Today we begin a new year! As a believing people, we have come to discover certain truth, which enable our lives to be fulfilled and to remain faithful to our Creator.
To the world these truths remain as "Secrets for Successful Living" but for us they are axioms or discipline, which have been tested and found to be truth over the years. It is appropriate on the first Sunday of a New Year to remember these disciplines.
The Scripture read today reminds us of a time in Jesus' life, not unlike January of each year in our lives. The emotions of such a time are excitement, uneasiness, a bit of fear and uncertainty, and a lot of hope. For Jesus, it was the beginning of a new phase in his life. It was the launching of his ministry as the Son of God. It was a new beginning at the age of 30.
He came to John for baptism. This has always been an intriguing event in Jesus' life for me as I could not figure out just why he did this. Baptism is for the remission of sins and one's dedication to God. It is for the cleansing by fresh water for the dirty sins of yesterday. Do we assume that Jesus had some secret life which we don't know about for which he needed forgiveness? Do we assume that Jesus was simply setting the standard for his followers for all the ages through his own participation in this Jewish rite of purification?
For Jesus, this baptism event was a definitive moment. Later when his family would come to him, he would say to them "I must be about my Father's business." Well for 30 years he had been about his earthly father's business. He had worked with and after Joseph's death in the carpenter shop in order to provide for his mother and her growing family. He was, after all, the eldest son. The recognition of this reality leads me to affirm the first of the "Secrets for a Great New Year" which that is Responsibility.
Jesus had for 30 years provided for his earthly family through hard work, which is a godly trait of godly people. There are individuals who leave the familiar in search of a "Promised Land", or in Dr. Seuss language: "The Land of Solasolu", or in the language of Jimmy Buffet a "Margaritaville", but for most of us, most of our life is spent taking care of the business which is right before us. And it is everyday, usually more than 8 hours a day, with few days off, and few benefits other than knowing in our heart that we are being true to what God has given us to do. For most who are successful in every true sense of the word, fulfilling their responsibility is a discipline, which they tend to well. Jesus had tended to his responsibility for 30 years of his life, which would prove to be more than 90% of his total earthly existence.
Responsibility. It is a mother taking care of a child. It is an employee going to work on time and being efficient with his working days. It is a volunteer showing up time after time to take care of his assigned duties. Responsibility. I visited in the office of one of our members and on his desk was a hand made sign, which read T.C.O.B. I asked what this meant and he said, "It is something my father taught me long ago: "Taking Care of Business". Responsibility is a big word in the vocabulary of a godly people.
Secondly, a secret for a successful new year is humility.
We don't know why Jesus went to be baptized by John. I don't believe that it was for the cleansing of his sins. Perhaps he wanted to set an example for us, that the sacrament of baptism would become an act of humility. Maybe he wanted to show his support for John, who was his cousin. John would say when Jesus came: "You are a better man than I. I am not worthy to loosen the leather straps on your sandals." But this act of baptism was an act of humility. And humility is a godly trait of a godly people.
Later Jesus would say that one of the ten Beatitudes was: "Blessed are those who are meek, humble, for they shall inherit the earth." He had surely learned the old Jewish proverb that indicated, "Before honor comes humility".
Listen, you are blessed and, yes, you work hard but a lot of people work hard. You are blessed if you have good health, a good living, a warm home, and the security of family, a job, a faith. A proper response for such blessings in abundance is humility. I am who I am and have what I have by the grace of God. And it behooves us to be humbly grateful.
Thirdly, notice about Jesus a sense of urgency.
Once Jesus made the decision to begin his ministry, he didn't fool around. The story moves quickly in the New Testament from his baptism to his ministry. Once the decision was made, action followed swiftly. Many of us have dreams but never act on them. I received a wonderful letter in response to my new book, "Death and Grief", and one of the things the writer said was "I have always wanted to write words like these, but just have never gotten around to it." I wonder how many dreams are never realized because the dreamer never gets into action.
Later Jesus would teach his disciples: "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." He knew at his baptism that the tranquil days in the carpenter shop of Nazareth would now be history. He set his face toward his mission in Jerusalem. The threats of public humiliation, imprisonment and even death on the cross did not stop him. When he committed his life to God in baptism, it was a covenant which he would see to completion. There was an urgency to fulfill his commitment to God.
The recent results of our national census indicated that 1 in every 10 Americans came to America as immigrants. If you follow these immigrant families, you find one episode after another of astounding success. They are usually people who are responsible work hard, are humble, and there is about their lives a sense of urgency. I believe that what shapes their success is they simply cannot afford to fail. There is no safety net to catch them and with no social network to prop them up, they rely on themselves and make things work out.
Film producer Sherry Lansing, who is the chairman of Paramount Pictures, tells what a great role model her mother was. She escaped from Nazi Germany when she was 17 and came to America. She sold dresses until her husband died of a heart attack, and then she took over his real estate business. Someone said to her mother, "You don't know anything about the real estate business. How can you do this?" She responded, "I will learn. I can do it." And now this attitude is a part of the CEO of Paramount Pictures. Failure is not an option for those who are determined to succeed.
Summary: There is a classic Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown says to Lucy, "Someone has said that we should live each day as if it were the last day of our lives." Lucy responds in a panic: You mean this is my last day! You mean I have only 24 hours left! Oh no! This is the last day." And she dashes down the street screaming, "Help! Help! My last day. "
Charlie Brown is left alone and says: "Some philosophies aren't for all people." Well, maybe some philosophies are not for all people but for us, as we begin this new year in our life, the disciplines which can help us experience another great year are these: Responsibility, humility, and urgency.
Believe It and You Will See It is a title of a book published by Wayne Dyer some years ago. It appears as a subtle truth affirmed in the scripture read in our hearing this morning.
This reading is of the first miracle recorded by John in the amazing story of Jesus. Miracles will occur where ever Jesus appears in his rather brief ministry of three years. The lame walk. The Blind begin to see. The diseased are healed. And in the story read today, water is transformed into wine. Jesus is attending a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee along with his mother. An embarrassing situation occurs when more people show up for the party than the host expected and the wine steward runs out of supplies. Jesus' mother becomes aware of the situation and suggests that Jesus might help with the rather upsetting development. When she speaks to Jesus, he responds to her rather harshly saying: "Please mother. I don't need the attention." Her response is interesting. She ignores his response and tells the wine steward: "Do what ever he tells you to do." In other words, he will help. Sometimes mothers know sons better than sons know themselves.
"Do what ever he tells you." And help he does. Water is transformed into wine. "Hmmm," say the guests, "You have saved the best to last." When God is present in our lives even to this day, the ordinary is transformed into the extra-ordinary; the human is transformed into the divine. It was as though Mary, Jesus mother, had discovered this truth about her son over the 30 years of her life since his birth. For two Sundays during the Christmas season, we read scripture, which contained an interesting note of history. It was on the occasions of Jesus' birth and then on the occasion when Jesus was 12 and was left in the temple in Jerusalem. Each of these times, the historians note: "Mary pondered these things in her heart." In other words, Jesus mother thought about her child who had been born in such unusual circumstances when she was young.
I guess in a way, any and all mothers, "ponder in their heart" concerning their child's future, but here we are talking about Jesus. Mary had come to believe in him for she had seen interesting developments, which occurred when he set his mind to something. She believed he could help the embarrassed host out and he did.
It is interesting to note that the historians of Jesus said, "He did no great work in his home town of Nazareth, for the people did not believe." Could it be that our belief shapes the results of our lives?
This truth would be affirmed in other places and other times in Jesus short journey: Mark 5:34 Jesus is touched by a woman in a crowd of people and is healed. Jesus sensing her presence says to her: "Woman your faith has made you well, go in peace and be healed of your disease."
Luke 8:50 Jesus is invited to a Gentiles' home because his daughter is dying and Jesus says to him: "Do not fear, only believe, and she shall be well." And the child lived.
Mark 11:24 Jesus teaching on prayer: "Have faith in God…Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Could it be that our belief can shape the presence and the future? Let me help you with a proper understanding and appreciation of this spiritual truth: 1. First of all, there is nothing magic about our faith. By our prayers, we are not going to miraculously change something that we can change by some human action. We are not going to reverse the natural consequences of being hit by a car or struck by a disease germ. But we can stay out of the road and we can, at lease as far as we can humanely do, we can do things that promote health.
One time someone asked we if I thought that if they prayed with their hands upward and open, it might be that they would be more prone to get what they asked for in prayer. Please…
There is nothing miraculous about prayer, yet a miracle takes place when we pray: a miraculous change occurs inside of us when we pray and when we believe. You may never see exterior results, but you will feel interior changes. A new confidence. An inner peace, which surpasses all understanding.
In l970, I served as director of the Wesley Foundation at University of South Alabama-a student ministry. There were some of these guys who were "fresh in the faith" and they taught me a great deal about having confidence in God. They were short on intelligence in their faith, but they made up for it with enthusiasm. They would pray for everything. For grades they didn't deserve. For money they didn't have. For things to happen in their lives. I tried to tell them, "God helps those who help themselves." And if they wanted to make good grades they would have to study harder. If they needed money for their rent, they would have to get a job. "Don't expect God to do something for you that he has equipped you to do for yourself.
One day I happened by the campus and found them all gathered up around one of their run down cars with their hands on the hood praying for the car to crank. Asking them what they were doing, they told me. I told them, let me try so I took the keys and when I turned on the ignition, I noticed the gas gauge registered zero. I suggested they cool it and let me go get a can of gas. I picked up a couple of gallons of gas, put it in the tank and bingo, the car cranked. I decided that it was a good opportunity to teach them something about their faith and observed that they could be praying all day with their hands on the hood of that car, but without gas God's wasn't going to crank the car. Besides, I said: "God's got more important things to do than keep your run down car on the road." It seemed to make sense to me and to one or two of them, but one of them said: "All we were praying for was that God would send someone to help us out, because we didn't have enough money to buy any gas." And then he said: " Who do you think sent you along at that moment?"
"Maybe they are right" I thought to my self. Maybe we are both right. God does help those who help themselves but when there is no hope, God always sends someone along. Like the Good Samaritan. Like Jesus healing the blind beggar on the Jericho road. Like some of the things you have done this last week. God puts us in the right place at the right time. Believe It and You Will See It!
A lot of things occur when they occur, because of powers beyond our control. Sometimes even beyond our imagination. Our challenge is to remain sensitive and open to the guidance of God. Be open and stay close to God and be ready with a "yes" response when a unique opportunity comes along. God will use even you.
Believe It and You Will See It! Jesus recognized the need of human effort. He told the wine steward to fill the empty jars with water. Perhaps the water washed the wine from the bottom and sides of the containers and less potent and sweeter, it tasted better than the stronger wine. What's interesting here is Jesus recognized the need of human effort. Fill the containers with water. He would do this same thing when he raised Lazarus from the dead. He told the disciples to go and unwrap him. I mean really, if Jesus could raise someone from the dead, he didn't need any help unwrapping the grave clothes. But apparently he did and apparently he does. He uses us to accomplish his purposes.
We have seen miraculous changes occur in race relations during this last century and in human rights for minorities, women's rights, the disabled, new emerging nations, the list is long. For those of us who have been privileged to live over this past half century, we have seen some good changes, and it has been because of the determination and sacrifices and hard work of good people. It has been the answer of prayer.
Over the 179 years of the history of this congregation, we have seen growth and change and the ability to be persistent and patient, and kind and generous and to work for change in society. This church has been a powerful instrument of change among the people of Northwest Florida.
This week, we celebrated the life of a longtime church member. She was first born in the dawning of the 20th Century and born to eternal life in this the dawning of the 21st Century. She lived over 100 years. That's older than ____________. She and her husband stood together only seven years ago and announced their 70th wedding anniversary. God's people, they are the one's who hold society together, because of their belief and because of their actions. Believe It and You Will See It!
Maybe you are really struggling with something right now - maybe it's your marriage, or your job, or your attitude. Well pray about it. Put it in God's hands. Work hard to know God's will and be persistent in your pursuit of change. Don't be ugly. Don't be mean. Be persistent. Be patient. Put it in God's hands and walk away from it for a while. Then come back to it, if you can find it.
God hears the prayers of the righteous. He transforms water into wine. Believe It and You Will See It!
2. Secondly, If we believe that God is with us, that he is Immanuel that he loves us, that he desires to use us and to accomplish our prayer that "His kingdom in heaven will become his Kingdom on this earth", then we begin to see things differently. God is with us. …With us…
Maybe our prayers won't reverse tragic circumstances but we are more able to deal with such tragic circumstances.
There is a helpful statement concerning prayer attributed to an unknown Confederate soldier during the Civil War which reads in this way:
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given sickness, that I might have time for greater things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all most richly blessed.
Summary: When you believe, when you have faith in God, you become empowered to change things and to experience the abundant life. Believe It and You Will See It!
In an English church in Leicestershire, there is a memorial tablet that bears this inscription: "In the year of 1653, when all things throughout the nation were either demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Shirley, Baronet, founded this church, whose singular praise it is to have done the best things in the worst times."
English History during the middle of the 17th Century bears out the turbulent nature of the times. The King, Charles I, had just been executed in the midst of a civil war and a struggle for power. The country was torn by strife. The atmosphere was charged with hatred; and the outlook for peace was dim. It was in the dark despair of this situation that Sir Robert Shirley did something constructive. He built a church. Building a church will not, in and of itself, solve any distressing problems. But, blessed before God, is the person who, in the midst of perplexing chaos, steps up to do the best of things.
Jesus was born into a time and place that was not the best of times. When he was a child, Herod, the puppet King of Rome, had the male children of the Israelites put to death, thus the reason for Mary and Joseph and their young son's flight to Egypt. When Jesus was thirty years of age and was baptized by John in the Jordan, and subsequently read the scripture of Isaiah in the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth, it would define his life in what would prove to be the worst of times: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
Jesus, history would reveal, would do the best of things in the worst of times. Doing the best things in the worst times means different things to different people, at different times and under different circumstances. For Sir Robert Shirley, it was to build a church. For Jesus it was to preach good news to the poor and blind, release and liberty for those who were oppressed.
For some it may mean to forgive a personal or social injustice, which has crippled you. For some it may mean to help the next generation to learn how to live out the Gospel in loving ways. For some it may mean standing tall during some life event that has all the earmarks of a tragedy. I don't know what this may mean to you, but I do know that life will give you plenty of opportunities to practice this fine art. You will not have to go looking for them, they will find you. I do know that doing the best things at the worst times will call forth our deepest resources of love and unselfishness, and sacrifice, and require the discipline of intentional effort.
Difficult times can occur in many ways. They often come in highly personal ways. Ill health, like the rain, falls upon the just and the unjust. Sorrow in one of its many forms visits us all sooner or later. There are marriages that do not work out, and relationships that go sour. Children disappoint us, or choose to build their lives on principals that we never taught them. Friends betray us. And our life begins to unravel and our faith crumbles and the will to "go on" begins to weaken. We sit by and watch someone we love die of some dreaded disease, or find ourselves helpless as a loved one is devoured by an invisible monster from within. Personal tragedy comes in many flavors and forms and from the finest among us to the worst, we all learn the taste of tears. You have been there or sooner or later, and probably more sooner than later will be there.
There is a heart-wrenching scene in the movie based on the novel, Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. Jenny, the childhood girlfriend of the mentally retarded Forrest Gump, has come home for a few days from one of her many self-destructive prodigal escapades. She and Forrest go to the now abandoned home place where she lived out her tragic years as a child. The house has deteriorated. The roof has caved in, the yard grown up with weeds. Abandoned. But the sight of the house brings back to Jenny an overwhelming memory of the tragedy and pain she experienced there: the loneliness, the poverty, the physical and emotional abuse of a drunken father. All of these repressed memories rush in on her and she looses control. She screams and starts throwing rocks at the old dilapidated house. She throws her shoes, clods of dirt, and all the rocks she can find. And when there are no more rocks to throw, she falls exhausted and sobbing to the ground. After an awesome stillness and silence, broken only by sobs, Forrest Gump moves lovingly toward her and as he lifts her up says: "Jenny, sometimes there are just not enough rocks."
Over the past 17 years, I have looked out at this congregation of persons with an increasing knowledge that behind many mask like faces are secret hurts and personal sorrows which I would only get an occasional glimpse. Everyone of us, at sometime in our lives, will experience some inescapable tragedy for there is no place to hide. It is the nature of the vulnerable human journey. We are not free to choose whether we are knocked down, we are only free to choose whether or not we will get up. Our choices are limited to what we will do with our lives when the storm is over. We can choose to be bitter or choose to be better. We can choose whether we will wallow in self-pity or whether we will do the best we know in the worst of times.
If it is true that we are susceptible to the worst times on a personal level, it is even more clearly evident that we live in a world where the worst things can happen to us. Leaders turn out to have feet of clay up to their waste lines. Families break down and trusts are betrayed. We live in a dangerous world, with limited levels of security. If absolute safety is a basic requirement for life, then being born was a fundamental mistake. The forces of nature go awry and floods come, tornadoes strike, hurricanes level dreams, and earthquakes shake the foundations of our lives. Life events will teach you quickly that life is fragile and that we live in a dangerous world.
The Bible gives to us a unique perspective about our fragile
life:
When a person lives their life in the center of God, a strange
thing happens: You are empowered, as was Jesus, to do the best of things in the
worst of times. The call of God is for persons who will do the best of things in
the worst of times.
We need folks to step up and be:
We are created in the image of God. It is He who has shaped us. Knitted us together in the limbo of our mother's womb for his purpose. And our great God will never forsake us.
Many in the field of psychology have noted that there are some basic needs that lie in the heart of every human being: The need to love, the need to be loved and the need to have some sense of purpose in being. Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is my task? What is my assignment?
One of the national football players playing in the Super Bowl said in a moment of excitement, "This is why I was created!" Well, I'm not so sure about that - maybe so, we shall see. Nevertheless, the desire to have some understanding that we can make a difference lies at the ache in the heart of every one of us.
The scripture read in our worship deals with the Call of God to the 7th Century prophet whose name was Jeremiah. 700 years before Jesus was born, now 2,700 years ago, the Northern Kingdom had been destroyed by the Assyrian armies and the Southern Kingdom of Judah was on the threshold of extinction a hundred years later at the hands of the armies of Babylonians. It was a time of political conflict, powerful armies and contending thrones and marching soldiers. Assyria would destroy Israel. Egypt would destroy Assyria. Babylonia would destroy Judah and for 40 years carried their political leaders into exile, where the people would have to learn to sing the Lord's song in a strange land.
Jeremiah was the son of a priest in Judah, but was called of God to be a prophet to all the nations. Unlike his father, who would perform the cultic rituals of the worshipping community, Jeremiah would be the spokesman of God's judgment against the nation - an undesirable calling in the best of times, and for Jeremiah it would be a life long task.
Like Moses at the burning bush, Jeremiah, a fledgling adolescent, initially sought a way out of his calling citing his inexperience and his inarticulate ways. However, just as with Moses, God prevailed and the rest is history.
God says to Jeremiah, that he was genetically coded, determined before his birth to be a prophet to the nations. His life's plan was shaped in the womb, before he took his first breath.
Such a belief awakens in each and all of us serious questions concerning our calling. What is it that God wants us to do and to be in this short journey we call life? Surely the Creator God has not formed us willy nilly, helter shelter, for no reason at all. Surely we were not born to live and breathe and die. No, the story of Jeremiah tell us God has plans and we are all a vital part of those plans. You are not an accident. God doesn't make mistakes and you were created for a purpose. You were made and "set apart" for a very important task. The task for all of us is to glorify God and to reflect his image to others. How we will do this is God's special assignment.
This scripture tells us that we are created with a purpose in mind. This scripture tells us that we are special. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." God the creator knows you and even likes you, imagine that - likes you.
Once I had communion with a group of colleges and we served communion to each other. As one minister served another he said, "Rodney, Jesus died for you!" The inflection in his voice made all of us laugh, for he seemed to be amazed that God would die for someone like Rodney. Maybe you feel much the same way, to think that Jesus would die for you! The Jeremiah scripture says: You are special. Knitted together in the limbo of the womb for a purpose. God loves you! I mean you! And knowing what I know, that is a stretch.
A good friend gave me a book by Max Lucado. In the book on God's grace, the author writes, If God Had a Refrigerator.
If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning,
Whenever you want to talk, he'll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart,
What about the Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem;
Not to mention that Friday at Calvary.
Face it friend, He's crazy about you.
A letter I received some months ago said to me, "Please don't ever stop telling us that we are important to God. This one message has saved my life.
God created us for a purpose, God likes his creation, and thirdly, from Jeremiah's story, we learn the great truth that, "we are never alone." God promised Jeremiah, "I will never leave you alone."
There are times when we feel as though God created us, but he has now left us on our own. Sink or swim, we think God is saying to us from some distant shore. Jesus said to the disciples, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world."
Let me summarize: We are not prophets and we do not live in Jeremiah's land nor time, but nevertheless, we are called by God to do a task for him. It may be a humble task or something very important. Perhaps God has already revealed in your hearts what this task is. Perhaps it will take years for us to discover this task for our creation.
Whatever, three things are certain: