Choosing Now Over Later

This is a sermon I preached on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at United Presbyterian Church in Sterling, KS. 
Listen to the sermon audio here.
Read Acts 2:1-13 & Matthew 9:32-38 here.

Choosing Now Over Later 

Today is the last week in our series Thrive@United.  Each week of this series, there has been a choice. 

We started with “choosing life over death,” maybe a rather obvious choice. Next we chose community over isolation, then fun over drudgery, bold over mild, and frontier over fortress.  Last week we even had the opportunity to put into practice our choice for frontier by going on a prayer walk out into the community.  Now, today we have the choice between now or later.

What are you hearing in the choice between now and later?

My husband Rob heard candy.

Now sounds trendy. “Live in the NOW.”

Now sounds parental.  “I told you to do your chores and I said NOW!”

Now sounds urgent. “We need help NOW!”

In the world of churches, now sounds . . . unusual, doesn’t it?  Because churches aren’t always so good at doing things right now.  We need to do things decently and in order. 

We need to take it to committee.  We need to run it by session, the board.

We need a motion, and a second, and then we need discussion.

We need to work together to make a plan and follow the plan together.

None of that happened on Pentecost. 

By the time the disciples got to Pentecost, they already knew their plans had gone right out the upper room window when Jesus was crucified.  That was in God’s plan, but they hadn’t understood the plan quite that way.  While they’re still trying to figure out how the plan had changed, Jesus was resurrected. 

Then Jesus told them that the next step in the plan was to go out and tell the world about what happened, go everywhere and make disciples . . . but first, wait until you receive power from the Holy Spirit and then go out and tell the world.  So they waited, and while they were waiting, they prayed.

What else could they do?

Jesus didn’t tell them when the Holy Spirit was coming.

Jesus didn’t tell them how the Holy Spirit was coming.

Would they have understood even if he had told them?

On the day of Pentecost, they were together celebrating the Jewish feast of Pentecost, and doing what they had been doing every day – praying.  And that’s when things got a little crazy.

First there was the wind.  Here in Kansas everybody knows about wind.  Wind is strong.  Strong wind is loud.  Really strong wind is really loud.

Then came the tongues of fire, and then everyone began speaking in tongues.  That also was loud.  We’ve been in crowds.  We know how loud they can be.

It was so loud that everyone in the neighborhood came running to see what was happening. 

Nobody planned it.  Nobody sent out invitations.  Nobody made refreshments. Nobody put together a program or arranged for extra chairs and tables.

This was just happening and it was happening NOW. Because sometimes the Holy Spirit does unexpected things at unexpected times in unexpected ways.

Not surprisingly, people had lots of questions.  Why is this happening?  Why are they talking like that?  What does this mean?

Peter didn’t have time to run home to do some exegesis to prepare a sermon to answer their questions and explain the meaning.  In a surprisingly brilliant move, he just stood up and started explaining about Jesus who died and was resurrected. 

Peter knew the scriptures well enough to use them to show that the Prophet Joel had predicted this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and King David had written a song (Psalm 16) about the resurrection, and though they didn’t quite understand God’s plan from these scriptures before, it is now clear that Jesus, the one who was just crucified, is God’s plan to bring about the salvation of us all.

Hearing all this, the people were amazed, and asking, “What are we to do now?”

Peter immediately had the answer for this question:

“Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.“ (Acts 2:38 MSG)

He didn’t say, “Go home and think about it.” Or “Go home and pray about it.”  This challenge was for right now.  He kept on urging them to act now.  And that day 3000 people were baptized.

And all the rest of the crowd was left in a quandry, arguing with each other.  Did he say, “Yanny?  Or did he say Laurel?”[1]

Or did he say “covfefe?”[2]

Silliness aside, the first and most important way we “choose now over later” is to turn to God, say yes to Jesus and welcome the Holy Spirit.

There’s no reason to wait.  This is exactly how Jesus began his ministry in Mark’s gospel, telling people that now is the time to repent.

Jesus said: “Now is the fullness of time,” … “and the kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins, and believe in the Good News!” (Mark 1:15TLV)

Now is the time to say yes to Jesus.  If you’ve been putting this off, don’t delay any longer. Just say yes.

Choosing now over later means we

1.     Turn to God

2.     Pray

3.     Do

We do put things off.  We can come up with all kinds of reasons.  There’s always tomorrow, right?  Or is there?

The end of all things is near. 1 Peter 4:7

We laugh when we read that because Peter wrote those words about 2000 years ago.  The end of all things wasn’t as near as Peter thought.  On the other hand, how many of the people who heard or read those words have already met their own “end of all things”?

The Holy Spirit prompts us and we need to act.

Do it now – because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. --James 4:14

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. --Proverbs 27:1

For instance, we might be thinking that one of these days I’ll tell my friend how much Jesus loves them, but that day never comes because he dies of a heart attack.

Sometimes it’s blazingly clear that we need to act now.  If we’re thinking about adopting a dog that’s due to be euthanized tomorrow at the animal shelter, now is the time to get ‘er done![3]

What do you see when you look at a crowd of people?  In Matthew 9, our gospel reading this morning, Jesus looks out at the crowds of people and has compassion for them. He sees people who are ready to hear about God’s amazing love and forgiveness.  He says, “The harvest is ready.”

He saw people looking for a shepherd.  He saw people he loved and wanted to help.  He saw people whom he wanted to know that God loves them.  And so he says, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.” 

That’s a call to pray. 

1.     Turn to God

2.     Pray

And then

3.     Do

Jesus said to ask God for workers, and then he commissioned the disciples, giving them the authority to heal people and cast out demons, and then he sent them out to tell people about the good news of the gospel. (Matt 10:1ff)

Choosing now means we turn to God, pray, and do.

If we don’t know what to do, we pray until we do. 

If we do know what to do, we pray and then do it.

Do it now – because otherwise we will miss the opportunity to be a part of what God’s doing.

I’ll never forget the first time I realized that I’d missed it.  I had this brilliant idea for a ministry, a way to serve people in the community where I lived at the time.  I knew it was inspired by God, but I hesitated. I wanted to pray about it some more. What if . . .this?  What if . . . that?  When?  How?  It’s ok to think things through, but I got too bogged down in all of that, and the next thing I knew somebody else was announcing their plan to implement my brilliant idea. Because it wasn’t my idea.  It was God’s idea.  And He made sure it DID happen.

It isn’t always easy to know what to do and when to do it. Sometimes it’s very clear.  Like when a kid gets brought into the emergency room barely hanging on to life.  If they waited to find the parent and get permission to treat, the kid would die, so they don’t wait.  They act immediately to make sure the child is stabilized.

Sometimes it’s not so clear and we have to act on faith.  So often we hesitate because we don’t like not knowing what the outcome will be.  We try to see into the future and predict, but only God truly knows, and we need to trust him for the outcome.  To get better at this, it helps to practice.

1.     Turn to God

2.     Pray

3.     Do

This will sound silly, but one of the ways I practice is choosing what to wear in the morning.  I used to waste a lot of time trying this outfit, and then another outfit.  I’d stand in the closet forever trying to make up my mind while the clock just kept on ticking.  So God inspired me to turn to him, ask for help, and go with the first thing I thought of next.  Most of the time I wear one of three colors – black, blue or green.  I have red shirts because I have bought them over the years to wear on Pentecost, Christmas and the 4^th of July, but other than that they just sit in my closet.  One morning as I was getting ready to go to a worship conference I was in a quandry.  I didn’t know what to expect going to a place I’d never been before and so I didn’t know what to wear.  The first thing I thought of after I asked God for help was my red shirt. 

I argued.  No, God, please, not the red shirt.  It’s not a holiday.  I didn’t hear a voice, but the feeling I had was a lot like when a parent gets frustrated with child who is arguing.  The feeling felt like this:  “Just wear it.”

So I did.

Guess what the main topic was at the worship conference that day?  Trusting the Holy Spirit.  And I was all ears because I was wearing my Holy Spirit red and I had trusted the Holy Spirit about wearing it. Choosing a shirt is such a little thing, but it’s a little thing that made a big difference in my life.  It’s helped me practice listening and trusting.  We practice with the little things so we’ll be better prepared to handle the bigger things.

• It’s easy to say that things need to change. 
• It’s hard to see that what needs to change is us.

Turning to God and praying is always clear and simple.  “Hey, God, help.” 

When we DO know what to do, we’ll need God’s help.  If we do things only on our own, we will fall short and tire out and fail.  We can’t do it on our own. Only God knows what tomorrow will bring, and only God can change hearts.

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will [thrive]; apart from me you can do nothing.

We stay connected to Jesus because of the Holy Spirit and we practice listening to the Holy Spirit when we pray.  So I’m asking you today as an exercise of this to keep praying for 40 days.  On your way out today pick up a 40-days-of-prayer booklet.*

Now is the time to turn to God, pray, and do. 

If you know what to do, ask God for help to go do it. 

If you don’t, keep on praying and listening and getting ready to do whatever God has in store for us to do.

Jesus is risen. The harvest is ready.  The Holy Spirit is here. Let’s let him work in us right now so we can thrive as God’s people doing God’s work in the world.

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[1] https://www.wired.com/story/yanny-and-laurel-true-history/

[2] https://metro.co.uk/2017/05/31/what-does-covfefe-mean-and-why-was-donald-trump-tweeting-so-late-at-night-6673880/

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/laugh-your-way-well-being/201609/do-it-now

* Stop by United Presbyterian Church, Sterling KS or follow us on Facebook for the daily posting, or send us a message or an email.

One for All - Pentecost

This is a sermon that was preached on June 4, 2017 at United Presbyterian Church, Sterling, KS, my first as their pastor. Listen to the audio here.

Read Numbers 11 and Acts 2.

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You asked for it, you got it, Toyota.   

This was the jingle for a series of TV commercials back in the ‘70’s.  Someone would ask something like, “Where can I find a dependable car for under $3000?”  Bam, the car would appear, and the jingle would play.  You asked for it, you got it, Toyota.[1]

That jingle fits our Old Testament reading for today from Numbers.  The of Israel are wandering in the desert, led by Moses.  They’ve already been given the daily bread, the manna that they find on the ground every morning.  But now they’re getting tired of manna and they start complaining.  They want some meat.  Something different.  Bam, God sends them quail.  You asked for it, you got it. Lots and lots of quail.  So much that they then get sick of quail.

Complaining is a common part of the story of Israel wandering in the desert.  Not surprising.  It’s tough wandering in the desert.  What’s different in Numbers 11 is that Moses also complains.  He tells God it’s too much being responsible for all these people.  Bam.  God sends a solution.  God sends the Spirit on 70 elders to help Moses lead.

You asked for it, you got it, Holy Spirit.

We read two stories about the Holy Spirit this morning.  Connected stories – Numbers and Acts.  In Numbers, the Holy Spirit comes upon 70 elders – and those other two guys (Eldad & Medad).  Then there is Jealousy.  Hey, Mo, those two guys are stealing our spirit!

In response, Moses makes a prophecy, a wish that points forward to Pentecost.  He says, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” (11:29)

Travel forward about 1500 years.  Jesus tells the disciples in Luke 24:49, “Wait in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”  So they wait and pray, and then 50 days after the resurrection on the day of Pentecost, a big Jewish festival day, the Holy Spirit comes dramatically.  Moses’ wish is fulfilled

And then again there is jealousy.  People say, “Hey, look, they’re drunk, they’re acting weird.”

This time Peter responds.  “They aren’t drunk, it’s the Holy Spirit.” Peter reminds them of the prophesy from Joel that points forward to us.  “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and all of them, young and old, slaves and free, will prophesy and see visions and dream dreams.”

Moses wished for it.  Joel foretold it.  Jesus promised it - in John 14 he said. “I will send you a helper who will always be with you because he will be in you.”[2] 

It’s the beginning of a whole new era in the life of God’s people, the beginning of a community of faith united by the gift of the Holy Spirit – God with us in a whole new way.

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Today churches around the world are celebrating Pentecost in a variety of ways.  Some are quite creative.  There was a pastor once who had the idea that they would reenact the Pentecost story on the front steps of the church, and when he said. “Come, Holy Spirit!” a parishioner would release a white dove from up in the bell tower.  Pentecost came, and the parishioner put a pigeon in a bag, went upstairs to the bell tower and waited. When the pastor pronounced the words, nothing happened.  A few seconds later, they heard a voice from the bell tower, "Maybe I shouldn’t have put the Holy Spirit in an airtight bag!"[3]

He stifled the Holy Spirit!

One thing we see in both stories, the one in Numbers and the one in Acts, is that the Holy Spirit challenges us.  The Spirit does things that go beyond our expectations – and we, not knowing what to do with this unexpected movement of the Spirit, sometimes reject it or stifle it.

Joshua did.  He was helping Moses execute the plan – bring 70 elders to the tent to meet with God.  The Spirit came upon those 70 elders.  Fine.  But then there are those other two.  Wait!  What’s going on here?  So Joshua wanted Moses to go after Eldad and Medad because what they were doing was different, not according to the plan, outside of expectations.

There was a similar problem for those observing at Pentecost.  They were criticizing what was happening because it was different, or maybe because it wasn’t happening to them, too.  They said, “This isn’t how godly people are supposed to act!  They must be drunk.”

I have rejected the unexpected, and maybe you can think of a time you have, too.  One time was when I was in a period of transition, one of several times that I was trying to finish my bachelor’s degree, figuring out my career path.  I heard a speaker at a conference describing these times of transition as being in a dark hallway in which we’ve left one room and closed that door, but are now looking for the next door that leads us into the next room.  That was a great description for how I felt at that point – walking in the dark, trying to trust God to lead to whatever he had prepared for me beyond the next door.  But I also had the sense that I had opened a door to the next thing, and looking into that next room had seen a mountain that I either didn’t want to or didn’t know how to climb, and so I had closed the door.  I wasn’t quite sure then what that mountain represented.  Now looking back, I know it was the path to becoming a pastor, but at that point it was so far outside of my expectations that I couldn’t conceive it.  So I shut the door.  The Holy Spirit was leading but I wasn’t ready to follow yet.

We don’t always know how to deal with the unexpected ways the Spirit works. How might the Holy Spirit be working in ways that are outside our normal expectations now?  How will we respond?  Will we trust that God has already prepared the next thing for us?

We also see in these stories that the Spirit brings power.  In Numbers, that power is displayed when the elders and the two other men prophesy.  To prophesy means that they were telling about God.  In Acts, the people are also prophesying, and in addition there is that powerful, loud wind, and the tongues of fire descending onto the people’s heads. 

Theologian and reformer John Calvin says that the Spirit showed up dramatically that day so we would trust and believe the spirit had come.[4]  Trust is key.  We will not always understand the work of the Holy Spirit, but we can trust that the Spirit is working, and that the Holy Spirit is the power of God.

The situation in Numbers was challenging. The people were complaining about the manna.  When Moses talked to God about it, God said he would provide meat.  But Moses couldn’t see how it would be possible to have meat for 600,000 people.  There weren’t enough in their flocks and herds to make that possible.  God responded, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?  Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”[5]  Or in other words, “Trust me.  I’ve got this.”

And then God sent the Spirit on the 70 elders and enough quail to feed everyone for a month.  You asked for it, you got it.

The work of the Holy Spirit is sometimes dramatic like that, but not always.  Often it’s much more subtle.  The Apostle Paul tells the importance of being on the lookout for the subtle work of the Spirit. He says in 2 Corinthians, “we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (4:18)

How do we see evidence of the Spirit’s work?  [Listen to audio for congregation's answers]

Or….Here are some ways:

·       Softened hearts

·       Healed hurts

·       Comfort in the midst of pain and sorrow

·       Forgiveness

·       Creativity/inspiration

·       Unity

·       Peace (and other fruits – love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control)

We’ll be talking more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit over the next few weeks, and how the Spirit is at work in all areas of our lives.

The third thing we learn about the Holy Spirit from the stories in Numbers and Acts is that the Holy Spirit brings new life.

In Numbers, Moses was tired and frustrated with leading Israel in the wilderness.  The Holy Spirit brought new life to the community through a new shared leadership.  The people were frustrated with all that manna and God sent a wind to blow in the quail so they could have meat – new life for their diets, and renewed hope and trust in God to take care of them.

In Acts, the disciples were waiting as Jesus had told them to do, waiting to see what would happen next, now that Jesus had died and been resurrected and ascended into heaven.  Then the Spirit came and gave them a new vision, a new life as a community of faith.  This is why we call Pentecost the birthday of the church.

The Holy Spirit is an important part of our lives as people of faith.  Jesus told us to stay connected to him.  He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.  Remain in me.  Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15)  We need the Holy Spirit to be at work in us and among us to guide us, to teach us, and to strengthen us for the work that God has ahead for us.

On Pentecost we celebrate the day on which the Holy Spirit was given to all.  Moses had hoped that it would be available to all, and through Jesus Christ Moses’ wish came true.  The Holy Spirit is a tremendous gift.  God with us, living in our hearts, speaking to us.  We can ignore him, stifle him, or embrace and share him.

God clearly meant this gift to be shared.  You asked for it, you got it, Toyota.  Holy Spirit.  Actually, Toyota has the right idea in another way.  The Toyota company follows a Japanese practice called Yokoten[6] which means “across everywhere.” They apply Yokoten through what’s called “best practice sharing.”  The idea is that if a good idea is shared, then everyone benefits.  They believe in this so much that they made it a rule.  If a new idea or practice is being implemented in one area, then they are required to also share it and help implement it across the company so that everyone can benefit. 

It is interesting to ponder how we might practice Yokoten by sharing the gifts and inspiration of the Holy Spirit with one another and with the world around us.

In Numbers 11, Moses said, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” (11:29) 

Then in Acts 2 we see that very thing coming to pass.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit lives in us all, and is working among us today. 

Moses asked for it.  We got it.  One Spirit for all people.

May that same Spirit unite us and renew us so that in us the face of Jesus Christ may be clear for all the world to see.

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Then we sang verse 3 of the song we sang at the beginning of the service – Holy Spirit (Getty, Townend)

Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,

Giving life to all that God has made,

Show Your power once again on earth;

Cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.

Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.

Lead us on the road of sacrifice

That in unity the face of Christ

Will be clear for all the world to see.

Click here to listen to entire song.

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[1] One example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdhuV9iBTAE

[2] Paraphrase of John 14:15-17

[3] http://javacasa.com/humor/seasonal.htm

[4] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom36.ix.i.html

[5] Numbers 11:23

[6] http://advancedmanufacturing.org/lean-techniques-yokoten/