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The Calling of Every Christian

March 4, 2012 in pray without ceasing, prayergifts, sermon note sunday with 0 Comments

In the day of Nero, Christians were the brunt of intense and inhumane persecution. Although historians suspect that Nero is the one who set fire to Rome, he managed to convince society that Christians were responsible.

In turn, Christians were dipped in tar and burned alive. The human torches were used for Nero’s outdoor parties. Oh my heart.

In the midst of such a turbulent time, Peter wrote these instructions.

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9 NIV)

Intense stress brings out either the best of the worst in people. Peter made it clear that, no matter what, Believers should go about doing good.

The calling of every Believer is to be a blessing to everyone we meet. Everyone. Even the ones who reject us, persecute us, and despise us.

What does it mean to be a blessing?

Well, the thesaurus has lots of interesting synonyms: benefit, help, service, profit, gain, advantage, favor, gift, windfall, kindness, boon, good fortune, bounty, godsend, manna from heaven.

Speak goodness into the lives of everyone. Everyone.

Energizing words. Encouraging words. Empathetic words.

Can you imagine what this world would be like if every Believer spoke only words that benefitted others?

No snarky speech. No critical comments. No insensitive insinuations.

If Believers took the “be a blessing” challenge, our homes would be transformed, our careers would be more purposeful and meaningful, and our churches would be places where seekers feel drawn.

Strangers would become VIPs because we’d always be looking for someone to whom we could be a blessing. The receptionist at the doctor’s office. The server at a restaurant. The cashier at the Circle K. The frazzled mom in the check-out line.

Every moment an opportunity to love, to bless, to be the heart of Christ.

Pray for others and let them know you did.

While speaking goodness into the lives of people is a huge step in the right direction, we can’t stop there.

Prayer goes beyond our human capacity to care. It allows us to hold others up to the heart of God.

And people need that more than anything else.

At the Heart of Mesa, we have “I prayed for you today” cards we can share with strangers the Lord places in our path.

Pastor Gary shared a couple of examples from just last week.

He gave a prayer card to the waiting room attendant at the hospital. In the midst of her task of tending to worried patients and their families, Gary took the time to tend to her.

He gave a prayer card to a weary woman at the table next to him at Subway. I suspect she felt a little less weary after that.

As Gary shared his experiences, I remembered one of my own from decades ago…in a Subway no less.

I ordered my food, and, as I paid, I heard the Lord whisper to my spirit. Tell her I love her.

She handed me my change, and I turned and left the store. She’ll think I’m a nut job, Lord.

The walk to my car felt like a mile. Go back in there and tell her I love her, Lee. She needs to hear it.

Feeling foolish, I sighed and strode back into the sandwich shop.

The woman looked up from her work and gave me a smile. “I’m sorry…did I forget to give you napkins?” she asked.

“Uh…no. You gave me everything I need. I…uh…I just had to come back in here to tell you something.”

“Ok…what’s that?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well, God told me to tell you that He loves you.”

She stood there speechless for what seemed like five minutes. “I can’t believe you came back in here to tell me that.” Her eyes filled with tears and she explained, “I’m going through a really tough time, and just this morning, I asked the Lord to show me that He’s there for me. He gave me proof through you. Thank you so much.”

I pretty much floated back to my car.

Every, single day holds the potential for floating! Every time we bless others in the name of Christ, we will receive the blessing of obedience, the blessing of being His instrument of love, the blessing of doing the right thing.

But what if our attempts to bless go unappreciated and unreceived?

What if people pay back our kindness with insults?

Well, it’s bound to happen. Some people are so eaten up with bitterness that it’s hard for them to receive anything good.

They need us to understand, to forgive, and to keep on loving.

While they may not receive our words of kindness, they may receive the next one from someone else. Every blessing they receive will knock out a brick from the wall around their hearts.

Pastor Gary challenged us to pray for and minister to one stranger a day.

I’m in…what about you?

Lord, Open the eyes of my heart to see who You want me to love on each day. Who can I bless? Who can I pray for? Who can I share hope with? Who needs to hear that You love them? Make me a blessing.

Sermon Note Sundays: Every Obedience Matters

December 18, 2011 in Christmas, obedience, sermon note sunday with 0 Comments

Oh, how I love it when the Holy Spirit changes Pastor Gary’s sermon at the last minute. My pastor studies and prepares all week long. In fact, he sends out an email most every day sharing what the Lord taught him during his daily Bible study time. He doesn’t just preach it; he lives it!

On Saturday evenings, Pastor Gary rarely makes social plans. That is his time to meditate on his sermon topic and listen to the Lord for any last-minute instructions.

Last night, as he prayed over his sermon notes, he felt an uneasiness settle over him. “Lord, I feel unsettled. What would you have me do?”

“Read back over the narratives of Christ’s birth. I’ll show you what to do.”

So he did. And the Lord gave him a sermon I’m still thinking about.

Have you ever thought about how different the Christmas story would be if any of its characters refused to obey the Spirit’s instructions?

Fact is, they all obeyed immediately with very little explanation required. They heard from the Lord and acted. Period.

I. Mary (See Luke 1:28-38 for the whole story)

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. (Luke 1:38 NLT)

After seeing an angelic being and hearing unbelievable things, her response was a beautiful, “Yes, Lord.”

I am the Lord’s servant. Mary declared her allegiance to the only One who counted. Her God. Serving Him in the manner He desired was her purpose.

I think of all the times I’ve received instructions from the Lord. I’m no Mary.

I’m self-serving. But Lord, what You’re asking is a lot of work. It’s scary. It’s risky. It’s difficult.

I’m a people pleaser. But Lord, what will people think? I could be rejected or embarrassed. So-and-so thinks it’s a bad idea.

May everything you have said about me come true.

Mary didn’t understand how it would all go down. She just knew God wanted it, and that was enough. Did the details make sense? Of course not! Do you really think a young teen understood what all would happen to her body, to her reputation, and to her life? Do you think she fully grasped that she would carry God in her womb and hold the Prince of Peace in her arms?

I don’t know about you, but I like to know what’s going on all the time. I don’t like surprises. I don’t like wondering. I don’t like waiting. It’s hard for me to walk in faith unless what God is asking makes sense to me.

Well, who gives a flip if God’s ways make sense to us? As long as they make sense to Him, that’s all that matters.

How silly (and sinful) of us to think we can understand God’s ways.

No, Mary didn’t “get it.” And she certainly couldn’t make any of it happen. She just stepped aside and allowed God to do His thing…and oh what a thing it was!

II. Joseph (See Matthew 1:18-25 for the whole story)

 Joseph was a godly man, an honorable man, and a man who wanted to do the right thing.
One day, he is set to marry his young bride, and the next day, she tells him that she’s pregnant with God’s son.
You can’t blame the guy for needing some time to think. It’s not like anything like that had happened before.
When he laid down his weary head, he had plans to break their engagement quietly, but when he let his own wisdom rest, the Lord was able to tell him the real plan, the eternal plan, the redemption plan.
The moment he awoke, he obeyed. No more need to think it over and weigh his options. He knew God’s path was the right path for him no matter how much he didn’t understand it.
Later, an angel appeared to Joseph again. This time, he told Joseph to get up and flee to Egypt in order to save Jesus from the paranoid violence of King Herod. (Matthew 2:13-15)
Once again, Joseph obeyed right away, and Herod’s plan was foiled. Joseph didn’t pause to consider the length of the journey or the inconvenience of uprooting his family for who knows how long. He didn’t ask God for some extra time to get his affairs in order. He heard the instructions and obeyed. Period.
What would this world be like if all of God’s people obeyed like Joseph did? Wow…the thought astounds me.
III. Shepherds (See Luke 8:8-20 for the whole story)
Minding their sheep in the dark of night, the shepherds weren’t expecting any excitement other than a renegade sheep eater. But they got the surprise of their lives! Angels had news worth risking their flocks over.
When the shepherds heard the news of the Messiah’s birth, they were spurred to action. They couldn’t wait to lay eyes on him! “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (v.15)
Once they saw what God had done, they told everyone they saw. They couldn’t keep it to themselves.
God’s people need to get pumped up! God is at work all around us, yet we get more excited over our favorite sports team’s winning streak than we do over lives being changed and God being glorified.
When we step out in obedience, He often shows Himself to us in a fresh, new way.
On Saturday, many of our church body visited various nursing homes to bring Christmas cheer to shut-ins. Sonia and Randy brought their adorable preschool-aged grandson, Wyatt, to join in the festivities. Wyatt has personality-plus.
Wyatt and his crew ventured into Zita Denning’s
But something miraculous happened between Zita and little Wyatt. His joy jingled straight into Zita’s heart. A bright smile overtook her face, and her hands reached out to touch her little caroler. She sang along and held Wyatt close.
Because Sonia and Randy obeyed the Lord and involved their grandson in an act of loving service, the whole group present in that room witnessed God in a fresh, beautiful way. They went to be a blessing to Zita, but everyone in the room received the blessing of seeing what God can do through the innocence of a child.
IV. Simeon (See Luke 2:25-35 for the whole story)
Simeon received a promise from the Lord. He would not die until he had seen the Messiah.
One day, the Spirit urged him to go to the Temple. It’s a good thing he obeyed without delay. If he hadn’t, he would have missed the glorious opportunity to hold the Messiah in his arms!
Can you imagine the range of emotion that passed through that dear old man’s heart as he stared at that baby boy?
His life was truly complete as he held the Prince of Peace in his arms.
We have that same Savior, but we hold Him in our hearts, not in our arms.
Like Simeon, we can live (and die) in peace because of Christ!
Peace with God. Peace within. Peace with others.
Lord,
Forgive us for being slow or even unwilling to obey. Every instruction You give us is eternally important. You don’t give instructions that don’t matter. Help us to quit stalling and start saying “Yes” to Your voice and Your will.
In the name of the One who obeyed to the death so we might live,
AMEN
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