Protection

Protection

“As I entered the police station the other evening to pay a parking fine, I noticed that an old lady just ahead of me was trembling all over. I paid my $3 and was about to leave when I saw the lady sitting on a bench in the corner absorbed in a book.

“What’s the trouble? Is there anything I can do?” I asked.

“No, thank you!” she said. “You see, I was sitting at home all alone reading this mystery story, and got so scared that I came down here to finish it under police protection.”^[1]

Matthew 23:37–39 (HCSB)

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, ‘He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One’!” ^[2]

Just to make sure everyone understands the historical background here, Jesus is mourning and is sorrowful for Jerusalem. Like a disobedient child who we love so tenderly, knowing we cannot do anything for them until they realize they are in the wrong. We would love to grab our children and hold them and help them but that is not always the case.

Allegorically, there is something here as well. This small passage answers an age old question. “Why do the righteous have a hard life while the evil seems to live an easy life?” This is not an easy question to answer. Certainly, God wants his children to live a good and healthy life. This is true, but I want to make a couple points.

First, every person who accepts Christ, I give them a warning. Since they gave their heart to the Lord, the enemy will be attacking them. The automatic reply becomes “why doesn’t God protect me?” God does protect His children; in fact He protects us every minute of every day even though we do not see it all. I explain that because the devil no longer has you he wants you back and he will try every possible tactic to get you back. Proverbs 22:6 tells us “teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” As a new Christian we must be trained, trained to depend upon God in ALL circumstances. If we do not expect trouble and trials and expect God to shield us from all evil we would fall into danger of becoming spoiled and believing we are our own god. (I have not met anyone who had not gotten the “big head syndrome” at some point in life.)

Second, it keeps people from coming to Christ for the wrong reasons. Review Matthew 9:27-31. Jesus performs a great miracle and tells them to make sure they tell no one. Why? Why wouldn’t Christ want everyone to know He healed them? It is because Jesus knew if people heard of His healings they would come to Him wanting nothing but physical healing. If people knew God will protect them from all evil in this world, people would have no problem accepting the physical protection while neglecting the spiritual protection. This sounds a lot like what we see in the world already with people claiming Christianity and neglecting the living a Christian life.

Lastly, I want to remind everyone that God gave us a perfect world where there was no evil but we fouled that up. While we are not promised a troublesome and trial free life we are promised to have a help, help that shows us grace and love even in our transgressions and that my friends is a million times more than what the world can offer.

Back to the text, I want to point out that Jerusalem was not willing. Like them, we must be willing, willing to accept God’s grace and love. He wants to protect us but like our children we must be willing to accept. I encourage Christians today to always be willing to accept every challenge they may be faced with and to rely solely upon Christ. I want to also invite anyone who is not a Christian to put aside the world and allow God to gather them into His fold so He can show you the love and grace many of us have already experienced.

-Pastor Robb

If you want to accept Jesus Christ into your life, simply bow your head and repeat these words from the heart,

“Dear God I know I’m a sinner, I know I am not where I want to be, and I want your forgiveness!  I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and rose again and is alive today!

Please wash me clean from all sin, shame, and guilt, come into my life Jesus to be my Lord and Savior.  I ask this in your name Jesus.

Amen!”

*Next find yourself a Bible believing church where there are real people with real problems who are not afraid to admit that.  And that they know how to take these real problems to God.

*Take time to read from the Bible, if you want, you can start with the Gospel of John and then the book of Romans in the New Testament

^[1] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 439.

^[2]  The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009.