INTRODUCTION:

What are some of the things that get your heart racing and your blood pumping? What are some of the things that reach down into the very viscera of your being and touch your soul and stir your gut? What is it that gives wings to hope and excites your spirit?

Is it edge of your seat action/adventure movies like National Treasure, Spiderman or The Day After Tomorrow?

Is it fantasy books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia?

Is it the actual adventure itself of Mountain Biking, Motorcycling, Rock Climbing or Mountain Climbing? Or is it simply living vicariously through Fear Factor and The Great Race.

What is it that stirs your spirit and sets your heart racing?

I like movies and novels and sports (more watching now than playing). And sometimes they do that to me. But every now and then there's a passage of Scripture which grabs me in the same way. And the reading from Colossians today is one of those passages. Paul writes in defense of the faith. There were some who were teaching things that collided with the theology of Paul and the early church. One of which said Jesus wasn't really the Son of God but was just one of many prophets revealed by God.

But listen to what Paul writes about Jesus: Colossians 1:11-20 (NRSV)

[11] May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully

[12] giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. [13] He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,

[14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;

[16] for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers - all things have been created through him and for him.

[17] He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

[18] He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

[19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

[20] and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Doesn't that just set your blood racing? Doesn't that stir up your spirit? That passage is so Spirit filled. Paul tells us that the very one for whom and through whom all of creation was created came to walk among us. The one in whom "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" chose to live among us and reveal to us the unconditional love, the overwhelming grace, the immutable mercy and the eternal forgiveness of God through Christ. No wonder we call Him Lord of Lords and King of Kings and celebrate days like today: Christ the King Sunday.

This passage is given to us to remind us of God's love and to rekindle the fire of our hearts so that we can Keep the Fire Burning. Today we're reminded that through Christ the King we are RESCUED, RECONCILED AND REDEEMED.

I. RESCUED:

A. One of the first aspects of our inheritance, one of the first clauses of the will is that "[Jesus] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son." [13]

That clause, that promise is almost overwhelming. It almost feels too god to be true. But it is. You and I may not have a long rap sheet on file in any law enforcement office but we know that our lives have not always been what God would want them to be. I don't have to go through the litany of things we've done wrong, we know what they are. We hang our head in shame for having walked in the power of that darkness.

But through Christ our King, we know that what we did can no longer be seen for the debt of our sin has been blotted out by the blood and forgiveness of Christ who bore the cross for our sakes.

B. About ten years ago, in California a small boy accidentally fell into an abandoned mine shaft. His playmate ran for help. Rescue workers moved in by the dozens. Heavy equipment was brought in and tons of dirt was moved. Finally, after two days and nights of digging, the rescue operation was completed. The little boy was rescued and appeared to be in excellent condition.

When asked about his condition, his mother said, "Well, he was very hungry and very dirty."

After a night in the local hospital, he was sent home.

A couple of days later he persuaded his father to take him back to the place where the accident had happened. The little boy was shocked! He saw a mountain of dirt that had been removed by all the heavy equipment. He looked up at his father and said, "Daddy, do you mean they did all of that for me?"

His father hugged him tightly and with tears said, "Yes, son, all this was done to save you."

That's what Christ and the cross mean to us. Jesus did all that for me.

Through His love, through the Grace of God, we've been RESCUED. That's part of our Inheritance and all we have to do is claim it. (1)

II. RECONCILED:

A. The second aspect of our inheritance, the second clause of the will is that "through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." [20]

Sin is a nasty word. We don't like it. We don't like to hear about it. We don't like to be called sinners. But that's the Biblical witness. You see we wouldn't need to be rescued if we weren't lost and separated from God. It's sin which caused God to come looking for us. It's sin which caused the One in whom "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" to give His life on the cross for our sakes.

And it's sin that causes us to be lost and separated both from God and each other. We don't like that feeling of being alone. We search in the wrong places for the relationship to fix it because we simply want to belong.

B. There's an old story about a little boy who was riding across town on a city bus. He was huddled close to a very well-dressed lady and was swinging his legs back and forth out in the aisle like kids will do. Accidentally, he rubbed his shoes up against the woman sitting across from him. She got perturbed and asked the well-dressed woman, "Pardon me, but would you please tell your little boy to keep his feet to himself?"

The well-dressed woman looked at the boy as if she hadn't really been aware that he was there, then shoving him aside said, "He's not MY boy. I've never seen him before."

Embarrassed, the little boy moved to another seat where he sank down as if trying to hide. It was obvious that the boy was trying to fight back tears. He looked at the lady whose dress he had gotten dirty and he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

When the woman saw how the reprimand affected the boy, she felt bad about how she'd responded. "That's all right," she said, "are you going somewhere alone?"

The boy lowered his head and answered, "I always travel alone. My mommy and daddy are both dead so I live with my Aunt Maggie. But when she gets tired of me, she sends me to Aunt Elizabeth."

The woman then asked, "Are you on your way to visit Aunt Elizabeth now?"

The boy answered, "Yes, but Aunt Elizabeth is hardly ever home. I hope she's home today, though. It sure is cold."

The woman looked at the boy again and then said, "You're awfully young to be riding on the bus alone."

The boy piped up, "Oh, it's OK. I never get lost but sometimes I get awful lonesome. So, when I see someone I'd like to belong to, I sit real close to them and pretend they're my family. That's what I was doing when I got your dress dirty. I forgot about my feet."

Hearing this, the woman moved over to where the boy was sitting and put her arm around him. Then she hugged him in real close. All that boy wanted was to belong to somebody. There's a longing like that in all of us. It's a longing caused by our separation from God. Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior hugs us to himself. He wraps his arms around us and makes us his own. And then we can claim our Inheritance. For then we are RECONCILED with God.

III. REDEEMED:

A. And finally, the third aspect of our inheritance, the third clause of the will is that "[Jesus] has transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." [13-14]

What does it mean to be redeemed? Most of us old timers and I include myself in that group because I'm over 50 and to some of our youth and children, that means I'm ancient. But most of us old timers remember S&H Green Stamps and the savings stamps you got at the grocery stores and gas stations. Cigarettes even had their own version in every pack. You collected the stamps and glued them in books. And when you got so many books you could either dig out the catalog or go to the Redemption Center and trade those stamps for some item. Of course it took about a million stamps to get anything of value.

But you redeemed those stamps by trading them for something else. You gave them up so you could receive something from the redemption center.

That's exactly what Christ did for us. He REDEEMED us. He traded His life on the cross for our sins and we received forgiveness and reconciliation with God in return.

B. In the movie Seabiscuit, Tom Smith, an old farrier and horse trainer, stops the shooting of a lame race horse. He tells the owner he will take it. When the owner says the horse is no longer worth anything, Smith says that at least it will save him the bullet. Later that evening, he is visited by Charles Howard, a wealthy American businessman.

Howard climbs through the surrounding brush to get to Smith, who is having his dinner in front of an open campfire. Howard looks over at the damaged horse, whose leg is now wrapped up with a poultice. Smith says that it is Hawthorne root, designed to increase the blood circulation. Howard asks if the horse will get better, and Smith replies that it already has. Howard wants to know if the horse will ever race again. Smith says, "No, not that one."

Howard asks, "Then why are you fixing him?"

And Smith tells him, "Because I can. Every horse is good for something. He could be a cart horse or a lead pony, and he's still nice to look at. Y'know, you don't throw a whole life away just 'cause you're banged up a little."

Often times you and I and all of society is quick to throw away those things, and people, who are damaged or no longer meet our standards and expectations. Thanks be to God that Jesus is different or most of us would have found ourselves in the trash heap a long time ago.

Jesus came to reach out to the lost, the damaged, the disenfranchised. He came to lift up the weak and the outcasts. He spent His time among the rejected. He took the wretched of the world and healed them. He took the orphans and made them His sons and daughters. He took the powerless, and made them a priestly kingdom. He loved them. He loves us, all because He can. (3)

Jesus knows that everyone of us, no matter how banged up our lives are, everyone of us is good for something. And so He took our place. Because He loves us. He REDEEMED us. Because He could.

CONCLUSION:

The state advertising slogan for the Louisiana tourist industry is or was, "Come as you are. Leave Different!" Maybe that should be the slogan of every church. (4) Why? Because we've been RESCUED, RECONCILED AND REDEEMED.

Maybe you've never felt your heart stirred before. Maybe it's not movies or books or anything else that you've experienced. But today, I hope you've opened yourself to the church's heart Specialist, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He willingly and knowingly gave His life on cross for you.

Today we're reminded that through Christ the King we are RESCUED, RECONCILED AND REDEEMED. The will has already been read. All we have to do is claim our Inheritance by opening our hearts and inviting the one in whom "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell," Jesus, into our lives as our Savior and King.

1. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), September 1996 ALL THIS FOR ME, By Dr. Leonard E. Stadler

2. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), Feb 1991 WANTING TO BELONG

3. www.movieministry.com

4. Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN) Vol. 14, #1

www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)

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Homiletics, (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH)

Lectionary Homiletics, (Lectionary Homiletics, Inc. Midlothian, VA)

Dynamic Preaching, (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN)

The Clergy Journal, (Logos Productions, Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN)

Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

Circuit Rider, (The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)

The Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1953)

The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

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Preaching the Parables, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 1997) SermonPrep Version.