Wind

Second Sunday of Lent

Sunday, March 16, 2014

John 3:1-17

Nicodemus believed Religion was enough.

            Nicodemus believed religion, a life dedicated to right living, was enough.

            It’s now wonder then, in John 3, Jesus arrives to his night time rendezvous with Nicodemus with a bit of skepticism. 

His skepticism was valid.  Jesus came into contact with many people who believed religion was enough every day.  At the end of John 2, Jesus is in the middle of one of the great Jewish religious festivals – Passover in Jerusalem.  During this festival many Jews from around the world witnessed Jesus perform signs (as John calls them), miracles.  When these religious folks saw these signs – “Many believed in his name,” John tells us.  For a leader who is trying to change the world, this should be a good thing.

            Except - Jesus looks past our words and into our heart.  “Jesus knew what was in everyone,” John says.  While their words proclaimed one thing – their actions and their belief in religion was another.  Jesus cannot trust himself who only want more signs.  There is no change in their lives.

            When Jesus meets Nicodemus, he finds a religious leader cut from the same cloth as those he has just left in Jerusalem.  If the folks in chapter 2 are church folk, Nicodemus is the Old Testament professor at the standard bearer denominational seminary. 

            John paints us a picture of the Nicodemus who met Jesus that night.  First, Nicodemus was a Pharisee.  The Pharisees as a religious party developed as a grassroots movement a couple of hundred years before Jesus.  They formed to renew and restore Judaism and Israel to its national glory.   

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was the most religious of a very religious community.  He sought purity and holiness in all the ways of his life.  He spent his life learning the laws of Judaism and submitting his life to these laws.  The Pharisees prided themselves as being the best of the best Jews.  Nicodemus spent his life making sure his behavior matched the boundaries of his religion. 

            Nicodemus was not just a Pharisee, though.  John tells us he was a leader of the Pharisees.  Nicodemus ruled Israel along with 69 others on the Sanhedrin Council.  The Romans established the Sanhedrin Council in order to squash the undercurrent of rebellion rising in the conquered country of Israel.  While Rome’s leaders were ultimately in charge, the Sanhedrin provided a semblance of home rule in the country. 

            If being religious was enough, Nicodemus was just the kind of person Jesus needed in his corner.  Jesus could have simply acknowledged the piety and religiosity of Nicodemus and commissioned him as a leader of the new movement. 

Instead, when Nicodemus opens his mouth, we realize he is no different from the religious folks in Jerusalem.  “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”

            Nicodemus believed religion was enough and wanted to fit this new rabbi’s teaching into his way of life.  Jesus had other ideas – you can’t put new wine into old wine skins. 

We believe Religion is enough

We are not that far removed from the folks in John 2 and Nicodemus.  Most of us have also grown up in very religious communities where right religious living defined a good and bad citizen.  Coming to church, supporting charities, saying the right words were enough to be an upright citizen and church member.  We equated right religious living with following Jesus.  Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus challenges our belief in religion to save us. 

2 weeks ago, Danny Almond shared his faith story at our Lenten Luncheon.  He story revolves moving from religious living to following Jesus and I wanted you all to hear it.  I’ve asked him to give a brief version of his story today.  Danny – please, come share. 

[When this sermon gets uploaded, I'll place the link here.  Danny's testimony is powerful]

Jesus shows Nicodemus a better way

            Thank you Danny. 

When Jesus meets Nicodemus in the deep of the night – away from the prying eyes of the other religious and political leaders, Jesus shows him a better way.

After Nicodemus awkwardly acknowledges Jesus’ role as teacher and performer of miracles – Jesus expertly confronts Nicodemus’ belief in religion. 

“You’re absolutely right about who I am,” Jesus says in v. 3 of the Message.  “Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.”

The Greek word here that we often translate as “again,” has two meanings rolled up in one word.  Jesus invites Nicodemus to be born both again … and from above.  Living a life of religion does not equal a life of the Spirit – God wants our whole lives.  And giving our whole lives to God requires us to point our lives above. 

Nicodemus misses this completely.  Jesus speaks in metaphorical terms about being born into God’s kingdom and Nicodemus focuses on the literal meaning – ““How can anyone,” said Nicodemus, “be born who has already been born and grown up?”

This is not unusual for a religious person.  When we judge our lives by what we do and don’t do – and Pharisees were the best at this – it is difficult to see life in God’s kingdom as anything else.  Rules and the status quo make seeing new things difficult.

Jesus shakes his head at Nicodemus.  Maybe he was expecting something more from someone so distinguished and learned. 

“Jesus said, “You’re not listening. Let me say it again (maybe more slowly this time). Unless a person submits to this original creation—the ‘wind-hovering-over-the-water’ creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. When you look at a baby, it’s just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can’t see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.” 

Jesus invites Nicodemus to get in touch with the Spirit behind the religion he has so faithfully followed.  God’s kingdom is more than just laws and rules and right living – it is the living spirit that consumes and leads this. 

This life Jesus offers is best represented by the wind.  ” So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God.”

Who controls the wind?  No one.  Submitting our lives to Jesus means moving from control boundaries of what we know to chasing after the Wind to see where God will take us next.  This is the better way Jesus shows Nicodemus – chase the wind of God’s Spirit. 

This is a Kingdom life.  This is life that is born from above and again. 

Jesus offers us a better way

            Today, Danny confessed to us the fact that he went through much of his life being religious while not submitting his life to Jesus.  He knew the right words.  He did the right actions, but he had never submitted himself fully to a life with Jesus – he missed the better way Jesus offers us.  He missed being born again and from above by just religious enough. 

            I wanted Danny to have a chance to give this testimony because I think that one of the great challenges of living our community being conformable with religion while missing God’s invitation to the Kingdom of God.  Many of us know the right words to say – we can spout them light dogma.  We have equated being a good citizen being a good Christian.

            Jesus offers us a better way:  A life submitted to the Spirit of God – chawsing the wind - rather than controlling our lives for ourselves; A life following after Jesus rather than doing what we want and finding a biblical passage to support it; a life of listening for the movement of God’s spirit blowing in the world and seeking to hoist our sails to see where the Spirit takes us. 

            Today – I want all of us to consider the ramifications of Jesus’ word to Nicodemus and the faith story of Danny. 

• Have we settled for being a good churchman rather than the wild, uncontrollable life of following after the spirit.
• Have we allowed doing things for the church to distract us from listening to God’s calling in our life?
• Have we closed off our lives to the Wind – living in the old world and forget that the wind still blows offering us new opportunities for life?
• Even more direct – have we settled for being a church member and failed to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior!  

 Mary Etta Perry was over 80 when she began to get her poems published.  Living in Western North Carolina she challenges all of us to chase after the wind wherever we are in life: 

For the songs I’ve never heard,

 I shall listen more and again.

For the poems I’ve yet to write,

I shall pick up my pen.

 But…how shall I dance

How now, shall I dance?

I have not danced enough, and so

 I must find new ways, more gentle,

 body friendly ways for dancing!

…Now that splitting firewood

 is definitely out…

as is hammer and chisel,

 shovel and hoe…how now,

 shall I learn to dance?

No more with needle

 and pretty threads….

That dance is too precisely fine

 For fingers

As stiffened as mine!

No longer with tent camping

 Sleeping out on cold rocky

 Forest knoll…that one is

too

 demanding

for my unmalleable body

But

 I have not danced nearly enough

 And so…I must find new ways

 For dancing!

Today – I want to issue an invitation to all of us to dance with the wind.  To look at your life to see where the better way of Jesus can be invited in.  If God is tugging at your heart, I hope respond.  Maybe – like Danny – you need to get beyond the delusion that you have it all together. 

• Maybe you need to truly submit to Jesus in your life – accept his love and grace and follow him. 
• Maybe you need to be baptized.  You have been holding out.  Following Jesus, but never fully commitment to him – waiting to see if there’s a better offer. 
• Maybe you need to be more direct with members of your family about it means to follow Jesus – talking to them about faith and love.
• Maybe you identify with Nicodemus – you are proud of your religious duty, but you have failed to chase the wind - you need to confess and offer your life in a new way.
• Maybe you are feeling God leading you to this church and you are ready to make a commitment to follow and participate in the full life of the church. 
• Maybe you just need to offer your life to God and say – teach me to dance. 

I want us to invite the instrumentalist to play through the hymn for one verse as we reflect and pray on our commitment and life.  Then, Bobby will come lead.  If you need to make a decision today.  Confess to God today.  Lay your life bare to God today – I want you to be able to come to these steps and allow the spirit of God to blow.

            As we become a church whose lives point others to Jesus – we will experience a miraculous ordaining by the Spirit of God.

            Let’s pray …

When God Showed Up

By Martha Reabold

[Today, I welcome a guest blogger - Mrs. Martha Reabold.  Martha is a member of my church, First Baptist Cornelia, Georgia.  I intended to blog about our Holy experience at FBCC last week.  Unfortunately, life grew too busy to slow down long enough to get my thoughts together.  Then, Martha shared this with me.  I knew I didn't need to write the story - she had.  I am grateful she noticed God showing up as much as I did.  Thanks Martha for articulating this moment in the current of God's Spirit so well!]

When the forecast warned of freezing temperatures in the North Georgia mountains, the community got busy.  Some stocked up on groceries.  Others put extra blankets on the beds and winterized their cars.  In the still of the night, inside a warm comfortable home, an idea began to form.  It was entrusted, not to the government, the media or an agency, but to a child of God who was not too busy to listen.

The idea was quickly shared with a pastor and his church, and it began to take shape.  The church would open its doors to provide shelter to anyone who needed it.  This time the congregation got busy, not preparing their own homes, but bringing blankets, setting up beds, and gathering food.  The pastor, eager to lead his congregation further into the journey of faith, said, "We'll see what happens when God shows up."

As the wind swirled and temperatures dropped, a church gym was transformed into a shelter.  Folks began to show up, seeking hot food and a warm bed.  One of the guests, a wanderer, had seen better days.  He was long on dreams but down on luck.  Amidst the cots, coats and coffee, the wanderer found hospitality, acceptance and love.

The next Sunday, the wanderer came back to the church.  He was still seeking shelter, but not from the cold.  As the organ chimed and the church gathered for worship, the wanderer sat at the grand piano underneath the majestic chandeliers.  And he gave the church the only gift he had......his music.

Most people in the congregation that day couldn't believe what they were hearing.  This music was like nothing they had ever experienced in their sanctuary.  It was bigger than the grand piano, filling the walls and floating beyond the ceilings.  Surely this was a gift from Heaven.  [Click here to hear John's music from Sunday.  Go to minute 2.30]

That day the wanderer met the church.  The pastor and his congregation can't describe what happened and could never duplicate it, but they know they were changed.  And as the story is shared through the years, there will only be one way to explain it.   God showed up.

Hope Filled Gratitude

Sermon 4 in “HOPE:  Studies in the Prophets” Series

Preached on November 24, 2013

 Scripture:  Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord.² Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. ³ Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴ I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

⁵ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Sermon

            Americans are infatuated with royalty.  You may ask how I know this.  Because on April 29, 2011 at 5:00 am – I was shamed and tormented to get out of bed and join my wife, 2 daughters and my in-laws to watch a wedding broadcast from England.  I rebelled in my own way – making fun of the many different hats, speaking when I shouldn't.  No matter the noise I made – I was only shushed – this was too important.  A handsome, future king was getting married to a beautiful new princess. 

            By all accounts – this is not just a Spivey addiction to royalty.  For weeks this summer, the American media – along with a worldwide contingent - camped outside a plain, brick hospital in London awaiting the birth of the newest British Royal - the 3^rd in line to the throne.  The pictures of young George with his radiant mom and handsome dad sold magazines and newspapers throughout the world.  Maybe even some of us – broke down and bought one.  We love royals. 

            On my one visit to England, I got a taste of royalty.  I walked through Parliament and saw the Queen’s throne in the House of Lords:  A beautiful, regal throne for the special days when the queen makes her appearance.  Then, we visited the tower of London.  We saw the old castle that the original William the Conquer built in 1080, the Tudor additions where Henry 8^th kept Anne Bolin before executing her, and most spectacularly, the crown jewels of England.  There is something about Royalty that fascinates us as Americans – the history, the tradition, the wealth, maybe.

            For a country who spent years under the thumb of a ruthless king and who gave their lives to overthrow that king in order to gain their independence, we could call this fascination ironic.  We don’t want a king, but the riches and the power and the allure of royalty intrigue us and draw us in.  How many little girls dream of being a princess or marry a prince.  Kings represent the epitome of earthly power.   Our fascination with kings, queens, princesses and all things royal echoes the fascination of people throughout history.

Movement 1:  False hopes of a king

            Unfortunately, though, false hopes surround kings.  The people of Israel after centuries of living in the Promised Land as a loose federation of tribes desired the centralized power and leadership a king provided.  In spite of God’s warnings, they begged God to give them a king.  By demanding in 1 Samuel 9 for God to “appoint for us a king to govern us, like other nations,” they rejected God as their king

Israel envied the visible sign of power a king provided the other nations.  So, God provided Israel Saul – a handsome, strong and imperfect man.  The people’s hopes for a great nation rose as they looked to this man to provide them security and wealth.  It didn't take long for the hopes to be dashed.   Moody, dangerous and unstable, Saul let power go to his head.  In the end, what started with great fanfare and hope – ended in jealously, chaos, and war. 

            The earthly power of kings has led people throughout history to establish false hopes of what the kings will provide. Pharaohs and Caesars, kings and sultans have ruled with absolute authority over the people in their kingdom.  When people began to question this power, kings had to be seen as more than human.  Humans are weak.  Kings are strong and powerful.  It’s no coincidence that many ancient cultures imagined their kings as gods to help booster the king’s power in the people’s minds.  In Egypt the Pharaoh was the sun god.  In Rome, worshiping the Caesar was built into the fiber of everything Roman –from government to business.  The English word sovereign, used for royalty gets this god-like authority of kings.  It comes from the Latin word for super meaning above, higher than any others. 

            Yet, as much hope as individuals and lords and serfs and nations placed on their kings – they were still human and most failed their people.  The progress of history shows the failed hope of placing ultimate power in the hands of one human being. 

Movement 2:  The danger with kings

            These false hopes demonstrate the danger with kings.  More times than not, the ego and absolute power of kings lead to destruction and peril rather than safety and care for God’s People.  This is what Jeremiah preaches in chapter 23:  “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD.2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them.”

            Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem during the death of the kings of Judah.  He knew of a king dedicated to righteousness and justice, one who was deeply concerned with the poor.  This king was Josiah who died an absurd death in 609 B.C .  When he died, his two sons began kings.  The first was a puppet to the powerful Babylon Empire.  The second was a wretched example of Israelite kingship who Jeremiah sarcastically says would rather "compete in cedar," – build grand buildings - than "do justice and righteousness," as his father had done (Jer 22:15).   

Jeremiah watches these kings up close – preaching passionately for the people to turn from their sinful ways and demand more from their kings.  This is the danger of kings.  The kings claim to lead their people, yet what most of them do is scatter them and destroy them.  The history of Israel monarchy from Saul to Zedekiah which lasted almost 500 years is a history of how dangerous kings can be.  In fact, within 30 years of good King Josiah’s death, the monarchy and the nation of Israel had been destroyed and the exiles taken to Babylon.

Movement 3:  The death of a king

            The Good News is this:  the death of a king will establish God’s true kingdom.  This goes against our common logic, but listen to Jeremiah’s vision:  “v.5 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”

            The Lord through Jeremiah says that our hopes for a king have not been wrong – simply misplaced.  Recalling other messianic passages, Jeremiah says, “The day will come when God’s true king will rule.”  This rule will be as a king:  this messiah will act in ways we have always hoped kings would act:  executing justice and righteousness in the land and in our lives.  This king will save us and we will live in safety.  The wars which ravage the land and the people, the uncertainty of life – will be distant memories.  We will call this new king – the Lord is our righteousness. 

            The amazing part of this vision of the messiah is how much Jesus will both be our vision of a king and shatter our vision of what a king is and should do. 

In Revelation 5, John the Revealer builds on Jeremiah’s vision of the Messiah as King.  John describes a beautiful throne room in heaven with a terrible dilemma.  A scroll exists in heaven which no one can unseal.  John actually weeps at this fact.  Then, the angels say halt – there is someone who can open this:  “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”  The Branch of King David which Jeremiah envisioned is the great king who can open this seal. 

            You can imagine the hope this provides John and the reader.  We expect this awesome, powerful lion of king to come roaring out of this scene with great power – this is our earthly vision of kingly power.  We expect this almighty, cosmic king to be the answer.  Yet, who shows up – John says it is the “the lamb who was slain.”  The most powerful king on heaven and on earth shows up and he is a gentle lamb who has been killed.

            This vision of Jesus shatters our view of kingship.   With the vision of the king as the lamb that was slain, John connects takes this beautiful picture of the divine throne room and juxtaposes it with Calvary.  We go from heavenly symbol of the most power place of earth – a throne room full of thrones, and jewels, beauty and slender – read Revelation 4 to see how magnificent this place is – to the dark, ugly, patch of ground outside of Jerusalem beside the town’s garbage dump.  The most powerful, kingly act of all of history which has transformed the trajectory of all of history happened when Jesus died on the cross.   Do you remember what was written on the piece of wooden, Pilate absentmindedly placed above Jesus’ head as he died on the cross:  “This is the King of the Jews.” 

            The death of one king becomes the one act in all of history which allows all of humanity to experience the true hope for all kings whom Jeremiah announces:  “justice and righteousness in reign in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.”

Movement 4:  The power of THE king

            The death of Jesus on the cross is the power of the one, true king.  This is the irony of John’s vision in Revelation.  In order for us to understand the majesty and true power of Jesus, John sets his vision in the world’s most powerful place – a king’s throne room.  There was no more powerful place on earth in the last decade of the first century than the Roman Emperor’s throne room.   In the throne room, the Emperor ruled with absolute authority from England to Person from North Africa to the North Sea. 

            Into this world of power and false hopes, fears and dangers – John pulls back the curtain between our world and Gods for those in the first century and now to see where the true power lies.  Kings, sultans, prime ministers and presidents may think they wield magnificent forms of power – but they do not hold the ultimate power.  The ultimate power is found in the one, true king who weaves all of life and history towards a final resolution found Rev. 11:  “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
            When this happens, the 24 elders, who surround the heavenly being on the throne of heaven, break out in worship.  Here is what they say in Rev. 11:17:  “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.” 

           

Conclusion

            We can give thanks today because our ultimate hope has already been determined.  Because Jesus died on the cross, our future has already been determined.  Our hope is built on a pre-determined fact:  Jesus wins. 

Hope filled gratitude means that we don’t just thank God for what God has done in the past – we thank God for what God will do in the future.  Jesus is the one is, who was, and who is to come.  This means that our gratitude is no limited to what we experienced yesterday or today.  We don’t just have to look around to say thanks – we can look forward.

Imagine what hope filled gratitude looks like. 

·         Thank you, Lord, for delivering me through these trials in the coming year. 

·         Thank you, Lord, for revealing your will to me over the next year so I may follow you. 

·         Thank you, Lord, for transforming our church in the coming years to be more of the church you want us to be. 

I know today – many of us will bring our gifts of gratitude to the church alter giving thanks for the ways God has blessed us in the past year.  The Good News of Jeremiah and the Gospels and the entire Bible is this:  We can also give thanks for the blessings that will come our way in the coming year too.  Our task is to pay attention, notice these blessings as they occur – as God acts.

      In a few moments, we will take up our Thanksgiving offering.  Before we do – I want to invite us to reflect on the many gifts and blessings Christ our true King has provided, is providing and will provide in the coming year.  If you need to repond to God before we take this offering – I will be down front.  Let us sing this song of commitment – so that we will live with hope filled gratitude!  Amen.  

State of the Church

State of the Church

January 29, 2012

First Baptist Church, Cornelia

Exodus 3

Walking by Faith Commitment Sunday - Week #4

Eric's Notes:  Bobby Ivey provided the biblical work for this sermon through his song Moses.  I hope to have a link to his performance on here soon.

Over the past several weeks we have been examining the spiritual initiative called Walking By Faith.  Theologically, we have stated God exists and the future, weaving God’s purposes into our lives – pulling us forward into the invisible future.  Missionally, we have stated our congregation exists to live out our full kingdom potential in God’s future.  Organizationally, we have stated the need to prepare ourselves so we may be ready when the opportunities of God’s future rise beneath us.

Walking by Faith does not mean we blind fold ourselves and simply start walking to see if God get us out of the house without hitting any furniture.  Instead, it means we assimilate all of our knowledge of the journey ahead, be honest about our true strengths and challenges, and prepare accordingly.

A few weeks ago – I used a story from Jennifer Pharr Davis’ book Becoming Odessa, to describe the point where we leave what we know and begin walking the unknown path before us.  This is walking by faith.  But there is more than just putting one step ahead of the other.  Jennifer spent months preparing to make those first steps on the Appalachian Trial – learning about wilderness survival, gathering the right materials for the journey.  Besides preparing, she also had one major understanding that helped her make her first steps of walking by faith. She had a destination.  While she didn’t know what would be around the next bend or over the next mountain – she stayed focused on her destination – Maine.  Each day – especially the terrible days full of snow or rain or cold she would repeat to herself the mantra – “This is another step closer to Maine.  This is another step closer to Maine.”

We begin our Walk of Faith with a clear destination in mind:  To be a congregation which says “Yes” to God:  in our lives, in our community, in our families and in our church structures.  This is our destination.  Our Maine.  Each step we make, each commitment we offer, each worship service we attend moves one step closer to this goal.  When we become a congregation willing to say “Yes,” to God, God’s ideal image of us – the image of his son Jesus – is formed and we make God smile.  Ours become spiritual sacrifices as we glorify God. When these things happened:  we will have a transformational impact in our community and in world; and the name of Jesus will be praised. 

Before we start on our pilgrimage of faith, we must face our present situation – our environment.

Our Reality

            First, our reality:

1.  The world has changed!  Sue Blair stated during both of our town meetings this fact about how we understand church and the world.  “If the 1950’s ever come back, we’ll be ready.”  We will have the worship style, the organizational structure, and the mindset to succeed.  Then, Sue would look over the crowd and say, “Well, folks, the 1950’s are not coming back.” 

            This is not a surprise to any of us.  We understand this fact rationally, but understanding it with our lives is quite a challenge.  We have two options when it comes to facing this new world.  We can resist it, fight it, and deny it.  Or we can welcome the challenges and opportunities it provides us. 

            The February 2012 edition of the business magazine Fast Company stated this fact for the business community in their cover article:  “Generation Flux.”  Rather than doing business in a world we understand, it argues we now live in a world control by the chaos theory – where no one knows the future.  5 years ago 3 huge companies controlled 64% of the smart phone business – today – 2 completely different companies are the top of this industry.  One of the key learnings the article makes about the future for industries and churches – is we don’t know what we don’t know. 

            As a church we have been very good at responding to the challenges of the 20^th century.  No one knows what the world will be like in 5 more years – but - I’m here to say, the best times for this church and Christianity are not behind us.  God is still at work.  While things of religion are being stripped away – God is opening up new, refreshing opportunities to experience and serve Jesus.

2.  The past weighs us down.

            As a congregation, the past still weighs us down – like weights upon our shoulders.  I discovered an amazing thing as I read through our 100 year celebration material in 1987.  At the very end of the booklet, we wrote excitedly about the future education building the church was beginning to dream of building.   For the past 25 years, we have invested our time, emotion, energy and finances in planning, building and paying off our Family Ministry Center.  Rather than seeking how God can use this building in new, creative ways to transform our community – we are still weighed down paying for it.  Honestly, at times it has consumed us. 

            At the beginning of the month, I wrote a letter to all the members of the church speaking about the importance of debt retirement to our ability to walk by faith.  Over the course of the next year, we hope to challenge all of us to give sacrificially to finally relieve this debt in order to utilize the potential of our great buildings for the kingdom of God

            This debt, though, is not the only weight from our past.  We also have hurts, scars and pain left over from past congregational conflicts.  To deny this reality is to cripple the opportunities our future holds.  Over the course of this next year, let us not just retire our financial debt, let us look to God to restore, redeem and heal the scars we carry from the past.  This does not happen accidentally – it happens through our intentionality.  We will spend time this year making space for God’s healing.     

Our Opportunity

            Our present situation as a congregation, though, is not defined by these 2 realities.  God has placed before us two great opportunities. 

1.  Our Kingdom Potential:

            As I stated a couple of weeks ago – it never hurts to hear it twice – the full kingdom potential for this congregation is great.  God has amazing things in store for us.  Use your imagine with me for a few moments:

            Imagine our facilities full every day with children and adults coming to know Jesus as they study and practice the arts – water colors, dance, chorus, pottery.

            Imagine our gym utilized every day with community sports teams and activates bringing families and the community together.

            Imagine Cornelia Elementary School transformed by the grace and sacrifices of our members – bringing healing and hope for families through Jesus.

            Imagine Matagalpa, Nicaragua recognizing the work and compassion of a small church in the NG Mountains for their community development work done in the name of Jesus.

            Imagine individuals sharing Jesus easily in their families and with their friends.  Imagine weekly baptisms.

            Imagine this sanctuary filled each week with the multiple generations worshipping Jesus.

            Imagine.

2.  Our People

            First Baptist Cornelia is not this building – it is you.  We are full of creative, innovative, compassion, dedicated, loyal, talented, passionate, missional and wonderful people.  We are full of people who love greatly – who accept others where they are, but love them too much to leave them there.  We are full of artists and athletes, mystics and theologians, servants and healers, missionaries and teachers.

            Imagine if we empowered this wealth of people potential for the sake of the Gospel.  Imagine if everyone here knew their spiritual gifts and dedicated their lives to living out their calling.  Imagine if our church structures called people out not only to keep the church working, but for the greater task of kingdom transformation.  Imagine…

Our potential and our people give us a vision of the opportunities God has place before us.  But we will never get there – the realities of the world will bring us down – unless we face the challenges of following Jesus.

Our Challenge

            In the 3^rd chapter of Exodus Moses faces his burning bush moment.  God calls him to speak on his behalf to the powerful of Egypt.  To do this - many realities must be addressed – he doesn’t speak well, he has a past that wants to track him down, and he really doesn’t want this burden.  But the opportunities are too great.  There’s no one else who can speak for the Hebrews to the halls of power. No one else, except Moses can get an audience with the Pharaoh.  No one could do the work of Moses – except Moses.  God knows the opportunities.  God challenges Moses to Give it up, let it go, lay it down. 

Sanctify Yourselves

Sanctify Yourselves

Joshua 3

FBC, Cornelia

January 22, 2012

Walk of Faith Series #3

Eric's notes:  I've been influenced by the work of Reggie McNeal for over 13 years in the areas of prayer and preparation.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to share some of these ideas here.  

In the late 1980’s the red-on-yellow K logo of Kodak was a signature brand synonymous in every corner of the planet with capturing, collecting and sharing images.  Kodak played a role in pretty much everyone's life in the 20th century because it was the company we entrusted our most treasured possession to — our memories.  In the late 1980’s, though, a competitor from across the ocean, Fuji film, began to challenge Kodak’s monopoly.   Over the last 2 decades both of these large companies have watched their core cash cow – 35 MM film – disappear.  Last Thursday, Kodak filed for chapter 11 Bankruptcy while Fujifilm now thrives.  The story of these two firms demonstrates the choices of confronting an unknown future.    

            By 1990 both Kodak and Fujifilm realized the writing on wall – the world was going digital.  35 MM cameras would be disappearing and digital cameras would be replacing them.  For the next 10 years both companies worked to milk as much money from their film divisions as possible – struggling to figure out what came next.  In 10 years Fujifilm’s profits from film went from 60% of their income to basically nothing. 

            Both companies confronted the same circumstances – but they differed greatly in how they choose to respond to the future.  According to the Economist - Kodak choose the easy route.  They depended on their marketing and branding to save them.  They predicted their strong brand identity would save them as it had for over 100 years - and hen they planned as much as they always had – to meet that prediction.  They worked just as hard as Fuji – they just worked at the wrong things for the changing culture. 

            Fuji on the other hand, chose the harder route of developing new products and new businesses.  The world was changing and they chose to prepare themselves for the opportunities this world might offer.  To build these new projects, Fujifilm began applying its technologies in new areas.  They sought new ways to use what they did well.  They didn’t know what the unknown future held – but they would be prepared with new products as that world emerged. 

            Over course of our lives - the world has changed completely for all of us here in this sanctuary.  The world as we knew it – the culture that shaped us – the institutions we trusted – are no longer the same.  Most of us grew up in a film oriented world – we placed film in the camera, took 12,24, or 36 pictures at a time, rolled in back into its canister, took it out, drove over to a drug store, gave it to a professional film developer, and days later – picked up the film, pulled the pictures out of the envelope – and finally saw the memories our cameras had captured.  Our children and grandchildren will never have these memories.  If they cannot run to the photographer after the picture has been taken to see instantly the memory that has been captured, they are disappointed. 

            Like Kodak and Fujifilm - We all face choices in how we adjust to this new world. 

            Like Kodak - our typical approach to the future involves Predicting and planning.  We attempt to predict what will happen in the future and then we plan accordingly.  This way we have more control over what happens.  We do this often in our businesses, family and church.  This approached worked well when the world was not changing as rapidly as it has been over the last few decades.  In our film oriented world – we knew what would be happening over the next 10 years because it was the same as the last 10 with just a few modifications.  We could predict and plan for how to respond.  But what happens when our film oriented world turns digital.  Our businesses lose their profit margins, our family members disperse around the world, and our churches fight to stay the same – and end up dying and declining. 

           

            A different and more biblical approach to the future involves prayer and preparation.  Approaching the future through prayer and preparation recognizes God as the Master Weaver residing in the future and weaving his purposes through our lives.  Prayer and preparation requires us to relinquish control over our lives and our church – learning how to walk by faith and not by sight.  Prayer and preparation acknowledges a world in drastic realignment where we cannot predict what will happen tomorrow – let along plan for it.  Instead, prayer and preparation seeks listen to the Spirit of God and prepare ourselves for what God has in store for us. 

            Let’s examine the 3^rd chapter of Joshua as a model for approaching the future God has in store for each of us and our church.  Over the last 2 weeks, we’ve examined the importance of walking by faith, not by sight into God’s future – striving the reach our full kingdom potential.  This chapter reveals how we do this. 

Scripture Lesson

            In Joshua 3, we find a wandering nation - the People of Israel - on the banks of the Jordan River.  It’s been 40 years since a scared, mass of former slave refugees walked across the Red Sea.  Over these 40 years in the desert – God has nurtured, matured and transformed these former slaves into a new nation – a new people – the People of God.  

            Joshua leads the Israelites down from their camp at Shittim in the desert into the wadis beside the Jordan River in expectation of their crossing into the Promised Land.  Between them and their future lies the Jordan River overflowing its banks - at its highest, harvest levels.  Getting to God’s future seems dangerous and not simply downright impossible.  The People of Israel stay 3 days beside the raging river – looking out across a new land – questioning how they could achieve God’s future, afraid of what might happen to them, but still excited, wanting what God has prepared for them.

            v. 2 tells us what happens next: 

2At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3and commanded the people, ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place.

Before the Israelites go into the Promised Land of their future they are instructed to:

1.  Wait til God moves. 

            Before they walk into the future ahead of them – they must wait for God to move.  The Ark of the Covenant represented the Presence of God for the People of Israel.  It usually sat in the holiest spot in the traveling tabernacle in the middle of God’s people.  Now as they prepare to walk into God’s future they must attune themselves to a new way of experiencing God’s presence.   “When you see the ark move – then you are to start moving.” 

            In our typical approach to the future - Waiting til God moves sounds like a cope out.  We tend to see waiting as inaction rather than an action.  “Let’s get started,” we say.  “Let’s plunge ahead.”  We would rather see Joshua testing the river’s depths and making for getting thousands of people over or through it.   

            Rather than inaction, though, waiting for God to move requires much action - Just a different kind of action.  It requires us to pay attention to God.  This requires attuning our senses to God’s ways.  This requires us to spend time in prayer, to spend time meditating and listening to scripture, to make worship a priority in our lives.  When we do these spiritually oriented things – we are prepared to notice when God moves.  Otherwise – we might be just sitting around camp – and miss the Presence of God passing us - missing the future God has in store for us. 

            This year as part of our Walking by Faith initiative – our church has been challenged to build spiritual disciplines into our lives.  We are challenged to read through the books of Luke and Acts, to make worship a priority in our lives, and to pray for FBC.  These spiritual actions are designed to attune us to the movement of God – as we wait til he moves. 

Follow … God’s New Paths

            After the People of Israel are instructed to wait til God moves – they are next told to Follow … God’s new paths.  Look at verses 3-4:

When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before.            Besides being attuned to the Presence of God moving – the People of Israel must have the courage to follow God’s Presence where it goes – into the unknown future. 

            These verses represent the whole principle of walking by faith, not by sight for me.  Remember – everyone in camp knows where they are headed – to this new future in the uncharted territory of the Promised Land.  They also know what lies between them – the Raging Jordan River.  They have not seen bridge builders out there building a bridge to get them safely across.  Joshua simply says – wait for God to move – then follow God’s new path.  Walk by faith – following the presence of God – because you have not passed this way before. 

            Think about why walking by faith is so important.  Over the course of the next several years – as the People of Israel make their way into their promised future – life will not always be easy. They will have to trust God in this new future.  In order to face the challenges of the future – the People of Israel needed to see what God could do when they trusted him.  What would happen whey the walked by faith and followed him. 

            As we listen and attune ourselves to God – eventually God tells us to follow him - To walk by faith – in God’s new paths because we have not passed this way before.  As we do – we are to:

3.  Expect … God to amaze us. 

            When we wait til God moves and follow God’s new paths, we can expect God to amaze us.  Look at verse 5

5Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’

            As they People of Israel wait to follow God – Joshua instructs them to ritually purify themselves – consecrate themselves – make themselves spiritually ready – for the wonders they are about to experience.  So – over the next day – the People of Israel prepare themselves for the miracle God has in store for them by anointing their families with oil.  They organize themselves for a future they could not control.  They didn’t know what would happen, but they would be prepared when it did.

            In order for us to expect God to amaze us – we must sanctify – prepare - ourselves for God’s future as well.  While we do not know the future and we do not know where God will lead us – there are things we can do now to prepare ourselves for it. 

            For example – we do not know God’s future of FBC, but we do know we must retire our debt in order to be unencumbered to follow God where he leads.  When the debt of our Family Ministry Center is released from our necks – imagine how quickly we can follow God. 

            Another example – we do not know the future, but we do know, we must understand our identity as the People of God at FBC and understand the mission field of Cornelia, GA if we are ever to follow God.  That’s why a focused process of listening, discerning, and dreaming is so important to us.  It’s our way of sanctifying – preparing ourselves when God’s presence walks forward out into the world and we are called to follow! 

            In a world that changes quickly – God calls us to abandon our predict and plan approach to the future and choose to pray and prepare:  To wait, follow and expect! 

            I picture it this way:  Like a surfer waiting for the perfect wave.  When we lived on the coast of SC – I had several good friends who lived to surf.              I loved to watch them in the ocean.  These guys never planned a single wave. They never said, “I predict that movement of water 100 yards from here will be a 5 foot wave and I plan to ride it forward then cut backwards as I get to the shore.”  No, instead, my surfer friends who simply paddle out to the deeper water and wait.  Sitting on top of their boards til they saw just the right swell begin to rise.  Then they would start paddling and at just the right moment they would stand and ride the power of the wave with as much creativity as possible.  They never controlled the wave – they simply attempted to ride it. 

            Getting to the point of riding that wave, though, required much time and preparation.  Before they ever found themselves on the ocean, they had waxed their boards, practiced their stances, monitored the weather and tides and gotten into the water.  These steps of preparation – allowed them to be ready with the power of surf rose beneath them to amaze them. 

            You see – God wants to amaze us - in our lives and in our church.  To do so, God calls us to sanctify ourselves – so we may be ready when the opportunities of God’s future rise beneath us.   Amen!

Full Kingdom Potential

Here's the 2nd of my Walking By Faith Sermons.  The printed version is the different, though, than the proclaimed.  I made several changes along the way that morning.  Please be kind with any typos in the copy.  I do not have a dictated copied, although, eventually, these sermons will be on our church website (www.fbccornelia.org).  Thanks to George Bullard for the concept of Full Kingdom Potential.  I pulled a good bit from his book as I planned this sermon.  

Full Kingdom Potential

Matthew 13:31-32

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Walking By Faith Series #2

Marcus Dupree, from Philadelphia, Mississippi was the most highly recruited high school football players in the 1980’s.  During Senior year in1981 his coach was fielding over 100 calls a day from college scouts and head coaches who had all seen Marcus’ potential for success.  As a freshman in 1978, he ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, scored five touchdowns as wide receiver and seven more as a kickoff and punt returner, including a 75-yard kickoff return touchdown on his first play in high school.  Everyone wanted this kid to live out his potential at their school.

            Barry Switzer and Oklahoma University won the recruiting war.  They started him his freshman year and he led them to the Fiesta Bowl on New years day – only to lose.  Barry Switzer – true to his personality – blamed the loss on Dupree’s lack of passion and training.  By the next year, Dupree’s potential began to fade.  His stats fell.  He suffered a concussion.  Then he disappeared from the campus.  By the time he resurfaced in Mississippi – he had quick OU and faded from memory. 

            ESPN has created a movie about Marcus Dupree with the great title:  The best who never was.  This is what can happen to potential.

2 years ago as Marcia and I entered into a discernment process about God’s call to First Baptist Cornelia – this is word we kept hearing.  Potential.  A few comments went like this as I asked around about the church.

·         “First Baptist Cornelia is full of potential.  They have wonderful people who are ready to see where God leads.”

·         First Baptist Cornelia has incredible facilities.  They have the potential to be used for great ministry.

·         “First Baptist Cornelia has the potential of being the leading Baptist congregation in Northeast GA.”

            Potential does not guarantee a bright future – it only reminds us of what might be.

            The same is true for congregations.  God’s potential for First Baptist Cornelia does not guarantee a bright future – we still have a say in what will happen.  

            Walking by faith as a congregation means striving to reach our Full Kingdom Potential.  It means not settling for being known as the “Best that never was.”  Reaching our Full Kingdom Potential requires us to set faith oriented goals for ourselves as a congregation rather sight oriented goals that simply try to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be.   

            George Bullard is a Baptist congregational expert.  In his book Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of your Congregation he outlines sight oriented goals that keep us from reaching our kingdom potential.  These are things churches – like ours – can spend all of our time and energy trying to achieve to make us better organizations – more successful in the way our community measures successes – but have nothing to do with our full kingdom potential.

1. Church Growth:  Church growth is an outward expression of our desire as a congregation to attract as many people as possible into God’s kingdom and into our congregation through our worship services, evangelism practices, and discipleship programs.  At its worse – our desire for just church growth can form us into a self-serving, competitive driven congregation whose chief purpose is to win by often treating people as objects rather than persons of worth. 
2. Church Health:  Church health is an outward desire to close the gap between an emotionally unhealthy system to an emotionally healthy system – where member get along, have a good working programs, and a balance of purpose.  At its worse –focusing only on church health can lead a congregation to lose sight of God’s journey or destination of their congregation. 
3. Church Faithfulness:  Church faithfulness focuses on the past by centering a congregation’s attention on what the church has always done, always believed or forever refused to do.  At its worse – it becomes a reactive means of protecting the congregation from patterns of thought or action that do not fit our understanding of church.  Bullard says – faithfulness is often the rallying cry of aging, plateaued, or declining congregations.  
4. Church Success:  Church success focuses on the organizational or managerial success of a congregation rather than the spiritual.  At its worse – church success is only measured by meeting the budget, keeping the building looking good, offering good programs for members, and having no conflict. 

Church growth, health, faithfulness or success – are not goals as we strive to reach our full kingdom potential.  However, these are often the result.  When we strive to reach our full kingdom potential – people will want to join us, we will grow healthier, we will build on the strengths of our past, and we will see success in management of all that we do.  These results though – are not our purpose or our ultimate goal – they are God’s blessings for seeking the harder path – striving to reach our full kingdom potential. 

The Mustard Seed

            In our scripture passage today – we find a familiar parable of Jesus focused on potential. 

            Jesus stands before the crowds holding up a tiny seed – a mustard seed.  The crowd immediately would have recognized the seed and understood the context of Jesus’ words.  They would have associated that phrase – “Birds of the air come and make nests in its branches" - with stories about giant cedars, which were stories about the world’s great kingdoms. The cedar was a symbol of political power, so when you heard the phrase, "giant cedars in whose branches birds come and make their nests," you thought of empires – they thought of Rome.

            The mustard plant was quite different, though.  It didn’t grow into a mighty cedar.  It grew into a large scrub – maybe 6-9 feet at the largest.  The mustard seed with its tiny potential – grows into a large scrub.  But Jesus has more to say about its potential. 

            The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

            When the tiny mustard seed is planted – it not becomes the largest of scrubs – it is transformed into a tree which allows the birds to rest and make their nests.  God’s kingdom seems small – insignificant in our sight oriented world oriented around the media and politics and power – but God transforms this small potential into something great. 

            This transformation occurs through our preparation.  In order for the see to grow – it must be planted.  It order for God to transform the scrub into a tree – it must be planted.  The kingdom of God comes as we prepare our hearts, lives and world. 

Full Kingdom Potential

            Reaching our full kingdom potential as a church and as a individuals occurs as we prepare for God’s Kingdom in our lives.  As we plant the seed of our potential and walk by faith into the future.

            How will we know that we are there?  What will our full kingdom potential look and feel like?  What will the great tree transformed from the small seed look like among us?

Comprehensive – Like the great redwoods on the California coast – the Full Kingdom Potential will be expansive.  It will influence all that we do as a congregation as it transforms our lives as Christians.  It will ask important questions such :  Why does First Baptist Cornelia exist?  What is our calling in the world?  What is our purpose?  How can we best achieve this mission?  To reach our full kingdom potential we will look at how we organize ourselves, how we fund ourselves, how we use our buildings, how we empower ourselves for ministry.  God will transform us from who have been to who God desires us to be!

Kingdom-Focused:  Like the challenge to walk by faith, not by sight – our full kingdom potential will reign of God as our focus rather than the realm of humankind.  We will spend time during the year learning more about what it means to seek to live out the Kingdom of God.  To be kingdom focused, though simply means – our priorities will center more on growing the Kingdom rather than growing our church. 

            Our Fall Festival last October was an example of a kingdom focused event.  9 area churches came together – pooling together resources to serve our community.  It wasn’t about us – it was connecting our community to Jesus.  Our full kingdom potential will expand our vision of the work of First Baptist and broaden our capacity to celebrate the world of the Holy Spirit. 

Divinely Formed:  Like clay in the potters hands, our full kingdom potential is shaped by the gracious love of our heavenly parent.  Our potential as a church comes not from our vision, our hopes, our gifts, our work – it comes from the work of the Holy Spirit among us – shaping us first as people and then as a church.  Our ideal destination or image as a church is not something we can achieve by closing the gap between where we are and where we want to be – it comes as we are shaped by Jesus.  Achieving our full kingdom potential occurs as all of us as a congregation grow spiritually through the spiritual disciplines.

To begin to allow ourselves and our church to be divinely formed – I am inviting everyone in our church to read through the books of Luke and Acts as many times or as slowly as needed in the coming year.  Join us on Wednesdays at Noon to study about what we are reading in our Brown Bag Bible Studies.  Make worship a priority this year.  When you have choices of what to do on Sunday – make worship a priority. 

When we begin to make  more space for the Spirit of God to move – we prepare ourselves and our church for God’s full kingdom potential. 

            In the end – our Full Kingdom Potential will always be just beyond our grasps because it is in the process of being revealed as we travel toward it. 

            In C.S. Lewis final book in the Chronicles of Narnia – The Last Battle – he describes potential which is further up and futher in.  After the children have made it out of Narnia into the Kingdom of Aslan, one of them describes it by say, “This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it until now.”  He goes one to say that the “further up and the further in you go the bigger everything gets.  The inside is larger than the outside.” 

            Lewis concludes with these words to the ongoing nature of our Full kingdom potential:

            ”And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they lived happily ever after.  But for them it was only the beginning of the real story.  All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia h ad only been the cover and the title page:  now at last they were beginning chapter 1 of the great story which no one on earth has read;  which goes on forever:  in which ever chapter is better than the one before.”

            From where we stand today – Our Full Kingdom Potential seems far and distant.  Something we are just now beginning to understand.  As we travel toward it – walking by faith, not by sight – where we stand tomorrow will give us a different perspective on our potential.  Our story will only continue to grow.  The closer we get to God’s future – the futher up and the futher in it will appear to be.  Our potential will always be in front of us – being weaved and ordered by our God who loves us and calls us to follow him – futher up and further in!  Amen