Sermon for 05/04/08

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Sermon for 05/04/08
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Easter 7, Time's Up – Put Your Pencils Down –
John 17:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: Jesus knew that His time had come. Was He ready? Yes. With satisfaction He tells us that He has accomplished what the Father sent Him to do. And He prays that God is glorified in it. Whether we too will find satisfaction when our time has come, or instead deal with shame, will depend on whether we have listened to God’s will for our life. Have we spent it giving glory to Him? Have we truly lived, or just existed? We were made for the glory of God – may He glorify us in His presence!

1) PUT YOUR PENCILS DOWN! Every person who has ever been a student has heard these words from their teacher: “Class, time’s up. Put your pencils down!” Whether it was the classic opening-day assignment, “In one paragraph, tell me what you did on your summer vacation”, or whether it was the SAT tests, or a quiz, or a group project… the teacher jolted our concentration with those words: PUT YOUR PENCILS DOWN! And finished or not, you were to stop! Ready or not, it’s over! If the task got completed – Great! If not, tough! There is no more time! Turn it in just as it is! Put your pencils down! Have you been there?

2) SATISFIED OR ASHAMED! To you (Confirmands) kids who are in school and can’t wait until you’re out so you never have to hear those words again – surprise! The type of “life experience” those words represent never goes away. Whenever any of us (old or young), take on a task, sooner or later it comes to a stop! Finished or not, the moment comes when we run out of time. And we may be satisfied with what we have done, or we may feel we are not ready or done yet, but never mind; the time to stop has come. And either we are happy because we have done our best, or we feel ashamed because we just aren’t ready to hear those words – “Put your pencils down!”

3) TIMES UP! All of life is like that! If we’re at our place of employment, the day eventually ends. The clock tells us – time’s up! Either we go home feeling like we have accomplished something, or we ignore the clock and keep working past quitting time, because we haven’t accomplished much. But eventually everyday comes to an end – and we face the truth; Time’s up! If we’re raising children, eventually they turn 18, and they leave the nest – times up. A panicked parent cannot back up the clock because they still have so much to teach their kids. Likewise, if we’re retired, we either put our frazzled bones to bed feeling good that we have used our leisure time for something that matters, or we end our day clicking the channel changer – feeling bored – wondering how the day got past you without accomplishing anything useful. Like it or not, every day comes to an end, whether we are finished with what we wanted to do, or not. At the end of everything, someone says “put your pencils down” …and it won’t cut any ice if you whine “But I wasn’t finished yet!” Times up!

4) WHEN? And here’s the scary part, when it comes to our life’s work, our purpose for being here, the block of time on earth that we have been given to serve God, - well,… we don’t know when that time will come to an end, do we? When the trumpet of the Lord sounds for you, and your life comes to an end – when God says, “Hey Chuck, Bob, Mary,… it’s time! PUT YOUR PENCILS DOWN”, write no more, come with me…your life’s work has ended – well, what will be our reaction? When that day comes, and every day that passes until then, either we will feel wonderful satisfaction because we have done our best work, or we will feel profound shame that we have failed to do what we were called to do. We may not know right now when that time will come – but it will come!

5) JESUS! One day, as our Gospel lesson pointed out, Jesus heard the Father say, “Put your pencil down! Your work is over; the hour has come.” And here’s the amazing part: Even though the next step, which was the cross, was going to be extremely painful – Jesus felt satisfaction, not shame. He felt accomplishment, not agony. True, there would be no more teaching on the hills of Galilee, or miraculous healings, no more encounters with the Pharisees, no more turning water into wine – no those days are over – time’s up – but then Jesus is ready. His faithful listening to God, following His will, depending on the Father’s power – this allowed Jesus to proclaim in verse 4, “I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me.”

6) LIVING OR EXISTING? Someday, (who knows – maybe it’s tomorrow and maybe it’s decades from now), the Father will make it clear, it’s time for you to put your pencil down. Will you be able to look into His loving eyes and say with excitement, “Oh Lord, I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me.”? You and I both know there is a difference between “living” and just “existing”, right? Unfortunately a vast amount of people in America and around the world are just existing. They wake up, go to school or work or keep house, or struggle to survive, but they have no sense of purpose in their lives. Their happiness and fulfillment in life depends solely on their circumstances or their achievements – but inside, they are empty. That’s existing!

7) THE WORK GOD GAVE US? So what makes the difference: between “existing”, and living that rich and abundant life that Jesus offers us? What’s the difference between coming to a time of closure in our life and feeling satisfaction instead of disappointment? Jesus makes it clear why He is ready and satisfied – because He knew what the work was that He had been given to do, and that it glorified God! He showed us that the difference between merely “existing” and truly “living” the abundant life comes from discovering and acting upon the work God gave us! Which of course, brings us to ask ourselves two important questions:

1) Do I know what my work is in building the Kingdom?

2) And secondly, am I doing it and bringing glory to God in the process?

8) SPIRTUAL GIFTS AND A PURPOSE! For 13 years I have preached and taught and shared with you the Biblical understanding of Spiritual Gifts – and yet it is possible that some of you still don’t know “if” you have a Spiritual Gift or what it is. I have proclaimed the verses again and again in Galatians and other places that tell you God wants to use you! Not just save you, but to use you! He has a niche for you in His body. And the Bible says that each has been given a spiritual gift, and a divine ability to carry out the purpose that He has for your life. And I believe that we stop merely “existing” when we honestly ask God to show us what His purpose is for us in the body of Christ, and how we have been gifted for it. If we ask, God will reveal our spiritual gift and purpose to us!

9) SNADRA HEALY: Let me give you a recent example: Sandra Healy came into the church a while back and learned about Spiritual Gifts in the new member’s class. She learned that IF you are using your Spiritual Gifts three things happen – 1) You are energized by it, not drained, 2) Fulfilled by it, and 3) Successful in using it. She began praying about it and slowly exploring what her true gift may be! Step-by-step, God is helping her discover that her true gifts come in care-giving and one-on-one shepherding with others. She has been checking in with me regularly for names of people in the church who might need a friendly phone call or visit, and the people she has contacted have been blessed by it immensely. So it did not surprise me when Sandra called this week to ask what I thought about her taking a class offered through St Francis Hospital. It trains people how to create and run “grief support” groups. I told her it would be an answer to prayer. I have had numerous members struggling with grief over lost loved ones this year – folks who would have been blessed by such a group here at All Saints’. And I felt it would be a great outreach to the community. I told Sandra to go for it and I rejoice with her as her joy is increasing because she asked Christ and He is faithfully revealing His purpose to her. And… the church, (the body of Christ), is increasingly being blessed! Likewise, any of us can do the same; you just need to ask Him and He will show you!

10) WHAT GETS IN OUR WAY? Unfortunately some of us don’t ask, …so ….what gets in our way? Well, the fact is, Jesus is more interested in revealing our purpose in His Body, than you and I are in knowing it! Many of us are content – content to keep on going through our boring routines, than we are in stepping out in faith and trying something we’ve never done before. Maybe we’re selfishly more interested in being a consumer of God’s love, than we are in being a servant. Perhaps we’re afraid of failure, or change, or being stretched. We may try to rationalize our decisions by saying “Hey, this life of “existence” may not be fulfilling but it’s comfortable.” But ask yourself this:

* Is it possible - that some of us never seem to “get a break in life”, because we keep chasing the wrong things?

* Is it possible some of us have a hard time following through and finishing the things we start, because deep inside we know they aren’t important and will never fill the “void” inside?

* Is it possible that our “weariness” in life comes because we have not pursued God’s purpose?

It is important to reflect upon the abundant, joy-filled life Christ desires for us, and then ask the question “What gets in our way?”

11) WEARY VS. TIRED! Anybody know what the difference is between being “tired” and “weary”? When you have been working hard to accomplish something meaningful, then you get tired. When we tax our bodies and minds, we need rest! But there’s a reason the old Spiritual Song used to suggest, “Don’t you get weary children, don’t you get weary!” Weary is being frustrated! Weary is being strung out! Weary is whacking away at a job or task and seeing little or nothing coming out of it. Weary is flailing away at things to do, simply because they are things to do. We get weary in heart and spirit because our life just doesn’t mean anything! We get worn out; exhausted! Why? Because spiritually we are disconnected.

12) DOING THE WILL OF GOD! Yeh, there’s a significant difference between being tired (but satisfied), and being weary! And it all has to do with whether you are doing the will of God! Haven’t you ever wondered why one person can work and work and work, day after day, year after year, and stay fresh! While another dabbles at their work, gets bored, and just plain weary after such a short time! One is spiritually connected and fed, and the other isn’t! The difference boils down to whether the thing you are doing is faithful to your gifts, AND …glorifying God! (REPEAT) The secret is discovering and doing the will of God!

13) GIVE GLORY! Does anyone (any of you confirmands) know what it means to “give glory” to God? It means you are doing something that makes God visible, or lifts Him up before others. If you can find in a job or a task - a way to honor God, to witness to Him, to make His love and grace visible to the world around you through the things you say or do, then you are giving glory to God! And you’ll discover God will make sure you’ll always have the energy and resources to complete that job or task! But if you are just working to be working, if you’re just busy to be busy, if you’re spinning like a hamster in a wheel and going nowhere, then chances are it has nothing to do with the Lord’s claim on your life,… and you will be weary and frustrated long before you hear the words, “Put your pencils down!” (Hear me confirmands…) The key to the abundant life is to continually seek the Holy Spirit’s help in living a life that gives glory to God! When the time comes to put your pencil down at the end of your life, I pray your life will confirm the truth: it is the work done for the glory of God that satisfies!

14) GOD! (Confirmands, I ask you, and everyone else here…) Have you askedGod to help you uncover and then use your gifts, …in order to give glory to God in your daily lives? Age is not a hindrance and is irrelevant to this truth! Maybe you are young… a student: is it possible to study for God’s glory? Maybe you are retired from paid employment; so,… has your freed-up time given you a new sense of God’s call? Maybe you dig ditches, maybe you type documents, maybe you teach children, maybe you baby-sit the grandkids – what does it all mean? Is God in it, or is it just another thing to do? Do you have satisfaction? You will if what you do and say is focused on serving and glorifying God!

15) JESUS: READY AND SATISFIED! In the Gospel today we see that Jesus recognized what time it was in His own life; and yet, when the Father called Him, He was ready. “Put your pencil down Jesus”. And He did! No regrets, no mad scramble to do more. And Jesus knew that what He had done was in the will of God, according to God’s call, and He had done His work to bring glory to God. “Put your pencils down” – that held no terror for Jesus. He was satisfied with His work.

16) I HAVE GLORIFIED YOU! Friends, you and I sit here this morning saved by the grace of Easter, and embraced in the loving arms of our Creator, because …Jesus faithfully followed the will of the Father for His life, and at the end of His journey, He was able to say I have glorified you!” Indeed He did glorify the Father in everything He said and did! And now Christ sends you His Holy Spirit – who awaits eagerly to show you what your gifts are, and empower you to live and serve in ways that also brings glory to God. (Confirmands and friends…) Invite Him in. Alone you can do nothing, but this morning Christ comes again revealing the truth…

* …filled with the Holy Spirit you can replace your weariness with the healthy, satisfying, and joyful tiredness that comes from claiming and accomplishing the life-ging purpose that God has for you,…

* …filled with the Holy Spirit it will not be profound shame and disappointment that you will experience, but wonderful satisfaction,…

* …filled with the Holy Spirit you will not feel agony, but true accomplishment!

And then, like Jesus, when the final day and hour comes, and you hear the words for the last time, “Put your pencils down!”, you can smile, knowing the Holy Spirit empowered you to have faithfully served Him and lived a life that has given God Glory! And then like Jesus, you too can say excitedly, “Oh Lord, I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me.” Praise God AMEN!

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that we often settle for a busy, stressful, or comfortable routine rather than seeking a way of life that gives you glory. We forget that praising, worshipping, and serving you is our divine destiny. We forget that making you visible to others around us through the things we say and do is our calling. We forget that the joy and fulfillment we seek comes only we serve you with the Spiritual gifts you have laid upon us. We ask you to reveal these gifts to (these confirmands, and to) us, and fill each with your Spirit that all might be empowered to use them to bring you glory.

Lord, many of us are weary. We feel we our life is a flurry of meaningless activity. Help us Lord. If we are to discover the full rich abundant life that only you can give, we need your help! Free us from the fears and anxiety that keep us from letting you change our way of life. Forgive and destroy the sin that demands that our way, our desires, our needs… be met first! Remove our weariness and fill us at the end of each day with the knowledge that what we have done is meaningful and Christ-like. Guide us through each day to see the opportunities to touch others with your love and thereby bring you glory.

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and made anew.

(Silence)

Lord, you finished your stay here on earth in the knowledge that you had finished the work the Father had given you. And the world has been blessed. Help us now, to finish each day satisfied that we have been about your work, serving according to your will, and bringing you the glory. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who brings you purpose and joy, has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. May you experience the blessings of Easter every day, as you use you Spiritual gifts to faithfully serve Him! And may every task you go about, be done in a way that gives Him Glory! Amen

Opening prayer: Easter Week 7, John 17:1-11

Dear Heavenly Father, you have invited us here this morning, not because of our works, or accomplishments, or our holiness. You have gathered us here simply because You love us and long to pour out Your abundant blessings upon us. Thank You Lord! We are so ready to receive them. The gifts of faith, hope, and love – our hearts ache for them. Forgiveness, healing, renewal – we are happily addicted to these divine blessings. Your wisdom, teaching, and guidance – we are lost without them. But having received these miracles of true life, help us respond in a way that demonstrates how much we love You. Receive our praise and worship, but also empower us to go back out into the world with a clearer understanding of Your will and purpose for our lives. Should we be open enough, brave enough, and thankful enough to discover our spiritual gifts, give us the power to use them to bring glory to You. Help us make Your love and grace visible to others through the things we do and say. Don’t just save us Lord, but use us to change the world – one heart at a time! In Jesus Name we Pray! AMEN

First Lesson: Acts 1:6-14

Next week we celebrate the birth of the church, but before the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples, Jesus must meet with His disciples on the Mount of Olives one more time, and then He departs for heaven. As we read the first lesson, listen to the promise of Jesus, and then notice what the disciples devote themselves to doing until the promise is fulfilled. Then ask yourselves if we should not be doing the same today.

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