Sermon on Acts 2:21, for Children's Sunday, "Call Upon the Lord"

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The Bible verse for our focus today will be Acts 2:21, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” When you are in trouble or need help, who helps you? Who can you trust? Who are your phone contacts? Your parents or older sibling for advice. Your trusted mechanic for when the car breaks down. Your plumber for leaks, your pastor for spiritual guidance, your doctor for your health. Or in a life-or-death emergency, or when a crime is underway, you call 9-1-1 because they respond 24/7 to emergencies. Anything beyond our own wisdom, expertise, ability to care for ourselves, or above our emotional threshold—we reach out to others for help. We call upon our “helpers.”

We take cell phones for granted and calling anyone in the world. It’s astonishing, when you remember that just 200 years ago, there was no such thing as a telephone, and the fastest your message could travel around the world was speed of a human, a horse, train, or a ship, to hand deliver your letter. Instant communication is a blessing and a curse. A blessing to stay in touch almost anywhere. A curse to have our phones filled up with so much information and news that needlessly worries us, distracts us, complicates our lives, and wastes our precious time. We don’t often reflect on the downsides of technology before we have fully bought into all the upsides. We are slow to learn moderation and wise use.

But how do we call upon the Name of the Lord? No letters, no cell phones, no Pony Express, no electronics for your hands or ears. Only folding your hands and lifting your prayers to God. Having ears that listen to His Word and understanding that God doesn’t send us “text messages” on our phone but gave a special “text message” for all people and all time, in His Word, the Bible. When you read the Bible, when you memorize a bible verse, like this one, that’s a text message for you. God speaks into your life.

We can call upon the Lord anywhere, any time. We don’t need cell-coverage or WIFI, we don’t have to wait on hold, or get a call back. God is not too busy to hear our prayers, nor do we have to wait to “get on his calendar.” The Lord hears our prayers, from your mouth to His ears, without interruption, fail or delay. Silently in our heart, or openly with a loud cry of “Lord, have mercy on me!”—He hears us, and He invites our prayers.

Not just any name will do. We’ve all had letdowns before. We trusted in someone or put our hopes in something that failed us. Not usually on purpose, but we get invested in things that cannot help, or we rely on someone, and they let us down. We too have let people down. But God is our refuge, fortress, deliverer, shield, as we heard in Psalm 18. He will not fail. There is one name, only One: the Name of Jesus. Not just any name will do. He’s got a track record. We call on His Name to be saved, because He can help, as no one else can.

Confident Jesus can help since God raised Jesus from the dead, you can depend on Him. He can save! But save from what? Peter’s describing in Acts 2, our reading, the end of times, the coming “great and awesome day of the Lord”. He’s saying those who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved from the final day of God’s judgment. Peter talks about the “The last days” as though the end of the world was already coming. The days when Jesus’ return is near. St. Peter spoke this 2,000 years ago, after Jesus rose from the dead, so we have been in “the last days” for a long time. But they are still filled with urgency. He’s warning us to pay attention to the signs of the end, and to act, by calling on the Name of the Lord to be saved. Signs, wonders, and troublesome events in heaven and earth will happen before Jesus’ return. And he says, “it shall come to pass…”. While all these things are going on, while the world is confused and uncertain, whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.

Again, saved from what—the answer is saved from God’s judgment against our sin. No one likes to talk about God’s judgment, but a God without judgement is a God who doesn’t care about evildoing and wickedness and won’t do anything about it. Basically, a God who doesn’t judge wrongdoing isn’t good, and doesn’t care about right and wrong. But that’s not the God of the Bible, or Jesus Christ, His Son. God reveals Himself as Holy and Good, and holds people accountable for sin, but He also compassionate and merciful to forgive those who repent. And He saves all who call upon His Name.

But we struggle to see and recognize our sin. Think about some parallels. When hazards are physical, we don’t need much persuasion to avoid it or clean it up. Broken glass on the floor. We clean it up to prevent injury. A fire on our stove. Chemical or nuclear waste is spills onto land or waterways, and people jump into action to try to clean it up. No one wants toxic chemicals in our land or water. People take concerted efforts to clean up the air we breathe, the water and the land. When there’s pollution or waste, people generally focus first on stopping the source of the pollution, and then cleaning up or repairing the damage that has already been done. We respond to these things for good health and living conditions.

The moral and spiritual hazards of sin are not much different. Our spiritual health is at stake, and we must address the source and damage of sin. But we don’t want to hear it or see it. It’s too close to home. When malice, bad thoughts, and hatred brew in our hearts and minds and communities, like a seeping toxic waste spill, we are slow to respond. When resentment and bitterness sink poisonous roots into our heart, we find it easy to turn a blind eye. When jealousy, selfishness, and judgment pollute our minds, we stamp approval on our own thoughts, instead of curbing them with humility and repentance. Sin hides out a lot more easily in our hearts and minds and actions, because we cover it with our own selfishness and jealousy. We turn our eyes from the mirror that shows our lives need spiritual attention.

God wants to stop the source of pollution and to repair the damage in our lives from sin, to use that metaphor. Crusading for clean waterways, oceans, and healthy reefs and forests is great. But crusading for our own hearts and minds to be clean? To call on the Lord to inspect our soul to the very bottom, know if there is any wicked way in us, and to lead us in the way of life everlasting? That puts it all on the line. But what greater payoff! Calling on the Lord for help is asking Him to change us. To work in us. To cut off the source of pollution and repair the damage in us. This is why God sent His Son Jesus to save us. So, when we “call on the Name of the Lord” to be saved, we’re saying: “God rescue us from the pollution and damage of our sins!” Stop the hazardous source of sin and detoxify its damage in our lives.

The hazards and damage look different for everyone. We can look great on the outside, or it might be really obvious we struggle with sin. Some can hide better than others, but we all struggle with sin—we might not even know it ourselves. But that doesn’t matter, because Jesus doesn’t need a “clean slate” to begin. He helps us wherever we are at. He sees the heart of the matter, whether we do or not. He knows what part of our lives needs spiritual attention. Like an expert doctor, He reads the signs of sin and He has a treatment plan. It starts with repentance and His forgiveness. Like “de-toxing” or getting clean. All along the way, Jesus has got you. Remember your friends on speed dial? Have you ever been in trouble and heard the reassuring words: “I’ve got you!” because they knew how to help you through? To know that Jesus is with you and is powerful to save, is comfort. To hear Jesus say, “I’ve got you!” is peace. Those hazards and damage of sin are His expertise. It’s right up His alley. He has been taking care of patients like us all along, and all who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.

Most importantly, the Lord saves us from sin and the just judgment of God. Jesus paid that price for us. But Jesus is there for us to call on for every need, big or small. Like our children beautifully sang, “His Name brings strength if you are afraid, His Name brings helps if you’ve lost your way, His Name brings healing when you pray, so that is why we say, Call upon His Name…” He’ll always be our most important contact and Helper, He’ll always be ready to listen and to help. We’ve got His trusty text message here in His Word, the Bible. Praise Him for His salvation, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.