Spiritual Buoyancy, or What is Your Density?

The title of my sermon is Spiritual Buoyancy, or What is Your Density? before I get started, let's pray together

God, thank you for making us in Your image and for creating us to not just know You but to have Your Spirit live in and through us. Help us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and make room in our hearts for You.

In the 3^rd  chapter of Toward God by Michael Casey, there is an illustration that caught my eye. "A rubber ball under water submits.  Once released, it springs to the surface; and the deeper it is held, the more it strains to rise.  The human spirit possesses natural buoyancy.  It can be held down by enslavement to the senses, by acquisitiveness and ambition, by anger and violence, or by what the New Testament calls “cares.”  It can be held down, but its natural tendency remains dramatically oriented toward God.  It can never be satisfied until this upward impulse is allowed freedom." Daniel Rossi made a video to illustrate this point: show video http://youtu.be/11a6VQe1Yms

This illustration made me think about buoyancy. The ball floats because it is less dense than the water. If we took that same ball and deflated it, it most likely would sink or, at the very least, it would not float as well or for as long. If we deflated it by puncturing it, it would not be long before all of the air was gone and it began to take on water and then as it filled with water, it would be pulled deeper and deeper below the surface. To explore density a little more, let's look at these bowling balls:

Every bowling ball is the same size, but not every bowling ball has the same mass. So the heavier the bowling ball, the denser it is. A ball that is 12 lbs. will just be suspended in the water not really floating or sinking – heavier than that, it will sink; lighter than that it will float. To take the illustration even farther, it is the space, or air, inside the ball that forces it up towards the air above the water. show YouTube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeKb_xfr608 from 2:22 til 2:47 without sound

I think we are often satisfied to live like the 12 lb. bowling ball. Not sinking, but not really floating. Under the surface of the water, the voices above the water are dulled or inaudible, and the pull on us is not making us feel burdened or weighed down. It feels safe. But as Casey says, the things that are holding us down are our own lusts, our drive for power and recognition, anger and resentment – the cares and worries of this world.  The things that we think we need and want and our own agenda are weighing us down and keeping us from fellowship with God and one another.

Casey talks about the things that we naturally long for – validation, intimacy, wholeness, safety, adventure – as things that can only be met fully in God, but we often find cheap substitutes.

Pascal described it this way: “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him …"

balloon illustration

Covetous or lustful fantasies, talking about others, judgmental thoughts, escaping into the world of the internet or television, isolating, worrying what others think, sarcasm - habits that are "not that bad" "could be worse" "not hurting anyone" at the very least, keep our spiritual senses dulled and at the very worse pave the way for serious departures into destructive behaviors– a slippery slope that leads us ever so slowly to places we never intended to go. Genesis 4:7 "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

There is no neutral ground. All we have to offer God is our choice.  And each moment offers us small choices – to love or not love our neighbor, to forgive or not forgive, to bless or curse our enemy, to surrender to God or to fight against Him, to judge or judge not, to be patient & kind or to envy & keep records of wrongs. so on and so on – choices to move towards God or away from Him.

as C.S. Lewis puts it “…the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger life come flowing in. And so on, all day. We can only do it for moments at first. But from those moments a new sort of life will be spreading through our system because we are now letting him work at the right part of us."

Prayer is the way to let that other life come flowing in. We ask God to show us what is getting in the way of our relationship with Him and we ask Him to fill us anew with His Holy Spirit.

Luke 9:23-24  Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it."

Prayer is really just as simple as talking and listening to God, and the more we do it, the more buoyant our spirit becomes. How can we stay in touch with God?

lakehouse story

what objects did Jesus use to compare Himself, the kingdom, man, etc. shout em out. sheep, coins, grass, lilies, city on a hill, a wayward son, treasure, fig, mustard and fruit trees, vine, seeds, farmer, fisherman, nets, wheat, weather, wind, yeast, bread, water, wine, lamps, children, doctor, bride, judge, workers, door, salt, neighbor, widow, tax collector, building houses, money, banquet, unlikely hero of the story, rocks, pearl

do you ever see a tree? or bread? or the wind? salt?, a house being built on a foundation? God wants us to find Him – Jeremiah 29:13-14 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, and as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, He will give us everything we need.

Ask God to help you stay in touch with Him throughout your day and you will be amazed at the way He breaks into your reality over and over. Then you will say with Jacob: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” Genesis 28:16

C.S. Lewis Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. 

Once we have said yes to God, the relationship is started and our true life is hidden with God in Christ. Prayer is the way we tap into that life. As Casey says “Prayer is an attempt to realize the love that unites us with God, allow it to become more present to us, and give it greater scope to act upon us and change us. We do not produce prayer. We allow prayer to act.”

Casey goes on to say that sometimes events or temptations; pain of our own making or pain inflicted on us act as a wake-up call. Like the ball plunged underwater, our impulse is to spring towards God gasping for breath. as C.S. Lewis says “…pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Casey calls these moments “triggers of prayer” – we see this over and over again in the story of Israel as they cry out to God in times of oppression and distress.

God wants to be in a constant conversation with you and He will try to get (and keep) your attention in whatever ways He can. Look for Him –God is our refuge and strength, a help in distresses, very readily found.

When Jesus disciples asked Him how to pray He gave them what we now call “the Lord’s Prayer” this prayer is so beautiful and profound, but I am afraid that its significance can be drowned out by familiarity. So to close today, in the rev rag is the Lord’s Prayer with a space for you to write it out in your own words. As you do this, think about what Jesus trying to say about how to pray? When the disciples heard it from Jesus it was new to them. How can you hear it in a new way today?

blog at JPUSA

I had a blog post at the official JPUSA blog check it out!

Who's Writing the Story?

The 11^th and 12^th grade students and I have been storying through the Bible together this year. The curriculum, called Echo the Story, written by Michael Novelli, is taking us through the major stories of the Bible. The catch is that we are supposed to try to hear the stories as if we had never heard them before. As we read more and more of them we can reference back to ones that we have read and try to find the connections between them.

One of the techniques that is suggested for hearing the story in a new way is to imagine it as a movie. If I were watching this as a movie, what would I notice? Who are the characters? What would stand out? What story is the director trying to tell us?

As I approached this text, I tried to hear it for the first time. The movie that I saw, and this sermon, could be titled "Who's writing the story?"

Let's pray: Father God, thank you for giving us life. Jesus, thank you for showing us the way to live. Holy Spirit come and lead us into Your truth. 

We can see from the stories about Peter that he is a man of action. He is quick to give his opinion and to say what the others maybe are thinking but are too timid to say. He is daring. He challenges Jesus on several occasions – "if you say so." "If it's really you…"" that won't happen to You." he's a tough guy. He almost seems like Jesus' bodyguard. 

So here we are at the Passover. This is a religious observance the scope of which the western world can't imagine. The entire city of Jerusalem is observing these holy days. People have come from all over the region to participate. Hundreds of thousands of people. Jesus has ridden through the town with crowds of people shouting and cheering for Him. Jesus has gone into the temple and thrown the tables around. Peter is right there with him. This is IT! Bring it! 

They gather together for their marching orders. Peter is ready to hear how he can be a part of the revolution! But Jesus is taking off His clothes and dressing like a slave. He is starting to wash the feet of the others. Peter says "not me! Don't wash my feet!" Jesus responds by saying, "you can't be a part of My inner circle unless I wash your feet." "in that case, says Peter, wash my head and hands too! – count me IN!"

Jesus then tells them some more of what is about to happen. This is the big moment. The pep-talk.  The rousing battle cry. Peter is waiting for the plan. What Jesus is saying doesn't quite compute. Talk about death and suffering. This again? Come on Jesus, get to the good stuff. Then Jesus starts to talk about being betrayed and having to leave. This gets Peter's attention "where are you going?!" Jesus says, "you can't come with Me now. you'll have to wait." Peter is anxious to act "why can't I come now?! I am ready to die for you!" Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.

in another account of this same story, Jesus quotes an old testament scripture and tells the disciples that it will be fulfilled by them. Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ …Peter speaks up again, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

They all take a half mile walk together outside the city to a more rustic location. A mountainside with a garden. Jesus seems stressed out. He asks His friends to wait and pray with Him. Not exactly the type of orders Peter is looking for. So he falls asleep. He awakes to the sound of a crowd. People are coming for Jesus. suddenly Peter leaps up, draws a sword and attacks! He cuts off someone's ear! I did not see that coming! where did he get a sword? why this sudden violence? Jesus puts the guy's ear back on and asks Peter to back off. "Am I not supposed to do God's will?! put your sword away!"

They arrest Jesus. Take Him away. Peter is not daunted. He is not going to fall away. He is going to go where Jesus is going. "I'll show You how wrong You are, Jesus!" He goes in and sits with the guards and waits to see how it would all end. He's in the courtyard. Someone recognizes him. "hey you are one of that man's followers, right?" Peter wants to stay close to Jesus. He is formulating a plan. "no, not me." Can't blow his cover. Now Peter is warming himself by the fire. What to do next? How can I get Jesus out of here? "you are with that guy, aren't you?" Peter stills denies it. In one account it says that an hour passes before they notice his accent and say, "you are not from around here, you must be with that prisoner" now Peter gets mad and starts yelling and swearing that he doesn't know Him. Right then the rooster crows. In Luke's gospel it says "At that moment Jesus turns and looks at Peter. Suddenly, the words flash through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter leaves the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

two things hit me when I read this story:

what if Jesus hadn't predicted the denials?

and

why is Peter crying?

If Jesus hadn't predicted Peter's denials, would he have even acknowledged them? or noticed? he seems clearly preoccupied. He has a sword which he has already used once, and he has made some bold statements. He has an agenda – his own version of the story that he is trying to bring about. When we abandon Jesus story for our own, all bets are off. "What's the big deal? If I say I am with Jesus I blow my cover and then what help will I be to Him?" He doesn't seem at all bothered by saying it. Oh, the things we justify when we think we know better than Jesus.

So now this tough guy is crying bitterly. why? Because he feels bad that he said he didn't know Jesus? That's part of it for sure. But there's a bigger story going on here. Jesus looks at him and His words come back to Peter. Who does that? Who tells you specifically what you are going to do within a certain time frame? If someone said to me "before dinner tonight, you will have 3 conversations about Abraham Lincoln" and I say "you're crazy, I never talk about Abraham Lincoln" and go about my day. When dinnertime rolls around if that had happened despite my best efforts to keep it from happening, I would freak out! "How did you know that?!!" "Did you make that happen?!"

I think that when the rooster crowed, something extraordinary happened to Peter. I think in that moment he realized that Jesus was God! A personal prophecy fulfilled on his behalf. To show Peter that He was in charge. To show Peter His power.  To show Peter that His Words are True.

In that moment, Peter knew there would be no rescue. Peter knew that Jesus had to die. He finally pieced it together. This to me seems like something a tough guy like Peter would weep about. Not being able to save Jesus. Sitting idly by as His Friend, His Master, His Commanding Officer is taken away to be killed.

Peter finally gets it. His aha moment comes as the rooster crows. He surrenders.

It's not his story to write. It's God who is writing the story. And He still is. The script is right here for us. The more difficult parts played by the most ordinary folks. 

Jesus has told us what is going to happen and how to respond. There will be trouble. Take heart. Turn the other cheek. Remain in Me. Love your enemies. Leave it all behind for my sake. Forgive. Don't worry about your life. Carry your cross.

But we, like Peter, say to Him, "Heaven forbid! that's not the way the story is supposed to go. You are supposed to take on the bad guys, save us from this oppression, and lead the rebellion." "That's more like Satan's way of doing things", Jesus reminds us. "I have to be obedient to My Father. You would be better off doing the same."

not my will, but Yours.  not my way, but Yours.  not my plan, but Yours. not my story, but Yours.

Before I wrap up, I want to show you a clip from a movie. I am sorry if you have not seen it before because it is truly outstanding. The name of the film is "Stranger than Fiction" and it is about a man named Harold Crick who is hearing voices. Not voices, a voice. A narrator, in fact, who is narrating his every move. He is being driven quite mad by this and seeks the help of a literature professor.  Eventually, this professor recognizes the voice in Harold's head as a famous writer who always kills off her main character. Harold meets his author and she gives him the finished novel. He reads it and gives it to his professor friend to read.

This is the scene after the professor finishes the book: Stranger than fiction - You have to die - YouTube

I won't tell you what Harold chooses. because it's a great film and you should go watch it if you haven't seen it. But I will tell you that we all have this same choice. So go ahead if you want to: play it safe, find a way out of difficult situations, avoid being a part of the larger story. But even if you choose to hide from your Author now, His story will prevail. What God says will happen is TRUTH. As the professor says, "even if you avoid this death, another will find you. And I guarantee that it won't be nearly as meaningful as what the Author has written. The hero dies, and the story goes on forever."

I will leave you with this quote from Frederick Buechner:

"…the life you clutch, hoard, guard, and play safe with is in the end a life worth little to anybody, including yourself; and only a life given away for love’s sake is a life worth living. To bring this point home, God shows us a Man who gave His life away to the extent of dying a national disgrace without a penny in the bank or a friend to His name. In terms of men’s wisdom, He was a perfect fool, and anybody who thinks he can follow Him without making something like the same kind of fool of himself is laboring not under a cross, but a delusion."

Let us pray:

God You say in Your Word that the one who loses his life for Your sake will find it. Help us to find our true life in You. Help us to surrender to You and let You write Your story Your way. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  In the name of Your Son Jesus, our Example and our Friend. Amen

BENEDICTION:

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.