Christianity

Have You Ever Considered that You Might be Wrong? (Sermon March 1, 2015)

Mark 8:31–38 (NRSV)

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

(Mt 16:21–28; Lk 9:21–27)

³¹ Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

³⁴ He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶ For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷ Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸ Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

There are a few things more exciting than learning. I have often told my friends that think being a preacher would be a boring job that bible study is one of the most exciting things one can do. Every week I am constantly learning something new, looking at things from a different perspective, and having my eyes opened in ways I never though. What could be more exciting than that? I can spend hours in study and discussion, and for the sake of everyone’s back sides I usually stick to my notes because if I were to adlib too much we might be here all day. It is not that I know so much but every person sees something just a bit differently which corporately can give us just a bit more understanding and more perspective than we had before. This is one of those types of passages. It is layered in so many ways that one could write volumes and still not see what could be seen through the eyes of the Spirit in totality. Every day that we live adds another layer of depth, every year provides more contrast, and for the past 2000 years have added and built such a beautiful colossal within the scriptures that we can step back and stand amazed. Or we can become so accustomed to what is before us that we miss the beauty.

How can I say that this passage is beautiful? How can one stand and say that the prediction of death and execution has a powerful and awe inspiring portrait? It is because the darkness accents the light, it enhances the beauty by adding contrast and depth. It is the shadows, the trials, and the struggle that provides the character to a painting, the soul to literature, and the passion in poetry. It is the sacrifice that provides the back drop to the passion of the gospel.

Jesus tells his disciples that the religious establishment will reject him, curse his very existence, and try to divide the people from him as far as they possibly could. Imagine yourself hearing this announcement for the very first time. Hearing that everything that you thought you stood for would ultimately come to an abrupt and painfully bloody end. Every disciple of Jesus saw him as being the anointed messiah. This title held with it a preconceived idea. Visions of vast kingdoms, immense wealth, prosperity beyond the wildest imaginations of a finite mind. They envisioned the messiah as being a king that not only was equal to the greatness of Solomon but would advance well beyond. To get just a glimpse of the power that Solomon had one must really look into the pages of history. Israel has always been at the center of, and at the cross roads of empires. It has spent its entire existence as the disputed land between empires, because it is this land that divides the east and the west. It is Israel that sits on the most efficient route over land that made it possible for the riches of India to make their way to Egypt. This route allowed the merchants a route that did not require the threats of dehydration in the windblown sands of deserts or the uncertainty of travel overseas. Those that controlled the highway controlled the world. Solomon in his greatness was able to manage trade beyond the abilities of empires three times his size, but those that could not manage trade between empires fell victim to the powers of others. But Solomon was also a product of time. During his reign the empires to the east were weak, and the ruler of Egypt was also not in a position of power. Solomon filled the gaps between and allowed Israel to become more than just a tendon in the great body of humanity.

The view of the masses and the disciples did not have the knowledge to see the larger picture. They saw the greatness of Solomon as being the goal, but did not see that Israel’s greatness was not empirical rule but in its connectivity. Abrahams promise was not to become the father of a nation but the father of nations. Connecting and uniting the empires of the world, and giving them a hub from which they could revolve.

The disciples did not see it this way. The religious leaders did not see the place and purpose of Israel in this manner. They wanted to be the center but not as the unifier of humanity, instead they wanted to be the dictator or the seat of power. But power only comes from knowing one’s place and purpose.

The religious leaders were posturing to assassinate their rival, for what reasons? He challenged their understanding of who they were and what their position in life was. The disciples, namely Peter, directly challenged Jesus saying in other expressions of this story, “God Forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” Jesus’ response was, “Get behind me Satan.”

I want us to consider this for a moment. What if everything we think we know about God, everything we think we know about Jesus, and the Spirit, what if everything we think we know about ourselves and the world we live in is wrong? Charles Shultz depicted this in his Peanut’s comic strip where Snoopy says that he has the best title for a theology book he is endeavoring to write, “Has it ever occurred to you that you might be wrong?” We could be very zealous for the Lord and yet be totally wrong. We could have every check mark in every box, and have totally missed the point. We could have the most well thought out systematic theological paradigm and be as far from the truth as the ancient Gentiles. Jesus may be saying to our certainties, “Get behind me Satan.” Do you see the layers the contrasts and the highlights coming into view?

During the first century the religious leaders had in their minds that the Messiah would fit their carefully and meticulously crafted theologies, yet they were wrong. The disciples that had left everything they knew to follow Jesus, thinking they were in the court of the next great kingdom of Israel were wrong. Totally wrong, so wrong that they were not even in the same book let alone on the same page. They were reading the gospel not through the eyes of God but through the eyes of the deceiver. How exactly can we be so certain? Has it ever occurred to you that you might be wrong?

I am not saying that the pursuit of knowledge is a sinful pursuit. I am not saying that the study of theology is something of Satan, what I am saying is that these things should be engaged not as an absolute, but as an ever growing conversation that are layered and built upon with each individual that has entered into the conversation. That at the very center there must remain the guarded reality that we might be wrong and that we must be open to the possibility of learning something new.

If we may never truly know for certain the fullness of truth, where do we place our faith? How can we live our lives? Where exactly do we stand and can we stand for anything? This is where the beauty of this passage comes into play. Jesus says to the people, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?”

When the leaders of the people came to Jesus and asked what the greatest commandment was Jesus answered them, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NRSV) We can stand on these two commandments. If all of our posturing and all of our energy and debate is focused on these two things then the focus we can stand firm.

Every theological stance must hinge on these two commands, every action and stance of every issue must consider these two factors, every word we utter should be pregnant with these two very important teachings. Love God, Love Mankind. If we are certain of something but it does not include within the theory love for God and love for mankind it is not worthy of our energy. If it weight more heavily on one side or the other we have missed the point, and if it does not elevate all equally we have probably skewed the truth in some way.

Jesus says that if we want to call ourselves his followers we must put these things in to action to such a degree that we would sacrifice our very existence for the hope that someone else might know the truth. He did not say this lightly. This is not just colorful words expressing metaphorical abstract ideas. He is literally saying, if you want to be my follower you must be willing to suffer the most excruciating pain not for yourself but for those people that may not agree with you. Why?

We live our lives toiling away trying to get ahead in life, we amass wealth, we try our hardest to get whatever we can get through whatever means we can (hopefully legally) but no matter how much wealth you have there will be a day you will spend every last dime and more for just one more day of life. And the sad reality is that all the wealth in the world can only extend the inevitable. We are dust in the wind, a life lived for selfishness will still end in dust. What is the alternative? What if instead of pursuing the wealth of man we were to bear the cross of Christ and give everything we had so that others could hear the gospel? What if each of us lived our lives so that others might live? What would we see happen? Again the layers of the ages begin to show the depths of this passage. There were times where people did live like this. Though every person told them they were crazy. People like the apostles left secure careers and faced certain death to take the gospel of Christ to the edges of the known world. People like St. Patrick, St. Francis, St. Ignatius, George Fox, William Penn, Brad Carpenter, Kathryn Linville, and Kathi Perry all left the relative safety and security of a known life to take the message of Jesus out into the world with little regard to their own comfort and in some cases the comfort of their families. Some left great wealth to live a life where they gave away everything including the very clothing on their backs. Some aspired to be great warriors for God participating in a Holy Crusade only to find their true calling was found living a life totally opposite from the direction they originally walked. Some spent their last dime on the hope that others could live within a land devoted to two commandment of loving God and Loving mankind. What exactly do the sacrifice of these men and women show? Their very lives and sacrifices bring depth and color to an ever changing and growing portrait of humanity. They take up the cross and face whatever challenges that presents them not for themselves but for the sake of others and the extension of the Gospel of Christ.

They lose their lives for the Gospel but what have they gained? What profit is there for such a sacrifice? Do they now live in a kingdom surpassing the wealth of Solomon? Do they live at ease? No but in every case they have left in their wake a movement that reaches throughout time that encourages and unites all of humanity to one central hub, a hub that revolves around two simple commandments Love God and Love mankind.

Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God to earth, but it did not look the way that everyone thought it should, because the kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of man. God created the world and announced that it was very good. It was perfect everything worked together for the mutual benefit of everything else. The plants fed the animals and mankind tended the plants, while God walked with them in the cool of the evenings. The perfection that God created was blemished by the desires of man to make themselves equal to God, thinking that maybe God was holding back and that there was more to be had. This selfishness cost them life and relationship. In their selfish pursuits they brought in death and all that they live for will end in dust. Throughout history God encouraged a realignment of perspective telling us that our pursuits should focus on two simple things loving God and loving others, we would get it for a while but then we would again get our attention diverted. Jesus came to redeem, to restore the kingdom that God created in the beginning. He came to realign man’s perspective yet again. Telling us that God loves us. And that God is willing to give all he has for us.

As we enter this time of open worship and communion as friends I encourage us all to consider Snoopy’s theology book, “have you ever considered that you might be wrong.” Consider where the areas of certainty in life are falling and if they are fully devoted to the only two commands that hold true power in the Kingdom of God. And if your actions are speaking the gospel to those that may have a differing perspective. Israel though they were at the center of the ancient world and are still in many ways at the center of our contemporary world, are not there for power and dominion over but are there uniting the east and the west. Connecting the empires as the world turns and through whom connecting the kingdoms of the world to God. Love God and Love man, beyond that you might be wrong.

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Living Beyond the Veil (sermon February 15, 2015)

Mark 9:2–9 (NRSV)

mid 12th century
Cappella Palatina di Palermo
Palermo, Italy

The Transfiguration

(Mt 17:1–8; Lk 9:28–36; 2 Pet 1:16–18)

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

(Mt 17:9–13)

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

2 Corinthians 4:3–6 (NRSV)

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Living Beyond the Veil

One of the most annoying speeches that every child has ever heard when they embark on a much anticipated field trip has to be, “Remember when you are out there you represent your school.” I always wondered why they said that it was not like any of us really cared what reputation the school had. It was school that is it, we had to go and we finally got a chance to break free and live a little. Of course along with that speech came the realization that if we did misbehave we would not get to go on another fieldtrip for a very long time. But what do people see when they look at us?

Each of us though we are unique individuals, still reflect the community in which we live. We reflect the culture that our parents, our friends, our schools, our civic organizations, and our religious background have given us. We mirror the things that we have seen and as others come into our spheres of influence we reflect our culture onto them and then they in turn reflect it back. What do people see when they look at us?

Paul in today’s reading tells us something very profound. He speaks about a veil saying, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Think about that for a moment. Initially we think that those that are perishing are the ones that cannot see, but that is not what he is saying he is saying even if our gospel is veiled. He is saying that we are being hidden, or more accurately we are hiding from those that are perishing. Covering the gospel, blending in to the culture around us, hiding, but why? Paul says that those in the world have an excuse, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” They are blind and unable to see the light, but this does not explain why we ourselves are veiled.

The veil is something that our culture does not fully understand, because the western world has done away with this practice, but there are cultures that would understand quite well what image Paul is trying to portray. We look at these cultures and we immediately judge them and begin to complain that they are mistreating a segment of their population, and to be honest I would probably agree with you because I live in a culture that does not appreciative the veil. But the veil is there for a purpose, to hide the beauty. To keep what is behind the veil secret from all but the one it is intended for. There is a barrier between the veiled and the revealed, a barrier that cuts off the opportunity of friendship because the one behind the veil is hidden from the outside.

The physical veil is not used in our culture but we still hide. We hide our true selves behind many different masks, we hide behind walls that shield ourselves from intimacy because we are afraid to be vulnerable. We keep our guard up, hoping that we can trick those that look at us into believing some sort of acceptable character of who we truly are. We hide because if someone really knew me then would they find me acceptable? Would they accept me if they knew I had struggles, would they love me if they knew my past, would they even talk to me if they knew what I really thought, would they like me if they knew me? Before we even give them a chance we cut them off, we live behind a veil.

Paul tells us, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” The danger of an individualistic society like ours is that there is such a strong desire to be seen in a good light. We want to stand on our own, we want to be seen as successful among whatever group we identify with. The funny thing about that is that within that very statement there is a paradox. We want to be individuals yet we want to be accepted within a community. We want be seen as successful in ourselves, yet under the standards of a community. Maybe we have gotten things a bit backward. We are unique individuals, gifted in various ways but it is the community that honors those gifts. Before we get all defensive, just think about it for a moment. If you have a million dollars but nowhere to spend it, and no one to share it with, you have nothing of value. Our currency and our ability to earn wealth only has value if we are living within a community. Outside of a community the only thing of value are the things that keep you alive: food, shelter, water, air. It is in a community that culture develops and that the uniqueness of individuals can be celebrated and honored. The ability to write a novel has no benefit without others who want to read, our businesses would have no meaning if there were not a community to buy our product or services. So what Paul is speaking about is that instead of focusing of ourselves we should focus on Jesus. Instead of using our uniqueness for our own gain we should use it to proclaim Christ.

This is the sticker though, if we do not use all that we have to proclaim Christ within the community, we are veiled and we are being ruled by the gods of this world. Veiled by definitions of success that have no meaning to Christ. Veiled by the desires of being accepted by others when Christ is calling us to do something totally different. Veiled by our culture and interoperating everything about ourselves through the eyes of that culture. Yes, we are veiled. When we focus our attention on things outside of Christ we are veiling the gospel, we are veiling it with ourselves and our desires instead of letting the light of Christ shine though us. We are stepping up to be the master of our universe instead of submitting to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Let us look now at the passage in Mark, where Jesus is up on the mountain with Peter, James and John. They went up there to pray in an isolated place because that is the rhythm of life that Jesus was trying to teach them and during that time of prayer something amazing happened. There with Jesus the disciples saw Moses and Elijah standing beside him and Jesus was dressed in garments that were whiter than human hands had the ability to bleach. They were shocked and amazed, they did not know how to even begin to grasp what was going on around them. So Peter pipes up because he has this annoying habit of having to speak in awkward situations. “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, let us build three tents…” There are veiled words coming out of Peter’s mouth. Words that reflect the culture and the community that he is wishing to impress. Jesus is there standing with Moses and Elijah and Peter says Rabbi, teacher let us build tents and stay here.

We may not catch it immediately. Moses is seen by the culture as being the great law giver, the first and most important of all the rabbis. It was through Moses that the very first teachings of God were given to the tribes of Israel, the first interpretations of greater meaning which allowed them to build a community and thrive as a culture. Moses is the greatest of men. Then there is Elijah. This is the greatest of all the prophets, whose name means my God is Yahweh. Elijah challenged the false gods of the world, called fire down from heaven to prove that God is God, and was carried up to heaven without tasting death. Moses gave them faith, Elijah defended their faith. Moses establish a people, Elijah preserved and saved the people. The greatest of men together, one represents the law, the other the prophets. These two men define the faith of Israel. So Peter sees this and begins to think Jesus is equal to these men let us build on this.

Peter was looking at this through the eyes of the culture Jesus is equal to Moses, the law, and equal to Elijah the prophet the third great era of Jewish history is about to begin building on the law and the prophets. Though this is not entirely wrong it is not exactly what the scene was showing. Moses and Elijah were standing there talking with Jesus. Moses the Law giver was speaking with Jesus. Elijah the great prophet was speaking to Jesus. They were praying, seeking the advice and council of Jesus, not Jesus seeking guidance from them. It was Moses and Elijah that came to meet Jesus on that mountain. You might say but they were dead for centuries how could they have been speaking to Jesus, but that is the true mystery. When we enter in prayer we enter into the realm of God which is not bound by the same dimensions of man. What these three disciples were seeing that day was the divine nature of Jesus. But they were unable to see through the veils before their eyes, and they assumed equality with men, not equality with God was being revealed to them. So when Peter spoke God rebuked. “This is my Son, the Beloved; Listen to Him.”

The veils we live behind are defined by our culture but Paul is calling us to partake of a different kind of culture. Instead of cultures defined by the gods of the world, a culture defined by the one true God who created the heavens and the earth. And God is telling the disciples and us to listen. Moses sought the council of Jesus and from that council the nation was establish, but mankind did not fully follow and they began to listen to the gods of the world. They twisted and perverted the words of God to such a degree that it became necessary for the prophets to emerge to set things right. Elijah sought the council of Jesus because he felt alone in a world that rejected God. From the teaching of both these men, the rabbinical Jewish faith that was seen in Jesus day emerged after it grew in exile. Both versions of the faith began very similar there was an awakening of faith and people responded but over time veils emerged and interpretations began to twist and turn until the faith that was once so powerful coming from the very mouth of God began to look as dark as the world it was created to redeem. Then Jesus came saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Calling us to follow Him. On that mountain we were not called to follow just another great teacher but to follow God Himself.

So why do we live behind veils? Jesus, God Himself, came showing us the life and lifestyle he created us to live in. I life of worship, prayer, and service to others. Yet we live behind veils. Do we not believe that Jesus can redeem? Do we not believe that Jesus can save and reconcile the world to himself? Do we not trust that he can do what he promises to do? Will we not entrust our lives to the one that can conquer the sting of death? The veils we live behind speak volumes of the culture we wish to reflect, cultures that are ruled by the gods of the world: god that have taken on different names but they still remain the same, gods of war, gods of greed, gods of sensuality. Elijah stood against those gods and said “My God is the one true God.” Moses stood against those gods and demanded that his people be released from bondage. These two men met Jesus on that mountain across the dimensions of time, and God tells us listen to him. Drop the veils and become a people of God. A people that is defined by loving Him and loving their neighbor. A people that desires to participate in the lifestyle He himself lived with us, a lifestyle of worship, prayer, and service. A lifestyle loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. It is not ourselves but Jesus that we should reflect, it is not our culture but the culture of Christ that we should seek to reflect and expand. Let us let that light shine in the darkness.

Becoming (sermon February 8, 2015)

1 Corinthians 9:16–23 (NRSV)

Daumier, Honoré, 1808-1879
Palace of the Legion of Honor
San Francisco, CA USA

¹⁶ If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! ¹⁷ For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹ For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

What are the things we are proud of? For me I am proud of my sons, my wife and her creativity, my education, maybe even my heritage, but of all the things I am proud of I am proud to be able to serve as a pastor. This idea of ministry is what changed the very course of my life. Most of you have heard my calling which began across the ocean in Ukraine, but became very real in a pickup truck sitting in a park while I was trying to nap between classes and one of my several jobs that year. I still feel the excitement of that day when I think about it. Words of scripture seemed to come across the airways and burrow deep in my soul, asking me “Do you Love me?”

Do you love me? I was working that year at probably my dream job, I was working with a respected soil scientist with the hopes of entering into a career in agricultural research, but all at once the course of my life shifted. Suddenly four simple words ignited a fire in my soul that I could not extinguish. Do you love me? It was as if God was challenging and daring me to respond, and the response that was required took me from the high plains of Kansas to the urban metropolis of Kansas City. Even then I did not know exactly what was going to happen but doors began to open. Those doors led me to Winfield, Arkansas City, Wichita, and back to Kansas City. There were challenges, heartbreak, and joy. But through it all there was one thing that was amazing, I had the privilege to see people open up their hearts and deepen their faith.

For a farm kid from Kansas one would not think that urban ministries would be where God would lead me. Most would see me in a rural setting speaking to the people and the culture that I had encountered for my entire life. But that is not what was required. That would be too comfortable. God does not call us to be comfortable, he calls us to live on the edge of total abandon.

Paul was called to a similar life. He was called to preach the Gospel. In his heart burned a fire that would not allow him to do anything other than share the Gospel of Jesus. He say, “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel.” Have you ever really considered this statement? Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel? This sort of passion is what I hope each of us has the privilege to experience. Such drive and passion that we could not even consider our lives in any other way.

This passion is when we live according to our personal callings. Not everyone is called to live a life like Paul, not all of us have the gift of apostleship. Not all of us have the gift of teaching, or healing, hospitality, or preaching. But if we are called to Christ we have a gift for ministry. Every person that is in this building, every person in this community is here for a specific reason, every person here has a specific task that if pursued would draw our community closer to Christ and expand His kingdom to influence more people.

The scary thing about that is that everyone here is important. Why is that scary? Because if we accept that someone else is just as important as ourselves we cannot control what is going on. We lose a bit of ourselves and suddenly the future begins to blur. Paul goes on to say that he is obligated to proclaim the gospel. This obligation has risks. If he releases control to proclaim the Gospel the he has to release his life into the hands and the giftedness of others. How will he survive? How will he afford to continue to spread the Word? What if he is not received? Yet still he says “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel.”

Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! There is a passion in those words that I hope each of us taste. This passion comes from deep within our hearts, it is the essence of who we are and who God created us to be. This passion is a mixture of special gifts of the spirit and the uniqueness of every individual. Man and God working together toward a common goal. Our giftedness begins with understanding who we are as individuals and grows from there. God can create out of nothing but usually he builds on what is already there. This is seen throughout history to the very dawn of time. There is a progression of increasing complexity in the story of creation, and then as the crowning glory God creates man in His own image out of dust. He used what was already there to bring about something greater, and then He breathes life into it. This is what how spiritual gifts work. There is within each of us something to build on, something that makes us uniquely receptive to participate in a ministry but then there is also something missing something that is beyond our own abilities that allows God to shine through our lives.

Personally I know what my passions were and continue to be. I enjoy learning. I enjoy looking at things from different perspectives and studying them. That is why my dream Job before God called me to ministry was in the sciences. I have a passion to know, to study, to find answers. God built on this passion of mine, but I would not be in here if it was in my own strength. This is where spiritual gifts come to play. I would be content just studying, I would love to spend all day observing, and recording results, but that was not what God had in mind. The problem is God did not call me to be a researcher He called me to preach. This is extremely difficult because I do not talk. To be perfectly honest I could spend an entire day without saying a word and I would think it was a great day. Yet God called me not only to talk but to stand before a group to speak. In my own strength I would never do this, yet there is a passion burning within me that I can see no other life. Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel.

What are our passions? What are our gifts? What are our ministries? I wish I could quickly provide an answer for those questions. But if I could then there would be a problem. It would be an answer based on myself and not on God. TO answer those questions requires a life of discipline. A life that is engaged in the holy rhythm of life that Jesus showed us during his ministry. A life of worship, prayer and service. It is through prayer that we open our lives up to a conversation with God, and it is through worship where we as a church collectively meet together to praise God and encourage those around us to continue walking. There is the personal and the corporate. We personally feel the call and then those around us confirm that calling and encourage us to walk in that direction. This is why the gathering for worship is important, it is when we gather collectively that the spirit of God reflects off of others and we can begin to see more clearly. But we gather not just to praise God but to be sent out to extend the kingdom, and use the gifts that he has given us.

This is where things get interesting. Paul is called to proclaim the Gospel. He says that he has an obligation to proclaim, that even though he is free to do other things he is compelled to proclaim the Gospel. He is a slave to this task so that the kingdom can expand. Think about that for just a moment. Though he is fee, he makes himself a slave for the kingdom. He goes on to say that he become like a Jew to win the Jews, like one under the law to win the ones under the law, he becomes like one outside the law to win those outside the law, he becomes weak to win the weak. He becomes things to all people so that he can win some. These are some of the most disturbing and most powerful words in the epistles. They are disturbing because within these words there is a risk of losing everything yet they are powerful because there is the hope of gaining even more.

What is it to become like something? When we read these word we often find ourselves cringing because it sounds like Paul is being too open and too accepting. He is becoming, joining or compromising something important. When we cringe we are probably misunderstanding what is being said. The word become deals with awareness. It speaks of experiencing life from a different perspective and moving around in that state. When Paul says that he becomes a Jew with the Jews he is proclaiming the Gospel through a perspective that the Jews would understand. And when he speaks of becoming one outside the law, he does not mean that he is throwing everything out, but that he proclaims the Gospel through a perspective of those outside the law. He is aware of where these people are and how to speak to them. He gains that perspective by moving within their circles, going where they go, eating what they eat, and building on what they know. There is a risk in doing this, because when we become aware and move around in the circles of people outside our comfort zone we run the risk of becoming something different.

But woe is me if I don’t proclaim the Gospel. Where would we be if Paul did not become, if Paul did not become aware of a different perspective? Where would we be if Paul stayed Saul? Paul risked everything to proclaim the Gospel and he lost everything he was proud of yet he gained the kingdom. What would happen if we too would release ourselves to the passions of God? What would happen if we became aware of the perspectives of those outside of these walls? These questions are the ones that make us cringe, because when we consider these things we are faced with losing ourselves to something outside of our control. We move beyond our places of comfort and must rely on others to provide in our areas of weakness. What if we became like the person down the street?

I have often wondered why I ended up in the areas I have been. Why did God send me to one of the largest cities in Ukraine, instead of a rural community? Why did God call me to preach when I do not even like to talk? Why would He put such a strong desire in my heart to proclaim the Gospel in an urban setting when I just want to go home and sit on a tractor to work the land? The reason is because the ministry that he has called each of you to participate in is uniquely coupled with the ministry that he has called me to. The things our community needs are wrapped up in the gifts that God has given each of us. But it is not necessarily the things we desire. To win our community we must become our community, we must open ourselves up to seeing things from their perspective and begin to proclaim the gospel in a language they understand. We must lose ourselves to the ones God wishes to win and in doing so we will find who we truly are. To win this community to the kingdom, we must become a slave to the community, become vulnerable, be moved by what moves them so that we can speak as one with them and join them as they walk the journey with Christ.

Does that make you cringe just a bit? I hope so, because then we know that the Spirit is at work. But the next question is which direction will we choose? Will we move into our community or will we stay in comfort? Will we risk all we have known or will we let what we have wither on the vine? Will we sow the seed and work the soils or will we harden our hearts to the very people God has called us to? Will we join Paul and say woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.

I began by asking what we are proud of I want to close by again asking what are we proud of? Are we proud of standing our ground or are we proud of the ministry that God has given us? Are we proud of ourselves or are we proud of those that we have helped along the way? There are things to be proud of in this meeting, each of those things are coupled around individuals being used not within the church but outside. I am proud of this Meeting because I know there is much more that can be done and we are nearing a place where we are willing to lose ourselves to become the light in our community. I am proud because we are beginning to think less about ourselves and more about people outside these walls. Yes I am proud of our facility but I am proud in that only because we are in a better position to serve those around us. I am proud because each of us are beginning to say, “I do all for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may share in its blessing.” It is not about us, but it is about them. It is not about our influence but God’s influence in their lives. Let us lose ourselves for the sake of the Gospel and see the glory of Christ be honored in our community.