Christians Under construction Building hope First UMC Carroll- 7/27 and 28, 2019

I have a friend who has made a few mistakes.

My friend had a good life, good job, huge house, and beautiful wife. You will see that he is a little selfish, and impulsive, and kind of a schemer. 

One day my friend noticed that from one corner of his deck, if he leaned over and stepped up on the toe klick, he could see right in to his neighbors’ hot tub.  Over and over again he would stretch out to see what he could see. Finally, he saw what he was looking for. He watched his beautiful young neighbor as she came out for a soak in the hot tub.

Immediately, my friend says he had to have her. So, in spite of the fact that he was married, he cooked up a scheme to get her to come to his house. Her husband was deployed with the national guard, so he would never find out. When she arrived, he immediately took advantage of her.  I am trying to keep the R rated story PG-13!

I don’t know if that happened more than once but at any rate, she soon texted him that she was pregnant. Remember her husband was deployed, but I said my friend was a schemer. He had friends in high places and had the neighbor man sent home on leave. For some reason I don’t know, nothing happened between the husband and wife. My friend was still on the hook for the baby and now he was hopping mad.

Going back to his connections in high places my friend arranged to have the husband sent to the most dangerous region of the war, and further arranged for him to be killed and made to look like it was killed by enemy fire.

The man was killed in action and given a hero’s burial at which his wife wept uncontrollably but turned around to mary my friend with whom she had the affair. 

Did I say my friend was a “little selfish, and impulsive, and kind of a schemer?”  OK, sometimes he’s just plain sleezy.

Hearing that story probably makes most of us feel pretty good about ourselves.  At least I am not THAT bad.  At least I haven’t done THAT.  At least I am not a pervert, or an abuser, or an adulterer, or a conniver, or a manipulative so and so, or a murderer.  Well, that’s something, I guess.

In case you’re wondering I still keep in touch with my friend. His name is David and his story is in the Bible in the second book of Samuel.  Most people call him King David. And the woman’s name was Bathsheba.

Did David get off scot free? Well, no. He anguished over what he had done for a long time.  He mourned over what he had done. He mourned over the death of the son he had with Bathsheba. Then he mourned over the loss of his kingdom and mourned again at the public humiliation of his wives.

Hmm. What does todays beatitude say about those who mourn?  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” David had plenty to mourn.

In today’s scripture reading from Psalm 51 we see the depths if David’s mourning over his past sins.

That is what Jesus is really talking about in the beatitudes when he says, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” When I started this sermon, I really wanted to preach about the grief process and the hope of life after life. As I studied, however, I couldn’t do that with integrity, because I became convinced like never before that this beatitude was about something else.

Let me say I do think Jesus promises comfort to those who mourn the loss of loved ones, or abilities, or pets, or things. There is nothing wrong with using this scripture to comfort ourselves or others at the time of a loss.

·         Paul tells us to “weep with those who weep”[1].

·         Jesus was moved to tears His close friend Lazarus death.

·         He had compassion on a widow who had lost her son (Luke 7:12-13).

·         God weeps with us as he wept at this own son’s suffering and death.

·         And I believe that God does promise comfort to those who mourn loss. But that is a different sermon

Look at the other beatitudes. They don’t describe any life circumstances like the death of a loved one. They describe spiritual qualities that reflect God’s kingdom: poor in spirit, meekness, purity of heart, mercy, righteousness, perseverance, and peacemaking. If Jesus had been talking about grief, the other beatitudes would be things like,

Blessed are the malnourished,

Blessed are the lonely. 

Blessed are the homeless.

Blessed are the mentally ill.

But they aren’t. No, Jesus is clearly talking about spiritual mourning in this second beatitude. What is spiritual mourning?  Very simply it is mourning because our prayer “Thy kingdom come, they will be done” has not yet been answered. When the kingdom comes God’s will, will be perfectly done on earth… until then we mourn over pain, and death, and deceit, and injustice, and war, and poverty, and our own sinful selves. 

It is only a small step from admitting that we are “poor in spirit” which means we know that we need God, to admitting that we are sinners in need of God’s help.  We mourn because we know that without God our choices and behavior often harm ourselves, others, and even God. God has given us the gift of guilt, shame, and regret so we know when we have done wrong and to brig us to a place of mourning and repentance.

Blessed are those who mourn for the wrong they have done.

Blessed are those who mourn for the wrong suffered by others.

Blessed are those who mourn the harm done to God when we sin.

Let’s look at David’s mourning prayer from Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy

    blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin.

David is admitting that he is poor in spirit. I can’t do it myself I need your mercy, your love, your washing and your cleansing. He specifically asks for washing and cleansing. He knows that a ritual cleansing as Jews often practiced it, would not do it.  David was so stained by sin that he asked God to wash him thoroughly. Actually, the literal translation is “Multiply to wash me.” Wash me over and over again.

                                    For I know my transgressions,

Notice David does not try to make any excuses, shift blame like “you know, God, she was trying to lure me on purpose.” No rationalizations, no reasons, no explanations.

“I know my transgressions” is the purest kind of confession.

To transgress is to cross the line God has created. To trespass on God’s laws. And by using the word transgression David is admitting that he hurt God as well as himself and others.

                                     and my sin is ever before me.

David did his best to ignore it, deny it, go on living as though nothing had happened, but he just couldn’t get it out of his head.

Notice it was not his punishment that was on his mind.

It was not getting caught, because he was the law of the land.

It was not his reputation.

What was before him was simply the fact that he sinned.  He was mourning his sin.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
    and done what is evil in your sight,

In a way that was not true. David had sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, their families, his family, his kingdom, and in a sense even against his own body. But the fact that he let God down was more disturbing to him than all the rest added together. The earthly guilt begins to fade away when we realize how our sin breaks God’s heart.

Again, David expresses his regret, his morning, essentially saying, and I did it all right in front of you God. And I made you watch. It is one thing to be burglarized, it is another to be tied up and watch the burglar take all your things. David takes full responsibility for the way he has hurt God.

so that you are justified in your sentence
    and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
    a sinner when my mother conceived me.

David says “I throw myself on the mercy of the court. Whatever you do I deserve. Whatever punishment you dish out, I will take.  I have been a sinner since birth, and I am deserving of punishment.”

David is not trying to blame his mother or the way he is brought up or original sin. That is not the point. The point is he understands the depths of his sinfulness.

             

You desire truth in the inward being;
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

Because David was poor in spirit, he knew that he could not do this himself.

Look at this… You desire truth in the inward being; therefore, teach me wisdom in my secret heart. David knows that God wants us to live in truth and wisdom… in the image in which God created us. God knows who we are and knows what a mess we make of ourselves. But God is always seeking to get us back in touch with the basic image of God in which we were created.

Then the request for forgiveness. Purge me. Actually, the Hebrew word there means to de-sin or to un-sin.  Take all the sin away as the priest would do with hyssop. Washing was a critical part of the Jewish ritual practice. In fact, baptism like washings were frequent in the Jewish tradition. So, David says wash me whiter than snow.

After the request for forgiveness. David offers a song of hope.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit.

David’s heart was stained.  No bleach in the world could get it clean. He wanted God to give him a whole new heart. When he said this, he had a glimpse into something that would be written much latter in Ezekiel I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

The word “create” here is specifically related to God’s creation in Genesis1 and 2. It is the ability to create something out of nothing. David wants God to do a new act of creation in him.

And then do not take the Holy spirit from me, restore me, sustain me with a willing spirit. All to say, help me not to do it again. Knowing that we are poor of spirit, David knew that we must rely on God’s power to resist evil and temptation.

            And that is what we need too. We need to be those who mourn our sin, brokenness, transgression, and failures … and fall back on being poor of spirit so we too can pray.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.

As we prepare for communion today, I call you to complete honesty.  I doubt that many or any of us could one up David in his sins with Bathsheba.  But that doesn’t make my sins or yours any better. Any sin… any brokenness… any failure to live up to God’s image in us hurts ourselves, others, and God. 

So, I call you to complete honesty… which is hard with ourselves … let alone with God. But then again God won’t be surprised at anything because he already knows it all.

 Complete honesty. Lay your sinful and stained heart open to God. Own your sinfulness, own your stains, own your brokenness before God. Mourn your sinfulness, mourn your stains, mourn your brokenness before God.

Then I invite you as you come to communion today to pray out loud Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. We will leave it up on the screen for you. As you pray that prayer, I will place the body of Christ in your hand to remind you that in him you ARE a new and forgiven creature.

Let’s say it once together… Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

---

[1] (Romans 12:15; see also 1 Corinthians 12:26)

Christians Under Construction Humility (Poor in spirit) FUM Carroll 7/21/19

Christians Under Construction

Humility (Poor in spirit)

FUM Carroll 7/21/19

In the weeks to come we will be seeing Jack and his family every week. Jack has some work to do on himself, doesn’t he? He’s got quite an attitude, but at least Tom has him thinking.

To be honest, I guess I have a lot of work to do on myself too. Maybe you do too.

That’s OK though. For the next 8 weeks our church is going to become a construction zone. I don’t mean like you had here two years ago. The beautiful remodel of the church was nothing compared to the remodeling we need in our hearts and lives.

We could just go slap some paint on our attitudes or throw some cold patch in the potholes of our hearts or prop up our precariously leaning love for others. But God is not in the patch it up, cover it up, prop it up business. God is in the business of making us new creatures in Christ. Paul writes, “So if anyone is in Christ, (if anyone is a Christian) they are a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

Hear that? Everything has become new. The problem is that our old self gets in the way a lot. Paul writes, “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”  Does that sound like you… I can sure identify with it.

We all have a lot of work to do on ourselves. That’s why I called this series Christians Under Construction. In a way we are all God’s fixer uppers. The bad news is Chip and Joanna Gaines are not going to help us. The good news is that God has a great blueprint for your fixer -upper project. And God has provided a wonderful general contractor called the Holy Spirit, and the perfect carpenter, Jesus.

So, strap your tool belts on and let’s get to work.

2 First, let’s build the foundation. A “beatitude” is a literary form that was used in other ancient documents. These 8 beatitudes are original to Jesus, but they rely heavily on the Old Testament which Jesus and his hearers knew inside out.

“Beatitude” means blessing. Some Bibles translate the beatitudes using the word “happy.” Happiness, however, is based on outward prosperity or comfort and therefore is temporary. Some have suggested the word “lucky” … That is an unfortunate translation because luck has a certain randomness to it. There is nothing random about God’s blessing. No, blessedness is an inward and lasting joy or contentment in our relationship with God.

I want us to think of blessedness as “divine assurance.” Maybe we could call it “holy confidence” in God.  It is an assurance in God’s provision, God’s goodness, God’s love, God’s grace, and that God is enough. Biblically we can see this kind of assurance in Romans 8. “When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”  It is by the blessing of the holy spirit in our lives, that we can have full confidence in God. To be blessed is to know …that we know… that we know that God is… and that God is enough.

Fanny Crosby says it better than I could ever say it.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

0 what a foretaste of glory Divine!

Heir to salvation, purchase of God

Born of His Spirit, washed in His Blood. —

Blessed Assurance is foundational to all the beatitudes. They all start with “Blessed are.” So, as I studied each beatitude, I was looking for the quality that Jesus was lifting up that would help us to experience contentment or assurance that God is enough for us and we are enough for God.

 Let’s say the first beatitude it together… “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

We know that those who are poor in spirit will receive “blessed assurance.” So, what is “poor in spirit? First, we should note that the beatitudes are presented in both Matthew and Luke. There are differences between the two. Luke has 4 Matthew has 8. Luke adds woes, Mathew does not. And in this particular beatitude Matthew says, “poor in spirit” and Luke says “poor.” Some argue that Luke is original to Jesus because it is simpler, and Matthew embellished. Others argue that Luke had a social agenda for the poor and outcast.  That would give Luke good reason to remove “in spirit” from this beatitude and make it about economics.

However, I ask why isn’t it possible that Jesus preached the beatitudes more than once and maybe in different forms? This is not only a possibility, but I think likely and we may just be reading accounts from two different occasions.  So we shall stick with Matthew’s “poor in spirit” since that is the text in front of us. 

So, what is “poor I spirit?” Let’s think back to the video by the First Church Players. Tom wrote in his letter  "The preacher likes to quote a verse from the Bible -in the book of Matthew, I think. He says, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ You know, it's kind of funny, big brother, Jesus had to take away everything I had and put me here in jail, so that I could find Him and share a part of all the riches He has to offer.”

I don’t think Jesus has to take away everything we have… but just like a fixer upper show we must start with demolition. That’s why I have the sledge hammer and crow bar.

 We have to knock down our stubborn self-reliance.

We have to pry lose the “I am my own boss” attitude.

We have to rip out our need to always be right.

We have to smash the illusion that we are strong enough.

We have to crack open the lie that money make the man, woman or child.

We have to flatten our need to be popular or pushy

We have to blow up our need to get what we want at any cost.

It all comes down to, “People get over yourselves!”

Obviously, in order to be poor in spirit (and therefore blessed to be part of the kingdom of heaven) we must demolish the illusion that we are rich in spirit. If we are to be poor in spirit, we may have to tear out some walls, pull up the carpet and maybe even get all the way back to the framing of our lives.

 The Greek is a word Jesus used that we translate “poor in spirit” means “to cower, to cringe like a beggar, to crouch, to bend, to be ashamed, to wretchedly beg for money.” It describes someone who cannot survive on their own, someone who cannot be self-sufficient, one who cannot earn a living, one who begs for whatever they need. It could be literally translated 'beggarly poor', 'Blessed are the “beggarly poor,” for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'. And if you take this meaning of the word and you combine it with 'in spirit', 'poverty in spirit', Jesus is saying…

Only people who know that they are powerless can experience God’s power and be blessedly assured of their place in the kingdom of heaven.

Only those who are aware of their own weakness can experience God’s strength and be blessedly assured of their place in the kingdom of heaven.

Only people who give up their tight grip on money can experience wealth and blessed assurance of the kingdom of heaven.

Only people who can live without popularity or prestige can experience our amazing God and the blessed assurance of the kingdom of heaven.

Only those who give up on their own strength, their own goodness, their own worthiness, will know the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who know that they are completely spiritually bankrupt because only then can we understand that God’s generously, gracious, loving help is our only hope for seeing the kingdom of heaven.

We are not blessed because being poor in spirit earns God’s favor. That is pride.

We are blessed because when our hollowness is exposed, when our pride is proven, when we admit our weakness, and acknowledge our powerlessness, God can lift up and fill us with Himself. Blessed are you, when Christ is poured into your emptiness... blessed are you when your emptiness is filled with the Spirit of God… Blessed are when you have nothing because Christ will be your everything.   

Blessed are you when you admit that you are desperate for God.

Blessed are you when you confess that you are lost without God.

 Breathe

Michael W. Smith

This is the air I breathe

This is the air I breathe

Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread

This is my daily bread

Your very word spoken to me

And I I'm desperate for you

And I I'm lost without you

This is the air I breathe

This is the air I breathe

Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread

This is my daily bread

Your very word spoken to me

And I I'm desperate for you

And I I'm lost without you

And I I'm lost without you

And I I'm desperate for you

And I I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm desperate for you

I'm desperate for you

I'm desperate for you

I'm lost without you

I'm desperate for you

I'm desperate for you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm desperate for you

God is Good First UMC Carroll 7/14/2019

God is Good

First UMC Carroll

7/14/2019

"God is great, God is good, and we thank him for this food." Do you know that prayer? In some families that is the first prayer a child learns. It is short, simple, good theology. And when you’re done, the potatoes are still warm. What I want to ask you this morning is whether you believe what this prayer says. Specifically, do you believe that GOD IS GOOD?

Most of us would probably say, “Of course I believe God is good.” Automatically without even thinking about it.  I’m glad because your faith runs deep, and you know the right answer.  But I want to challenge you to think about it. We have been thinking about it in Bible School this week,

We said when life is unfair… GOD IS GOOD. Like when you get punished or blamed for something you didn’t do. When your best friend takes you boyfriend or girlfriend from you. When your child is teased or bullied. When a child gets very sick like with cancer or even dies can you still say GOD IS GOOD? How about when you can’t find the mental health care your you need, or you get caught up in an abusive relationship. Can you still say GOD IS GOOD no matter what?

We said When life is scary… GOD IS GOOD. Like sitting in the surgical waiting room for your spouse to finish a long surgery. Life is scary when the tornado sirens go off and it is not a drill. Life is scary when you suddenly can’t find mom or dad at the grocery store. Life is scary when you are undergoing chemotherapy. Life is scary in a lot of ways… can you still say GOD IS GOOD no matter what?

On Tuesday we learned that when life changes… GOD IS GOOD. What about when our best friend moves away.  What about when you are no longer able to do the things you wanted because you are tied to an oxygen tank. When a spouse decides they are done with you and want a divorce. When there is a fire and you lose a lot of your things. When your legs don’t work as well, and you have to use a walker or when your eyes don’t work as well as they used to, and you can’t drive. Can you still say GOD IS GOOD no matter what?

When life is sad… GOD IS GOOD was Wednesday’s theme.  Can you say that- when someone we know, and love dies suddenly (or not so suddenly)? When a friend no longer wants to be your friend. When the car breaks down at the same time as the refrigerator, and the water heater. Can you still say GOD IS GOOD no matter what when there is so much hunger and war in the world?

The last day the theme was “when life is Good… GOD IS GOOD.” Well that’s a no brainer isn’t it? Except it isn’t.  When life is good sometimes people forget that the goodness comes from God. When everything is going well sometimes we sit back and kind of forget about God. But we have to remember GOD IS GOOD… no matter what.

There are churches that have a way of reminding themselves of that. Let’s see if you know it. If I say God is God, what do you say. Let’s try it. God is Good. (all the time) All the time (God is good).

How do we know God is good?  You don’t have to take my word for it.

There are literally hundreds of places in the Bible that declare God’s goodness, celebrate God’s goodness, or illustrate God’s goodness.

 The Bible teaches that God is good. God is so good that all other goodness is measured against God.  God always does what is right. Period. God will never treat us unfairly. Period. God will never break a promise. Period. God will never punish anyone unjustly. Period.

God is morally upright and pure. God is just and righteous. There is not the slightest hint of evil, or sin, or wrongdoing in God’s nature. God is absolutely perfect and holy.

Let’s look at some of those passages:

 "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” - 1 John 1:5 (NIV)

"The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." - Psalm 92:15 (NIV)

  "Far be it from God to do evil, the Almighty to do wrong . . . It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice." - Job 34:10, 12 (NIV)

 "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, " - Psalm 31:19 (NIV)

"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." - Psalm 86:5 (NIV)

  "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." - Psalm 100:5 (NIV)

 "The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." - Nahum 1:7 (NIV)

 "As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ’Good teacher,’ he asked, ’what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ’Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ’No one is good-except God alone.’" - Mark 10:17-18 (NIV)

We know that God is perfectly good because the faithful people of the Bible teach us over and over again that GOD IS GOOD! (all the time) AND ALL THE TIME (God is good.)

Now, understand that saying “God is good” is not the same as saying “life is good.”  Bad things happen. Sometimes that makes people question God’s goodness. And so, when the biopsy comes back positive we conclude that God is treating us unfairly. When we get handed a pink slip, we think God has slipped up somehow. When the storms of life blow through, we grumble against God and His oversight of our lives.  But who are we to judge God? That would be like me watching a couple of YouTube videos on putting and calling up Tiger Woods to give him some pointers. We have to always remember God is God and we are the creatures.  Our judgment of God’s actions says more about us than it says about God.

So, what does it mean to say God is good during trouble. To use the themes from Vacation Bible School that apply to everyone… What does it mean to say God is good even when life is unfair, or scary, or changes, or we are sad?  What does it mean?

Let me tell you two things.

 First, God is so good that God never abandons us.  God never leaves us.

Psalm 139 says, “If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead, you would also be there. Suppose I had wings like the dawning day   and flew across the ocean. Even then your powerful arm would guide and protect me. Or suppose I said, “I’ll hide in the dark until night comes to cover me over.” But you see in the dark because daylight and dark are all the same to you. (CEV vs 8-12)

 You see we cannot escape God because God will never leave us.  In Hebrews 13:5 “The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us.”  Especially when life is hard.

Do you all know the story about the man who was looking at his footprints and God’s footprints on the beach. He noticed that whenever something bad had happened there was only one set of footprints.  He asked God why he didn’t walk with him through those bad times.  God replied, “My child, when you see only one set of footprints in the sand is when I carried you.”  GOD IS GOOD (ALL THE TIME) ALL THE TIME (GOD IS GOOD) GOD IS HERE (ALL THE TIME) ALL THE TIME (GOD IS HERE)

So far, we know that Scripture testifies of God’s goodness. Second that God is good because God will never leave us in the good times of the bad.

Finally, we know God is good because God is love… and love is always good.

 Notice not only is God loving… God is love itself. 1 John says, “God is love, and … God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.” 1 John 4:7-21 Which leads us directly to our last verse for the day the one we read just before the sermon. The best evidence that God is Good is this,

  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Do you understand the importance of that?

The importance is that God would do anything to save us.  God would stop a speeding freight train, or fight a dragon, or even die if that’s what it took to save us. And that is exactly what God did in Jesus Christ. God became one of us, a real live, flesh and blood human being named Jesus.  God (in Jesus) loved us until people killed him.

Even that was not enough to stop God’s love. God’s love is stronger than anything. God’s love is stronger than any evil we can do. God’s love is stronger than any hate. God’s love is stronger than any fear. God’s love is stronger than any army, God’s love is stronger than any superhero, God’s love is stronger than death because the power of God’s love raised Jesus from the grave on Easter morning.  If God ‘s love is strong enough to do all that, God’s love is certainly strong enough to free me from my sin. And if God can save a guy like me, I guarantee God can save you too.

I think the best evidence of God’s goodness is God’s unquenchable, unstoppable, undefeatable, undeniable love for me and you that breaks down whatever barriers we may have between us and God.  The power of God’s love shatters those barriers once and for all, so we can love God as God loves us.

Now, that is good news.  All I can say is God IS GOOD (All the time) All the time (God is Good) God IS LOVE (All the time) All the time (God is LOVE)

Do you believe all that? … Do you believe that God is good?  Don’t just answer automatically!  Think about it. Do you really believe that God is Good? 

Do you really believe that God is good enough to never leave you?  Do you really believe that? 

And do you believe that God’s love is so strong that it can breakdown any barrier that keeps you from loving God back? 

If you believe… if you believe… if you really believe What is the promise of our scripture? … if you really believe, then you will not perish but have eternal life. ... That doesn’t mean you won’t die. But it means that nothing…not even sin, and not even death… nothing in this unfair, scary, constantly changing, sad world can separate you from the goodness of God. 

 God is good (all the time) all the time (God is good)

God is here (all the time) all the time (God is here)

God is love (all the time) all the time (God is love)

SEEDS OF AFFIRMATION: HARVEST OF HOPE Last in the series: building blocks of Christian families Carroll First UMC 7/7/2019

 SEEDS OF AFFIRMATION: HARVEST OF HOPE    

Last in the series: building blocks of Christian families

Carroll First UMC 7/7/2019

I have something to show you.  No, it is not a pirate’s chest and I am not a pirate!

If you have been in my office, perhaps you have noticed this sitting on the counter.  It is my faith chest. The Reinbeck church gave them out at baptism. Mine was a parting gift… I cal lit my affirmation box.

In here I keep things that make me feel better when I am having a hard day. I’ll show those to you in a minute, but here are some of the things I keep in my office that could be in my affirmation box. …

Like I said those things are around my office. But the thing I really keep in my affirmation box is this… cards and notes.  You all know how good it feels when you receive a sincere compliment or affirmation.  You all know how good it makes you feel when someone notices a job well done. 

. When I get discouraged or frustrated, I go to my faith chest, or affirmation chest and pull out a few cards to remind me that I do sometimes make a difference and I am a beloved child of God.

We all have affirmation boxes, at least in our hearts, but when those boxes are empty, life can be very hard.

 In the last 2 months we have talked about building blocks of Christian families. We talked about faith, love, being present for each other, communication, modeling, respect, forgiveness (especially forgiving our partners), and we close with encouragement. We can do all the other building blocks, but if we neglect words of encouragement our affirmation boxes will be empty.  Encouragement or affirmations are like oxygen. We don’t live long without oxygen.  We don’t live well without encouragement. Without affirmation or encouragement most of us would wither and die.

Just so we are all on the same page, I want to define what I mean.  I am using affirmation and encouragement interchangeably. Christian encouragement is more than saying I like your haircut or that’s a pretty dress .Those kinds of compliments are important but they only go so far. 

Christian encouragement is Celebrating beautiful person God has created. Instead of “great game, son.” A Christian affirmation might be “that was a great game. Once you decide to be good at something it is like nothing can stop you.”  It is affirming a person for what is on the inside as well as what they do. 

The other quality of Christian Encouragement is it is an act of grace.  It is encouragement given to remind them that they are a beautiful and beloved child of God. This is different from buttering a person up so they will let you have the last piece of cake. It is honestly intended to help them see God working in their life.

Today’s scriptures do a good job of reminding us of the importance of affirmation.

Ephesians says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths.”  Can that be clearer? Not much except I want to talk about what is evil talk. Some evil talk we recognize for what it is…intended to hurt someone. “Are you too dumb to understand this?”  “No one likes you.”  “You’re always wasting my money on that junk.” or “No boy is going to ever want to date someone that looks like you.”

If you are going to talk negatively about someone… you might as well just stab them in the heart because you can almost see the life come out of them as you speak.

Other evil talk is harder to identify. Evil talk might be hidden in the prayer concern that is more gossip than prayer.

Evil talk might be saying, “Good game son, but when I played for the tigers we were undefeated.”

Robyn talks about the woman whose compliments were constantly backhanded… “Now that hair style looks good on you.” What do you do with that… I mean the other one didn’t?

·        Skipping a sentence in the scripture, Paul writes, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice.” Those things have no place in any relationship let alone the in the relationship with those to whom we are closest, our families.

Going back to the verse I skipped, Paul goes on,“but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” Speak only what builds up. In other words what affirms, or encourages, or comforts, or inspires someone.  Those are the things that will build up instead of tearing down. We spend years building a Christian family, years stacking building block on building block.  Why let a few poorly chosen words spoken out of anger or hurt blow all of that up?

The old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me.” Is Just not true. Words leave scars just as deep as stick and stones, or just as problematic as black eyes or cigarette burns on a child’s back. And then is silence. … sometimes silence can be has hurtful as any word.

Proverbs, has  a collection of sayings that are  more accurate.

·        Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (Proverbs 12:25 ESV) 

·        Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Proverbs 16:24 ESV) 

·        A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (Proverbs 25:11 ESV)

There was even an apostle… one of the 70… named “son of encouragement”  in Greek that is Barnabas.

·        After Paul’s conversion the disciples were understandably wary of this former persecutor. But it was Barnabas who encouraged them to accept him.

·        Antioch was one of the first places Christianity came to the gentiles. The disciples sent the encourager to Antioch to lead them and “when he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” (Acts 11:23-24)

·        When Mark disappointed Paul and Paul didn’t want to take him on his next missionary trip, Barnabas knew Paul would be fine… he decided to stay with Mark to encourage the young preacher in his ministry. (Tradition also holds that Mark and Barnabas were cousins)

Do you see that encouragement is part of many, many stories in the Bible?

That is because God is an encourager too.

At the very beginning of 2^nd Corinthians, Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction, with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.” (2 Cor 1:3-4)

Our God is a God of encouragement who calls us all to build one another up with encouragement.

So, take inventory of your house… What percentage of sentences tear someone down. What percentage build people up. What is left does neither, but with a little work much of the neutral language could be put to good use.

Check how the adults talk to one another… Psychologists have found one significant difference between those whose marriages will survive, and those who will fail. KINDNESS  Of the newlyweds who would ultimately stay together less than 5% of their words about each other were putdowns. Couples who would later split, used twice as many insults. That gap magnified over the first decade of marriage until couples heading downhill were flinging five times as many word bombs at each other as happy couples.

Then check how you talk to the children. To do this you might listen to how they talk to you because you will probably get back what you dish out. But at any rate… do you spend more time correcting them or affirming them? Putting them down, or building them up?

How do we do it?  How do we sow the seeds of encouragement so we can reap a harvest of hope?

First, notice good qualities, characteristics, skills, and ideas in each person.  God has created every one of us unique and filled us with good qualities. Additionally your children, grandchildren, spouses, parents, siblings, even your in-laws have developed some really outstanding qualities. Maybe they are generous, or merciful, or good teachers, or good athletes, or kind to animals.  Tell them!  Tell them how much it means to you that they are such a wonderful person. Tell them how proud you are of them. (Remember my story of how much it meant to me that my dad said he was proud of me?)  Give your family members that gift.

Second, don’t compare people. Everyone is unique so don’t compare them. Can you really say that the rose is more beautiful than the coneflower? Can you really say that your dog is better than anyone else’s dog? Not really. And when you compare, someone always loses. You might tell someone you are so much smarter than your brother ever was… but what does that do to the brother. Or tell dad his mac and cheese is so much better than mom’s.  How does that make mom feel?  You see what I mean? Compliment by comparison always creates a loser.  So maybe the net effect is neutral, but we can do better than neutral. If you must compare, compare them with themselves. Tell the child how much they have improved in their reading.  Tell your spouse how great they look after they have worked hard on a diet. Tell him you appreciate how he treats you mother with respect.

Third, make a special point to celebrate everything. Take pictures of the preschool graduation and put them on the wall. Ask for that certificate for good attendance and put it in a scrap book. Write a thank you note when your spouse has done something special… or even not so special. Pull out the family videos and remind each other of the great times you shared.  Just celebrate everything that can be celebrated.

And then watch the affirmation box fill. If you could measure it on a self esteem gage you could almost see the needle going up.   But don’t stop when the box is full. Because someone else will say something bad and you’ll have to fill it up again. There will be a disappointment and you’ll have to fill it up again. . Maybe someone slides into a depression and they can’t even see their affirmation box for a while… keep filling it to overflowing because someday they will need it.

            Don’t make this hard… one of my prized possessions that I haven’t showed you yet is this little blue piece of paper with a message written in crayon.

After a Wednesday night service at Reinbeck, I was picking up and found this blue slip of paper on the altar rail. It says “Thanks for the service. Sylvana”

What she could not have known but I later told her is how much that meant on a day when I was questioning whether we should continue the Wednesday night ministry.  I was frankly getting worn out by it.

That note got me through that year and the next before we transformed Wednesday night into something else.  I immediately framed it and it has been within arms reach in my office ever since.

Now Sylvana doesn’t remember writing it. To her it was such a little thing. 

Friends don’t make this hard. Do the little things. Because they make a world of difference.

Fill your house with words of love, and encouragement, and affirmation and each word becomes a seed in someone’s heart.  You might not see it for a while… they might not even think about it to start with… but I promise… I promise all those seeds will sprout and grow and blossom to fill someone’s life with a sweet fragrance and fill their hearts with hope for the day or for a lifetime.