Sermon “Who's on Duty?"
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I remember many years ago, early in my Christian walk, the people in the church tradition I was following would typically have what they called a “watch night” service. They would gather for hymn singing and prayer until midnight on December 31, welcoming the new year in and praying that God would pour out his blessing on them and their community.
I suppose we are doing something like that this evening. We've gathered in fellowship and celebration, rejoicing in our friendships and the blessings of God throughout the past year. People have been playing games and eating and drinking. They've also been talking and laughing. There have been some very good times in the past year, times when we've seen our Lord and Master working in ourselves, in our families, in our church and community. There have also been some difficult times. There are people who are missing this evening but might have been here in prior years. There are people who have developed serious health problems in recent times. There are people whose families have been under stress, sometimes very serious stress.
Maybe you are one of those people who can start to worry about what's happening in your life. Maybe you are one of the people who can lose a night's sleep because you keep wondering how you might have dealt with your family, your co-workers, your employer better. Maybe you wonder if you are going to have a job next week. Maybe you spend time wondering how you alienated someone else in your family. There are plenty of situations that we can tie ourselves into knots over. Many of them are serious, though some are trivial.
I don't want to spend much time in this sermon though. I'd rather we spent more meaningful time in prayer. But I want to point out that in all of our Scriptures for this evening God is presented as the one who is on guard duty. He is the one who constructs the wall of protection for his people, keeping the enemies out. He is the one who equips us with all we need to stand guard in his house, while he prepares to come home unexpectedly and throw a party for his guards. He is the one who is able to watch over his people and keep them safe from every danger.
What can separate us from the love of God? None of the dangers lurking around us. Yet there is a dread danger that we need to be aware of. In our unwillingness to trust in the Lord, our dependence on our own power and plans, our exaltation of our own will above God's will, that is what condemns us. If we trust in ourselves, eventually God allows us to trust in ourselves, though we will come to ruin. If we trust in God, he will bless us and keep us in his protection, not our own protection.
Who is on duty? The Lord, God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – he is on guard duty. And he is able to keep his people in perfect peace and safety. If we were to trust in ourselves we would surely be doomed. But as we look to our Lord and Savior we find we are kept in perfect blessing.
Now may the Lord of all peace grant us his peace, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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