SERMON
FEBRUARY 13, 2022
NEVER ALONE
Pastor Jean Owens 607-273-5682 jowens11@aol.com
A whole new world has opened up to me since COVID came about. Up until two years ago, I had never noticed a vital part of the human body, namely, the earlobe.
Now, I am faced daily with a new awareness. The ear is uniquely shaped to capture sound, that I know. However, the unassuming earlobe is now routinely brought to my awareness, respect and empathy as it twists and flaps into my view. I know that the earlobe was never designed for what we are doing to it. The elastic from our face masks drags it into view front and center, sometimes causing me deep concern that I may see one ripped off right in front of me.
With my new awareness of the earlobe, I recognize that they are all very different. There is the attached lobe which isn’t terribly common. The lobe looks like it’s attached to the head from the bottom without a distinct lobe. If your earlobes form a smooth line where they connect to your head, they are considered attached. If your earlobes form a noticeable notch or angle where they join the head, they are referred to as unattached or free earlobes. That’s just the lobe. The ear itself has many more variations.
The cartilage of the upper ear never stops growing. What your earlobes look like can change as you age. A few studies have shown that earlobes seem to get bigger with age. Gravity is one potential factor (as it is with several other body parts I find).
While using discs and plates to stretch one’s earlobes may seem to be a more modern trend in Western cities, the practice of stretching one’s earlobes for aesthetic reasons has been practiced by societies around the world since ancient times and is still a common practice in many parts.
For example, youth in the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia stretch their earlobes with large plates to enhance their attractiveness. After piercing their ears, they elongate the earlobes by wearing larger and larger wooden disks over time.
I wonder what the long-range effect of mask wearing will look like.
Psalm 139:13-16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Whether I was born with attached or unattached earlobes, it was God who knit me together in my mother’s womb. David says; “your eyes saw my unformed body.” God knew you before you were even born.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
There is no doubt that the Bible teaches God knew us before we were born. He knew each and every one of us before we ever took our first breath on our own.
Why is it so significant that God knows us?
It means that He knows what you are going through in life. If God knows us, that means we are not all alone. God knows the very trial that you are dealing with. God knows the struggles that you are facing in life. God knows the temptations that you come up against. God knows your family situation and He has promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. God knows all about your financial dilemmas. He is concerned about you and He knows you. He hasn’t forgotten all about you, He knows your street address. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows us so well that He knows what is best for us even better than we do. God sees the life that you have come out of, but He also sees the life that you are going into.
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.
God had a specific purpose in mind for Jeremiah before he was ever born. In Jeremiah’s case, he was set apart for the purpose of being a prophet. Jeremiah was born with a certain task he was created to perform.
Each of us have been created for a specific reason. No one on the face of the planet is a mistake. No one accidentally came into this world. Some parents may not have expected you, but no one was an accident because God had you in mind before you were ever born. Not only did He have you in mind, but He also had a purpose in mind for you when you came into this world. God made it very clear in Jeremiah’s life that he was here for a purpose. He even said in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
He wants you to know that He has plans to prosper you and not harm you. God wants to be a part of your life. It is not God that harms us. He wants us to prosper. He wants to give you hope and a wonderful future. God knows you and He has set you apart for His purposes.
These days we live in an impersonal world. You can shop, get your groceries, do your banking, go to school and do your work all in front of a computer screen without ever having to speak to another person. Living in such an isolated environment can make you forget that the God of the Universe knows everything about you and you are not alone.
Someone wrote in to the “Ask Marilyn” column in Parade Magazine (July 30, 2000) and asked her to answer the age-old question: what is the purpose of our life? Despite being a college dropout, Marilyn Vos Savant gained significant attention when her estimated IQ score of 228 at the age of ten was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1985. She is also famous for her column in Parade magazine where she gained attention for solving the famous mathematical Monty Hall problem.
She replied that if there is an intelligent Creator and a plan behind the creation of the universe, then our purpose is decided by our Creator. But if there is no intelligent Creator behind the universe, if it all happened as the Big Bang theory says, then there is no ultimate purpose in life.
Did you get that? If there is no God, or if we live as if there is no God, then there is no purpose to our life. But, if there is a Creator, then there is a purpose to it all. God knows us. God loves us. We are special.
Psalm 139: 1-12 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
NO NEVER ALONE (anonymous)
I’ve seen the lightning flashing, I’ve heard the thunder roll.
I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, which almost conquered my soul.
I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, bidding me still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
The world’s fierce winds are blowing, temptation sharp and keen.
I have a peace in knowing my Savior stands between—
He stands to shield me from danger when my friends are all gone.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
He died on Calvary’s mountain, for me they pierced His side.
For me He opened that fountain, the crimson, cleansing tide.
For me He waiteth in glory, seated upon His throne.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
No, never alone, no never alone,
He promised never to leave me,
He’ll claim me for His own;
No, never alone, no never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.