9).

Every right in the universe has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:19).

Conclusion

Back in 1891, Robert Louis Stevenson, author of such classics as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped, gave a rather odd gift to the daughter of a friend of his. This friend, Henry Ide, once joked that Christmas was not the happiest day of the year in his household. His 14-year-old daughter, Annie, had been born on Christmas; she always complained she got cheated out of a separate birthday party. So Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the idea of giving away his birthday. He drew up a legal document transferring all the “rights and privileges” of his birthday, which fell on Nov. 13, to Miss Annie H. Ide. From that day forward, Annie celebrated her birthday on Nov. 13.

Robert Louis Stevenson was not the first to transfer all his “rights and privileges” to someone else. In a sense, Jesus became mortal that He might transfer some of His immortality to us. Jesus became human that He might transfer the spark of divinity to us. Jesus became a servant that He might transfer us to the status of sons and daughters. Or as John put it: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. Philippians 2:8

It wasn't exactly the Lakers versus the Pacers, but that didn't matter to the sweat-soaked players on the court. Katy's team had scrapped their way to the finals of the three-on-three basketball tournament with heart and hustle. In the championship game, however, they were clearly outclassed and had to settle for second place.

But Katy had noticed a clear injustice. She had seen the "big gun" on the victorious team playing on a boys' team earlier in the day. It was against the rules to play on two teams.

Katy had a choice: Squawk loudly, or congratulate the other team and accept the second-place trophy.

She made a very mature decision. You see, the three-on-three tournament was part of an evangelistic outreach into her church's community. Katy played on a team made up mostly of churchgoing kids. The winning team was made up entirely of visitors.

Katy quietly let the matter drop. Despite her competitive nature, she reminded herself that the bigger victory was in not detracting from the gospel message the players would hear soon after the awards ceremony.

We live in a competitive culture that thrives on demanding its rights. And genuine rights are a very good thing to defend. But the Christian life does not obsess about rights. In fact, to follow Christ means we may need to renounce certain rights.

The only truly good person who ever walked the earth gave up all His rights so that He could die for us. Paul wrote, "[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7). Paul noted that our own attitude "should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (v.5).

That same Jesus calls us to "lose our lives" so that we will be useful to Him. That's the whole idea behind denying ourselves and taking up our cross, as Jesus instructed us to do in Matthew 16:24-28.

In a sense, Katy put her competitive nature to death for the benefit of others. The payoff, both for her and for the visitors who heard about Christ, could be vastly more significant than anything the Lakers and Pacers ever fought for. TG

REFLECTION

When was the last time I relinquished a "right" for the sake of Christ?

Do I always demand what is rightfully mine? Should I?