They Can’t Take That Away
April 18, 2004
The Rev. Dr. Anthony
J. Godlefski, Pastor
John 16:16-22
John 20: 19-31
Romans 8: 31-39
Pastor Tony sits down at the piano and plays the first few lines of George and Ira Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! Dont you love tunes like that? I do. This morning, my friends, I want to talk to you about a theme that song brings to mind. But I want to talk about something that is deeper and stronger and life-affirming. I love Ira Gershwin's lyrics about the way you wear your hat and the way you sip your tea. But I want to talk today about three things the world can never take from you.
I'm mindful of folks in our congregation who feel they're between a rock and a hard place. I'm mindful about folks in our congregation who feel that precious things are slipping away or being taken away, somehow or other. We've all been through April 15th, right? But I want to talk about something deeper than that. I want to talk today about what the world can never take away. Confirmation class, I want to talk particularly to you. There are things in the sermon today that I want you to take away with you. This confirmation class is great; I love working with them.
To help illustrate today's sermon, think of a pyramid in three layers. In the bottom layer, picture a heart. In the middle layer, imagine a cross. And in the top layer, picture a sunrise, to help remember the three things the world cannot take away.
I am struck by our scripture readings this morning and the parallel between them, where Jesus is explaining to His disciples, "I'm going to go away. You won't see me for a while. You will be terribly sad. But listen to this: You're going to see me again. And you're going to be so incredibly happy, nothing will ever take that joy away from you." We have that promise.
And then in Romans 8, "Who can separate us from the love of God and Christ? Nothing, nothing," says St. Paul. And that's the theme I want to wind together for us today.
What is the first thing that the world cannot take away from us? What's the bottom layer of the pyramid? It's the love of God. Dear Christian friend, no matter how much between a rock and a hard place you might feel, there is one thing the world can never take away from you, and that is the transforming, energizing love of God. You are beloved. You are precious in His sight. And nothing can ever change that.
Let's listen to the words of St. Paul from the Bible, Romans 8 starting at verse 25. Now remember, this St. Paul, this fellow who wrote all these letters in the Bible, was one of the most severe persecutors of Christians of all time. His name at the time was Saul. He supervised the death of St. Stephen. He killed Christians. He was responsible for imprisoning them. He was on his way to imprison more Christians when he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. That changed his life, and gave us the person we know as Paul.
Here is the conviction of his heart. He says, "Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship, or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? No. In all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved us." Listen to that list of things that worry us. Economic worries, worries about health, worries about persecution and criticism and hardship – can any of that take away God's love for us? Paul says no. "In all these things we are more than conquerors, more than victors, through Him who loved us. For I am certain that nothing can separate us from this love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers" – people in that time believed strongly in angels. They believed they were guardian spirits over everything. They were very aware of that. Paul said don't worry about that. The love of Christ is stronger. The love of God is stronger than that. He says, "Neither things present nor things of the future." We get worried about the future. It will never affect the love of God. "Neither the world above nor the world below, height nor depth," some Bibles translate it. The people were big believers in astrology. What star rising were you born under? What star descending were you born under? Paul says forget it! The love of God transcends all those things. That shall never affect you. There is nothing in creation that will ever be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's solid as a rock. It's the basis of the pyramid. It will never be taken from you. It will always be offered to you. And it's only yours to say yes, your possession always, the love of God.
What's the second thing? What's in the layer with the cross on it? Friend, that's your faith. No one will ever take your salvation away from you. You've invited Jesus Christ into your heart. No one will ever take that from you. Confirmation class, I need you to hear this from the bottom of my heart to yours. No peer pressure, no fancy college professor, no hard time in life can take away your faith. It's yours. Hang on to it. You're entitled to it. No one can take it away. When you've asked Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior, it's a rock solid deal. Please remember that. No one can take away God's love, and no one can take away your faith.
There's one more thing that the world cannot take away. At the top of the pyramid, with the sunrise design, is your positive attitude. Jesus said, "No one will take your joy from you." There may be people who would say, "Oh, Pastor, that idea of joy is a hard one for me. I've led a hard life." I don't argue with you. You very well may have a tough life. And none of us are happy all the time. But there's a difference between worldly happiness and deep-running joy.
Worldly happiness is caused by circumstance. But deep-running joy is something that we can decide on, and something that is a gift from God. Nobody can take your positive attitude away. A gentleman who was a prisoner in the horrific concentration camps of Nazi Germany was once asked how he survived, and he said this: "They took everything away. They took food; they took dignity; they took everything away from us. And some of us were broken by it. But I made a discovery. There was one thing that they could not take away, and that was my reaction to what was happening to me. No one could take away my positive attitude and my hope. There was nothing they could do."
That's yours, too, my friend. Oh yes, we can have disappointments. There's no two ways about it. You experience it; I experience it. But in the long run, on the deep-running track, no one can take away your decision about how to react to things. No one can take away your positive attitude. It's your gift from God.
Did you hear about the little boy who came home from a baseball game? His mom said, "How'd your team do, honey?" He said, "Not too bad, Mom. We came in second." That's a good attitude, don't you think?
You'll have disappointments, my friend. So will I. But it doesn't have to be permanent. You can determine your reaction to things. You can have a positive attitude your whole life long, because God loves you.
One more thought: Some people might say, "Pastor, how can I feel that more? How can I feel more of the love of God? How can I feel stronger in my faith? How can I feel more of that positive attitude?" Just one thought – give it away! Give it away! They can't take it away from you, but you can give it away, and that's a good thing. If you're feeling unloved, love somebody with God-like love. Somebody needs you. If your faith is a little shaky, share some faith. Sprinkle the name of Jesus into your conversation sometimes. Sprinkle God's word and His name and thank Him in your conversations. Share that faith a little. Invite somebody to church, won't you? And when you talk to somebody, let your words be bright and encouraging.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote the book The Power of Positive Thinking, and I had the privilege of having several conversations with him. Let me tell you, my friend, when that man walked into a room, everybody gathered around him. You just wanted to be near him so that some of that positive energy might shine your way. Those of you who knew the Reverend Joel Nystrom knew someone who was very much like Norman Vincent Peale. You can be that way, too. Let that light shine. Let your light shine, and it will reflect back to you.
The love of God, your faith in God and Jesus Christ, and your positive attitude – nobody can take those away from you, because God loves you. I do, too. God bless you, everyone. Amen.