8/5/12 - Pentecost 10 - 2 Cor. 9:8-11

YOU'VE GOT IT ALL

Blessings from Small to Great

            You’ve got it all.  And I mean that!  You’ve got it all.  Now I understand that most of us in this room don’t usually think of ourselves in that way.  We might think of others in that way: “He has that and I don’t… She’s blessed in that way and I’m not… I can list a whole bunch of different things that I want but don’t yet have and so maybe he’s got it all or she’s got it all but I certainly don’t.”  But the truth of it is: You do have it all.  Because you have everything you need and much, much more. 

            Let’s start with the little things, the small blessings.  You’ve got taste buds, for example.  The Lord didn’t have to bless you in that way but he did: he made sure that every single food had a distinct flavor and a specific nuance with thousands of different combinations.  And you can taste that!  Or think of the colors of this world.  The Lord didn’t have to bless you with eyes that could see in that full spectrum of beauty; but he did.  Instead of black and white and shades of grey, most have the ability to see a deep dark red, a scarlet red, a rose-colored red, a brick red, a bright red, a faded red, a soft red, an apple red… and your eye can tell the difference! 

            Let’s move on to some blessings that might not be so wide-spread.  Next time you walk into the grocery store go to the bread aisle.  Count how many brands of sliced bread there are.  And then count how many varieties of bread in each brand.  And then count how many actual bags of bread there are on those shelves in that half aisle.  They might not all belong to you but you have been given access to them all.  The Lord has provided them for you to enjoy.

            When you walk into your house later today, stop in the living room and count all of the things you see that are now yours.  Furniture, pictures on the wall, knickknacks on the end tables… There will be hundreds of things you will see.  And they are all yours.  Consider your family: both immediate and extended family.  Consider how important those people are to you; how much happiness they bring; the comfort and the confidence they provide.  Look around you right now: the building that you’re in and what it is filled with.  Look at the brothers and sisters in faith next to you.  Look at the cross in front of you.  Ahh, now we’re getting into the big blessings, the weighty gifts of our Lord: the sacrifice there on that cross, the powerful effect of forgiveness from the cross through the body and blood, the forgiveness from the cross through the water of baptism, the forgiveness from the cross through the spoken words of God’s love.  You’ve got it all: salvation, eternal life, peace, joy, comfort, and a whole slew of other temporal blessings as long as you live on this earth.  You’ve got it all.  The question is: what are you going to do with it all?

Corinthian Offering

            This is the question that the congregation in the city of Corinth had to answer for themselves.  The apostle Paul was in the middle of his 3^rd missionary journey.  And before he made his way back to the city of Corinth, he decided to write a second letter to them preparing them for his arrival.  In this letter he describes them as people who had it all.  But as you read through a few of these verses again, don’t just pay attention to what they had been given; notice the reason why Paul says they had been given everything.  “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’  Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You are being made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”

            They had been given it all.  But why?  So that they could enjoy life?  Partly.  So that they could praise the Lord for all that he had given them?  In a way.  But the main reason why the Lord had given them so much was so that they could give much to others.  “You are being made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”

            Paul was going to be passing through Corinth on his way to Jerusalem.  He had been collecting offering from the cities he visited for those in Jerusalem and the congregation in Corinth had promised to pitch in.  Paul’s letter is a reminder to these Christians about what they had said as well as an encouragement to be as generous as possible.  And he did that by showing them that they had it all.  They Lord had supplied them with everything they needed so that they could in turn supply the needs of others.

It’s All Mine!

            If you read through the two letters to this congregation you’ll understand why Paul needed to give them this encouragement: they were a little selfish at times, a little arrogant, a little self-centered.  They hadn’t proven to be very loving and giving in the past even though they had it all and Paul wanted to prompt them with the Word of God to excel in this opportunity to praise their Lord.

            I need that kind of prompting too.  Because I’m not always so generous.  I’m usually more like a spiritual 2 year old: “I want that.  I want that now.  And once I get it I want to keep it.  It’s mine!  Not anyone else’s!  It’s mine!”  And I’m not just talking about money here or the things we can put your hands on; but I’m talking about things like the time the Lord has blessed us with, the abilities, the skills, the opportunities that may be ours but those that are ours to give.  But as a spiritual 2 year old I don’t always want to spend my time looking for ways to help others; I want to spend it on myself.  I don’t always want to spend the effort to use my abilities to make life easy for others; I want to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet by myself.  I don’t always want to take advantage of those opportunities to lend a hand when others need it because that would mean a lot of work on my part, a lot of complications and headaches that I could avoid if I just didn’t get involved.  I may have it all but I want to keep all of it for me!

            Do you remember Judas Iscariot?  He, of course, was the disciple who betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the one who sold him out for 30 pieces of silver, the one who eventually hung himself because he felt so guilty for what he had done.  But Judas had also been the treasurer for that group of disciples.  The Bible says that Judas was in charge of the money bag that they lived off of and that they undoubtedly distributed to the poor and less-fortunate, but Judas would regularly help himself to the contents of that bag.  He would keep some for himself instead of giving it away as it was intended.

            Don’t we end up being like Judas sometimes?  “You are being made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”  We have been entrusted with God’s moneybag so to speak.  We have been given responsibility over the blessings that the Lord wants distributed to others.  And so when we keep a tight fist around those blessings and stuff them in our own pockets, we have negated the reason why the Lord gave us those blessings in the first place.  He wanted to bless others through us.  But sometimes we have different ideas with those blessings.  Because we are a little bit selfish or greedy or just plain unloving.   

It’s All for You

            Of course, the story of Judas doesn’t just remind us of our sins, it also demonstrates how much our Lord loves sinners.  When Jesus knew that Judas was taking money out of the money bag for himself, what did Jesus do?  Did he kick him out of his chosen group of disciples?  Did he make his sins public for all to see?  Did he immediately condemn him for such a wicked act?  No.  Amazingly, if you read the story at the beginning of the 12^th chapter of the book of John, Jesus pointed Judas to his coming resurrection.  And he allowed more and more money to come into that treasury.  And when Jesus realized that Judas was going to betray him for a handful of coins, he reached out to Judas and even allowed Judas to celebrate the Passover with him.  And when Jesus was hypocritically kissed on the cheek by Judas in the Gethsemane an armed mob waited to arrest him, Jesus gently reminded Judas about who he was and that he still loved him.  Jesus continued to shower blessings on Judas despite his greed and selfishness and sinfulness!  The blessings never stopped!  In fact, we might even say that the blessings increased the worse Judas was.

            But that’s what the Lord does: he increases the blessings specifically at those times when we don’t deserve them.  When you are aware of the awful amount of your sins, does Jesus hold a grudge against you?  Does he make you pay?  No!  Instead he reminds you about how much he has already paid for your sins and points you back to the forgiveness at his cross!  When you step into this building after an terrible week of selfishness and greed, does he take all of your blessings away because of your ungratefulness?  No!  He gives you even more as he offers you his real body and blood in the Lord’s Supper and the forgiveness that comes with it!  When you are overwhelmed with guilt and can’t seem to get over the sins hat plague you every day, does the Lord give up on you for being so pitiful?  No!  He gently leads you back to your baptism where those sins were drowned; he leads you back to your Christian brothers and sisters where you can be comforted; he leads you back to his Word where you can be strengthened in the forgiveness it proclaims. 

            You may be greedy at times but the Lord is always gracious.  You may be selfish at times, but the Lord is continually generous.  You may be downright nasty at times, but the Lord is nothing but forgiving.  He always gives and gives and gives.  And he gives it all to you.  You’ve got it all.

The Lord Re-Supplies

            And so we come back to the same question that we asked before: If you do have it all, what are you going to do with it all?  Keep it or share it?  Hoard it or distribute it?  Quickly stuff a handful in your pocket so that no one else can have a chance or open your hands as wide as possible so that everyone can see what’s available?  And there are many practical ways to be generous, aren’t there?  You can certainly throw some money in the offering plate on Sunday mornings; that’s a good and God-pleasing thing to do.  And you can contribute to the preschool and the giving tree; that’s a fine thing to do to.  But generosity doesn’t just have to be connected with the church.  Sure you can help out with the carnival next week; sure you can participate in inviting new movers to Montrose to visit us here; sure you can take time to spread wood chips on playground or wash the windows of the sanctuary; but your generosity can be put into practice at home too.  Give to your spouse and then give some more.  Give to your children and then give some more.  Give to your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends.  Give them your time, your energy, your efforts… anything that they could use, give it.  And the Lord will re-supply.  He has an endless storehouse of blessings with which he can restock what you have given away.  Trust him: you are not going to be able to give away more than what he can give back to you.  Because that’s what he intended all along: he wants you to give what he has given to you!  “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”  Giving to others what has been given to you is the whole point!  And you have been given it all.  You’ve got it all.  What are you going to do with it?

            Amen.

“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.  Amen.”  - Phil. 4:19-20

7/29/12 - Pentecost 9 - Numbers 27:12-23

A JOB TOO BIG

The Successor to Moses

            Moses was about to die.  He had led the people of Israel for years, but the Lord had made it known to him that he would not be the one to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land that they had waited so long to enter.  And so Moses prayed, “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”  The Lord granted this last request of Moses by choosing a man named Joshua.  He was to lead the people of Moses passed away.  But I can’t imagine Joshua was too thrilled with the position at first.  Because not only was he supposed to be the new leader for the entire nation of Israel, he was also supposed to take over the reigns from Moses himself!  Moses was the only leader God’s people had ever known since they came out of Egypt.  Moses was the one through whom the Lord performed all of those incredible miracles - including the Ten Plagues against Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  Moses was the one who raised his staff over the Red Sea at God’s command and made a dry path right through the middle.  Moses was the one who talked to God face to face up on the mountain.  Moses was the one who received the actual Ten Commandments inscribed by the Lord’s own hand on stone tablets.  Moses was the one through whom God brought water out of a rock so that the people would not die of thirst, the one through whom God held the sun back in the sky so that the Israelites could gain the victory over the Amalekites, the one through whom God miraculously fed his people with those white wafers called “manna” every morning as they traveled through the desert.  For over 40 years Moses had led the people of God.  But now it was Joshua’s turn.

            Can you imagine stepping into that role?  Who could take over for a man like Moses?  Who could live up to those kinds of expectations?  Joshua was much younger than Moses; Joshua wasn’t related to Moses and so there wasn’t a natural succession by birth; in fact, Joshua had been nothing more than Moses’ aid, his administrative assistant if you will, before the Lord chose him to be the next leader.  What an intimidating position to be in!  What an intimidating job Joshua was chosen to do!

Joshua’s Job was Too Big for Him

            Joshua had a big job in front him.  He was supposed to lead the entire people of Israel across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land for the very first time.  And not only that, he was also supposed to make sure that the millions of people under his care were to go to their allotted areas of land that had been assigned to each of the tribes of Israel.  And not only that, Joshua was also supposed to be the military leader of the people - charging into battle against the multiple enemies that they would inevitably face.  And not only that, he was also to serve as the Supreme Court for the major decisions of the people.  And not only that, he was also dealing with a group of people that had been notoriously disobedient throughout their history, a nation who had complained, protested, and rebelled against Moses and the Lord for decades.  And if they had done those things against God and against Moses, what were they going to do when Joshua was in charge?  This job wasn’t just big, it was too big for Joshua to handle - even without considering his own faults and shortcoming.

            Joshua certainly had plenty of personal defects, just like we all do.  He may have been a Christian leader but he was far from a perfect leader.  He undoubtedly had his weaknesses, his lapses in judgment, his own personality flaws.  He couldn’t have been prepared for every single incident that came up; he couldn’t have made exactly the right decision every single time.  And so Joshua had to have been a little intimidated by what lay ahead of him.  Not only because of the magnitude of the work, but also because of the inadequacy of his own abilities to handle it.

We Have a Job Too Big for Us

            Over the past three weeks we’ve been focusing our attention on the “Challenges of Preaching.”  We as Christians have been called on by the Lord to preach - to proclaim - the message of salvation to the people of this world.  And that message is this: We are sinful to the core.  We cannot get to heaven on our own.  And so Jesus came to this earth on his own.  He lived the perfect life we could not.  He died a terrible death to take our place.  He rose from the dead to conquer death.   And now we get to go to heaven because of his work.  Free of charge.  No strings attached.  That is the simple and powerful gospel message.  But there are certain challenges that go along with sharing that message!

            Two weeks ago we looked at the challenge of feeling rejected by those we want to share the gospel with.  Last week we looked at the challenge of feeling unqualified for the job we have been given to do.  This morning we are looking at the challenge of feeling intimidated by the enormity and importance of the work in front of us. And it is intimidating, isn’t it?  We are to bring this Word of God to those who do not yet know it?  We are to speak about the Savior to those who refuse him?  We are to invite, encourage, and offer to bring people to hear something that they have never heard before?  And this has eternal implications?  Our work will be used to determine what happens to these people after they die - whether they end up in heaven or hell?  That’s intimidating!  This job and how we carry it out is of serious consequence!  I would even say that it’s a job too big for us to handle.

            Because think about who we are: not only is the job itself of utmost importance, we are far too flawed to do the job well.  At least I am.  I know that I am usually too lazy to put in the effort that it takes.  I know that I am usually too distracted to keep my mind focused on the task at hand.  I know that I am usually too intimidated to invite and encourage like I should.  I know that I am usually too selfish to step out of my comfort zone for the sake of souls.  This all-important job of sharing the Good News about Jesus: his life and his perfection, his death and his forgiveness, his resurrection and his victory - this job is too big for me.  I cannot handle it.  I cannot carry it out with the integrity and the faithfulness that it demands.  And I have proven that throughout my life.

Joshua’s Help

            I can’t help but imagine that Joshua had some of those same misgivings about himself.  When he was told for the very first that he was going to be the next leader of the Israelite nation, he had to have been at least a little nervous about how big the job was going to be!  And so the Lord, knowing Joshua and knowing the nature of human beings in general, made sure that Joshua would know that he was not being sent out on his own.  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.  Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence.  Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.  He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.’”

            From the very beginning the Lord saw to it that Joshua understood that he had been given 1) the abilities to perform the task, that he had been given 2) the authority to do what needed to be done, and that he had been given 3) the appropriate calling for everyone to see.  And on top of that, Joshua would be able to inquire of the Lord at any time for any reason whenever he needed help.  “He is to stand before Eleazar the priest,” God said, “who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord.”

            The Urim was an integral piece of the high priest’s wardrobe, usually mentioned in connection with something called the Thummim.  Unfortunately, we don’t even know what the Urim and the Thummim were.  They were supposed to be part of the breastplate that the high priest wore, so they could have been two other stones along with the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel, but we can’t say for sure.  What we can say is this: the high priest would go to the Lord in prayer and the Lord would apparently answer that prayer on occasion through the Urim and the Thummim.  The way that exactly worked is not known nor does it matter.  What matters is that Joshua was encouraged to inquire of the Lord at anytime for any reason through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest.  And Joshua was going to need it!  He would have to go to the Lord on numerous occasions when he was faced with difficulties.  He would have to rely on the Lord constantly throughout his service to the people.  He would have to depend on the Lord and his wisdom and his power on a regular basis if he was going to be able to handle the task in front of him.  And as we read about Joshua’s leadership throughout the years in the pages of the Bible, there is no doubt that he went to the Lord for help as often as possible.  The job may have been too big for Joshua to do alone, but it was not too big for his Lord.

Our Help

            You have a big job in front of you: telling, sharing, inviting, encouraging, offering, teaching, comforting, guiding, preaching.  And the job is too big for you.  It is too grand.  Too monumental.  But it is not too big for your Lord.  The one who long ago took on the life of a human being in the womb of a girl named Mary is still standing by your side right now as your brother.  The one who fought off every temptation of the devil while on this earth will protect you from the same.  The one who bent his head to the fatal blow of death forgives you for every fault and inadequacy that sent him there.  The one who beat the grave after three days has left your failures behind in that empty tomb.  The one who now reigns on the throne over all things reigns over everything for you.  Nothing is too big for the Lord.  Go to him.  Rely on him.  Lean on him.  Rest on him.  He will see you through.

            Because in this life you will have the opportunity to share the Word of God with someone you love.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the strength.  You will have the opportunity to invite someone that lives right next to you to hear the wonderful promises of your Lord.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the words to say.  You will have the opportunity to encourage your friend with the only words that can give a person peace: the words of Jesus and his love.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the courage.  You will have the opportunity to tell someone what you believe and why you do.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the confidence.  In this life you will have many opportunities with many different people, and you will let many of them pass by.  Because it was too intimidating.  Because it was too big for you to handle.  And you didn’t go to your Lord.  You’re going to have to go to the Lord at times like those as well.  And he will give you the forgiveness and the peace  and the comfort that you can’t live without.

            You may not be Joshua called on to lead the entire nation of Israel.  You may not be a pastor called on to preach from a pulpit.  But you are a Christian called on to proclaim the Good News to anyone you can.  It is a big job - too big in fact.  But your Lord is bigger.  He will give you the motivation through his Word, he will enable your effort through his Word, he will do the work of moving a heart through his Word.  The Lord will help you through his Word just like he always has.  Go with that confidence.  And may our gracious God bless our work together.

            Amen.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  - Gal. 6:18