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.

Choosing Community Over Isolation

This is a sermon that I preached on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at United Presbyterian Church, Sterling, KS. Listen to the audio here.

Read Acts 2:42-47, Luke 24:25-32 here

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I want to read you a poem by Robert Frost.  It’s one of my favorites.

Mending Wall[1]

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,

And spills the upper boulders in the sun;

And makes gaps even two can pass abreast…[2]

I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;

And on a day we meet to walk the line

And set the wall between us once again.

We keep the wall between us as we go.

To each the boulders that have fallen to each…

There where it is we do not need the wall:

He is all pine and I am apple orchard.

My apple trees will never get across

And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.

He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder

If I could put a notion in his head:

"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it

Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offence.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That wants it down.

He will not go behind his father's saying,

And he likes having thought of it so well

He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Good fences make good neighbors. And yet, in Acts 2, we see people breaking down

fences, sharing everything.  We typically read this scripture and hold it up as the example of the perfect church.  We talk a lot about the “Acts 2 church.” It’s a beautiful, idyllic picture.  They are devoted believers, filled with awe.  They are always together.  They share everything.  They are glad and sincere, and they are growing. They are the beloved community.

There are no fences in this picture, and yet they are getting along fabulously.  They are still in their honeymoon phase as a fellowship.  Just like the first year with a new spouse, or the first year with a new pastor.  But as we read on in Acts, and in the rest of the New Testament, we see that it wasn’t long before things started to fall apart.  I find it encouraging, actually, to read 1 and 2 Corinthians and see that many of the problems we have in churches today are practically the same as the problems they were having in the early churches.  It’s easier in the beginning to get along, but as time goes on, the real work of community happens.

Early on in my life I learned a valuable lesson – if we take the time to talk to one another about our issues, we’ll be able to understand one another better and then everything will be fine.  But it’s not always quite that easy.  And so it sometimes is just easier to build fences.

Or walls.  It’s a practice that has lasted through history.  Millions of people go to China to see that great wall. They began building it all the way back in the 3^rd century BC. It’s 13,000 miles long and was built to protect the people of China from being attacked by people they referred to as “barbarians”.[3]

There’s another ancient wall in Great Britain called Hadrian’s Wall.  It was built in AD 122 very near the border between England and Scotland in anticipation of the first visit of the Roman emperor Hadrian.  This wall is 80 miles long.  There’s no good record of why it was built, but historians think it was probably built to keep out the attacks of the people they referred to as “barbarians.”[4]

We may not have walls like these between us and our neighbors.  If we do have fences here, they’re usually to keep our pets or livestock in rather than people out.  But we still build these kinds of walls around our hearts.

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” says Frost in his poem. He muses that it might be elves or nature that keep knocking stones out of the wall.  In our hearts, though, it’s the Holy Spirit.

That’s why last week, our first week in this series called Thrive@United, we talked

about how we choose life, how we choose to allow the Holy Spirit to work by saying yes to Jesus, by continually talking to God, and by moving when the Spirit says move.

The Holy Spirit is vital because it’s the Holy Spirit that keeps us connected to our source of life, Jesus Christ, and it’s the Holy Spirit that helps us see one another through God’s eyes.  It’s the Holy Spirit that gives us eyes of grace.  It’s the Holy Spirit that helps us to choose community over isolation.

Before we talk more about that, let me ask you, how many people does it take to build a wall?  It depends how deep you stack them.

We choose community over isolation because God knows how we’re made and he knows that we need to. . .

Be together.

Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. –Hebrews 10:25

I know I’m preaching to the choir in some ways with this one because you are here.  Today you chose to come to worship and in doing so you chose community over isolation, and many of you make that choice faithfully every week.  Thank you for being here.  It makes a difference that you are here. The Holy Spirit works among us when we are gathered together, and especially when we pray together.

Jesus says in Matthew 18:20 “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Where two or more are gathered, God is there, and his presence brings joy, and therefore that joy is multiplied when we’re together.  “Shared joy is double joy.”[5]  

People are not always good at being together. That’s why the Bible is so full of instructions for us about how to be better at being together. Let’s look at a few of those.

Be listeners.

To answer before listening is foolish and shameful. Proverbs 18:13

James says it, too.  “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (1:19)

One of the reasons we sometimes avoid getting together with other people is that we don’t know what to say and so it’s awkward.  Here’s the perfect solution: Listen first.  In seminary, in the class on pastoral care, this verse from Proverbs was the one thing the professor wanted to make sure we always remembered.  He made us recite it at the beginning of every class.  It was on every exam.  Say it with me…

Similarly, when we get together, we need to…

Be encouraging

Another reason we avoid getting together is that people say hurtful things to one another.  Sometimes on purpose, and sometimes not.  If we listen more than we speak, we avoid that.  Another way we avoid that is to be careful about what we say.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. –Ephesians 4:29

We thrive when we receive encouragement, but we shrivel when are criticized.  It can be easier to be critical than encouraging. That’s why I often include this verse in my prayers.  God, guard my lips…

Another important part of making community work it to...

Be forgiving

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. -- Colossians 3:13

We have a hard time being forgiving if we don’t accept it for ourselves, so we need to accept forgiveness, so we can pass it on.  Plus, it’s circular.  Jesus said…

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.  Matthew 6:14-15

Have a face of grace.

When Thomas Jefferson was president, he and a group of companions were traveling across the country on horseback. They came to a river that had left its banks and washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents, and face the very real possibility of death. A traveler who was not part of their group hesitated to attempt it, and instead to stopped to watch. After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, that traveler asked President Jefferson if he would carry him across the river. The president agreed without hesitation. The man climbed on, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the other side. As the stranger slid off the back of the horse onto dry ground, one in the group asked him, “Tell me, why did you select the president to ask this favor of?” The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the president who had helped him. “All I know,” he said, “is that on some of your faces was written the answer ‘No,’ and on some of them was the answer ‘Yes.’ His was a ‘Yes’ face.”[6]

A yes face is a forgiving face, a face of grace. Let’s ask God to help us have yes faces.

Be available.  

This week, I’m asking you to choose community.  Choose to be available to the Holy Spirit leading us to grow in the way that we are connecting with other people, growing in our relationships with people in this church and in our community.  Here are some ways we can do that:

1.     Join a small group. 

a.     There’s one starting this Tuesday night led by Arn Froese and Andy Giorgetti about reading the Bible in light of contemporary issues.  It’s a great opportunity to have conversations about what’s going on in our world and in our lives in a safe environment.  If you would like to go to that, please let us know on the yellow card along with your name and email address so that we can put you on the list for that group.

b.     There’s another opportunity starting in a few weeks on Sunday evenings led by Ginger Reed.  This group will be studying a book of the Bible.  If you’d like to be on the list for that group, let us know on the yellow card.

There are others opportunities in the works, and there will continue to be, because this is a very important part of growing together as God’s beloved community.

In both our scripture readings today, food is an important part of how people connect, just like it is in the church.  In Luke, it is not until Jesus eats with the two men that they recognize him.  Here’s some ways to put food into the equation.

2.     Invite someone to coffee or lunch

a.     Ask God to help you decide who to invite.  It might be someone inside the church that needs your encouragement or would be good encouragement to you.  Or it might be someone outside the church who doesn’t know Jesus or is struggling to follow Jesus.  Pray about it and see what name comes to mind.

3.     Coffee Time

a.     Starting in May, I’m going to be hanging out at Broadway Market on Thursdays.  Come join me and let’s get to know each other better.

b.     Or if you’d like to meet with me at a different time or place, put a note on the yellow card and we’ll set something up.

4.     Make Eye Contact

a.     It sounds so simple but it’s an important step in choosing community, but if we aren’t intentional we don’t do it. When we’re among other people we often avoid eye contact, but if we will make eye contact, we are speaking volumes to them.  We are acknowledging that they exist and are not invisible.  We are respecting them as fellow humans.  We are opening the way for further contact – maybe just a hello, maybe more.

Four good ways to start choosing community and to work on being together:

being listeners, being encouraging, being forgiving and being available. 

I love this question that Henry David Thoreau asks in his book Walden:

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”[7]

That miracle happens through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, working among us, working through us, drawing us together, and helping us to be like the beautiful community in Acts 2, helping us to see with God eyes, eyes of grace.

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 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -Romans 15:5-6

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[1] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44266/mending-wall

[2] I edited out some parts.  Read the full poem at the link above

[3] https://www.history.com/topics/great-wall-of-china

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall

[5] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/five-benefits-of-corporate-worship

[6] Swindoll, Charles R.. The Grace Awakening: Believing in Grace Is One Thing. Living it Is Another. (p. 4). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

[7] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-true-refuge/201703/looking-through-the-eyes-another