The United Methodist Church of Swartz Creek

Sunday, June 06, 2010

God Will Provide What We Need.
Scripture II Corinthians 9:7-15
J. D. Landis

Don’t you just hate it when you are about to make a cake and you look in the refrigerator and there are no eggs. Or you are getting ready to mow the lawn and there is no gas in the mower or gas can. Or bigger yet you go to pay the bills and there is not enough money to cover it. We all like to have what we need. Having what you need takes some planning and some careful use of resources, so we don’t waste what we have or use more then we should. In the mission and ministry Jesus Christ has called us to, we want to be able to accomplish the work having the right amount of time, people, and resources. We also want to have what it takes to provide for our own needs and those of our families.

This passage in II Corinthians 8-9 gives us some wonderful insights to know how we can have what we need from God. The Apostle Paul writes the church in Corinth and says, I want you to consider giving to the church in Jerusalem, because they do not have the basic things they need like food, clothing, and shelter. Paul says other congregations have done their part now I want you to do yours. In this teaching He shows how God uses our resources to bless others, but God in turn provides for us as he also stretches our faith. Sometimes we want to stay comfortable, live where we are, but God is always wanting to stretch our faith. On this miracle Sunday, I pray God will increase your faith to allow some great thing to happen in the life of this church. Lord change our thinking, allow our faith to grow and open the doors of your blessings. I want to give you 5 principles from this passage on giving and having enough.

I. What You Have To Give Someone Else Needs. In II Corinthians 9:12, the apostle Paul basically tells the Corinthians that their abundance is needed in Jerusalem. II Corinthians 8:14 is amazingly clear and relevant to our age… it says quite bluntly…it is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and their need. Wow! God wants there to be a balance between those that have and those that do not. Sometimes we think that God does not care about the needs of others. If God cared there would not be so much suffering and poverty in the world. But Holy Writ here says that God is expecting us to fulfill our duty to help those in need.

That means when we see the suffering of people in Haiti, we are to do something about it knowing that we have much more then they do. Now sometimes we look at our checkbook and think, oh my giving 50 or 100 dollars to those in need, will really make it tight for 10 days, but that gift could save a life. Are we able to tighten the belt so a life could be saved? When we learn of folks who do not have enough food in Swartz Creek and Flint we are to take action. That means if we see our brother or sister in the congregation out of work, not only are we to pray for them, but we are to think of how we can give to them. It also might mean that if someone in our congregation has a business that we seek to support it, and if we see work available that we point them in that direction. What we have or know someone else often needs.

We gave something that we had that someone else needed this week with the auction too. You gave things that you had in abundance or did not need right now, and someone else could buy them and give a gift to this ministry. I appreciate the hard work that went into that auction and the generosity of persons who gave items. Some people gave items that were precious, and perhaps even though they did not receive the value they hoped for, God is pleased with the generous gift. Someone this morning might be moved to give even more, because they received something of value. Know that your gifts yesterday, and your gifts this morning are making a great difference providing for others.

The doors of this church are open 7 days a week, from early morning to late at night. Someone is finding a blessing every hour. There is hardly a day, when someone does not express gratitude for the ministry of this church. For the food bank, the worship experiences, the coffee house, the youth group, the care you give, and the fellowship. Not only do we share what we have here with our congregation and community, but we also seek to bring a blessing to our sister churches in the Flint District, and with other churches in this community. This congregation is faithfully using this building. It is not about having a big building but it is about doing Christ’s work in the world.

II. What You Give… Stirs Others Up To Give..II Corinthians 9:2. The Apostle Paul told the one church…now the congregation in Achaia gave this much and you need to match it. We are always so private about what this person gives or what that person gives. Some churches publish it. From time to time we need to know what some generous givers share, to get others stirred up. I knew a church where the most generous giver was a single senior woman, who walked around with a cane and really did not appear to be too successful. But when people heard that she gave well over 40,000 they were challenged to do more.

At Conference we honor those churches who give faithfully their mission giving called apportionments. We also print in the Conference journal what a church gives. If you are a tithing person, don’t be ashamed to tell someone else that you tithe because God has spoken to your heart. When more and more people tithe, the ministry needs are met abundantly. There is a little United Methodist church in Alger Ohio, with only 100 people on Sunday who has raised close to 100,000 in missions for years. It has outdone many larger churches. Why? Because of the generosity and faithful tithing of others. They stir one another up.

In addition to the auction gifts about 5-7 families have given other generous gifts of finances to reduce the debt on this building to allow us to do more ministry. That total has come now to over 30,000 but we need more persons to take that step of faith. I committed myself to be part of that group, so has the leadership of the miracle Sunday effort. If we are going to get to the 150,000 range before September, we are going to need probably to triple that number. So we need you to pray about what you can give. The incredible thing is that when you are giving to reduce the mortgage…you are actually saving yourself money. If you owe 100,000 on a house mortgage, and decide to drive the old car a few more years, and put 10,000 on the mortgage principle, you will actually save yourself close to double in interest. And that is what we want to do here. So brothers and sisters lets stir one another up.

III.What You Give Is As Great a Benefit to You.. Phil. 3,4. The Apostle Paul said that he looked for the gift from the Corinthians not only to meet his needs, but he wanted to see them receive the blessing also. Paul had so much confidence in what God could do, that he was praying for them to give so that they would receive the spiritual as well as physical blessing God had to offer. One of the good qualities of my children is they have learned to give generously at Christmas and for birthdays. They want to buy something for their brother or sister or parents…in a marvelous way. I want to tell them that they don’t have to do so much. But you know when they are generous, do you think I do not want to be generous with them. If you are generous in giving, to God your father and to your brothers and sisters in Christ, do you think that your father in heaven does not want to bless you? Jesus said give and it will be given to you.

What You Give Is Meant to Give You Joy. II Corinthians 9:7. God wants to give us joy when we give.
We need to get to the place where the greatest happiness we have in life, is what we can do for others. I was fortunate enough to have met and been part of ministry planning with Stan Kresge when I first came to Michigan as a youth pastor at Metropolitan Church. Stan and his father Sebastian Kresge founded K-Mart, and they both were generous givers to the work of Christ all their lives. He and his wife hosted Vacation Bible school at their home for years. For the last 25 years of Stan’s life he spent most of his time giving what he had away. There are more hospitals, ministries, colleges, camps, and churches that have been the recipient of their gifts then you could count.
I think he had more joy in giving it away, then in using it on himself.

But you don’t have to have lots and lots of money to know the joy of giving. I know people in this church who are always sending cards, always giving little gifts to cheer others, always thinking about giving, and God gives them much joy. We have a man in this church, John Maxwell and he has given bone marrow to save the lives of a number of people. I know that one of the greatest joys he has is that he is was able to give them life. What you give makes a difference everyday in someone’s life. What you give will show not only your love to them, but God’s love. Well as we give…

IV. God is able to provide Everything You Need….so You Can Keep on Giving…II Cor. 9:8. God wants to meet all your needs. But he is not as eager if you are tightfisted. Paul wrote….My God shall supply all your needs. Phil. 4:13. God’s blessings are not only physical, but they are spiritual, and social. God may give you more friends instead of more money. God may give you more fruit for His kingdom…seeing others grow in the faith. The bible says God will enrich your life in every way. II Corinthians 9:11. Some persons in the African Church have little, but they are spiritually powerful.

Now to receive the blessings we need we must have faith in the unlimited power of what God can achieve, but we must also be practical as Good Stewards. Jesus expressed his displeasure in the story of the parable of the talents in people who wasted what they had been given.

As we expect God to bless us supernaturally, we also ought to be careful in our spending, and the way we use things. Did you ever stop and think of how there are many, many ways to save money, and to multiply what you have. All of us get excited when we buy the same product for ½ what someone else paid. And all of us are thrilled when our investments grow 15% instead of 5 %. But there are many, many ways to practically stretch what you have. It is a no brainer, but if you drive a car that gets 30 miles per gallon, as opposed to 15 you are going to save thousands. If you eat out less you will save hundreds in a year. Some people have learned to cut the food budget in half, by raising their own vegetables, eating more simple things like rice, and raising their own chickens. Chickens were so popular in the auction that they sold for 45 dollars a piece. We need to be wise stewards.

Just as we plan our savings we also need to plan our giving. If you just give whatever is available each Sunday, their may be nothing left. If you don’t make plans for larger gifts, it will likely not happen. The Corinthians promised to give a gift to the Jerusalem church. But it had not yet come. Paul was going to send people to collect it, but he sent them a letter ahead of time and said…now get your things in order, so that you will not be embarrassed. II Corinthians 9:3. We have been giving months to help you think about what you would give in the auction, but also in special gifts. We are going to give a time today, but more time for those who need it in the next 3 months. If may be that you need to pray that God will open a door for what you feel led to do.

Now here is the bottom line. Everyone wants to know the bottom line right. We need to have faith in God that he will provide for us, and for this ministry. God has given us a way to understand this through His creation. It is the power that is in a seed. II Corinthians talks about seed faith. The bible says it is God that provides seed for the sower and bread for the eater. It is God who created a seed that has the principle of multiplying.

Somebody was talking about corn, and asked how many ears can you expect to get from a stalk and the answer was basically one. So they were thinking, they had to have rows and rows of corn to just get a few dozen ears. Correct. But each ear has hundreds of seeds that you eat or plant. And when you have the room, with open fields nothing supplies the needs of the world more then the grains of wheat, corn, or rice. In the day of Joseph God provided so much seed that all the silos in Egypt could not hold it. That seed was then the overflow to keep people alive for 7 years during the famine.

Last week, I was talking to Urmas Rahuvarm. He told me that the government decided purchase and send grain products by the 100’s of thousands of tons for people in need. The Haapsalu church received 2 kilograms of grain and macaroni, which is about 3 tons, or 6,000 pounds. Remember when we received that here? The government decided as in the days of Joseph that people of faith, the churches were the ones who would be most trustworthy of dispersing it to the needy. Every church in Haapsalu got grain, and others all over Estonia. Like Joseph of old Urmas has 6,000 pounds setting in the foyer of his church. I said what a blessing. You can not only feed people but share spiritual food that will feed their souls. What a gift from God.

The Haapsalu UMC has been giving and giving, with only about 30-40 people in attendance, but now they have an outreach. Recently also a young family came into the church and the father wanted to baptize his 4 children. Cannot God bless you and me if we are faithful to what he has called us to. If we sow the seeds of faith…in prayer, in giving, and in sharing the good news, there is nothing God cannot do. God has given us a big storehouse here. We are moving food in and out of our food pantry by the thousands of pounds in a few weeks. But just as important, and even more so, we are also providing the spiritual bread…through our Sunday school, Alive, Disciple, prayer groups, and support groups, and worship events.

We have been privileged to have some of the best teachers and preachers in the country here in this spiritual house. We have had Frank Tanana, we had the author of the book, we have had our bishop numerous times, other community leaders, like Wally Bronner, and Evangelist Jack French, Brad Kalajanen, and Eddie Fox. This fall we will have Mike Slaughter whose book was number one on Kindle for a day.. Dr. Allie has been here, Dr. Quick, and Dr. Blair will be coming soon. Church God is feeding you the finest wheat and bread, that others are not receiving. God is doing a great thing here.

Lets give some gifts to knock this mortgage down…so we pay less interest so we have more for mission and ministry. If we only sow a little seed, out of our storehouse of gifts we can only expect a little blessing . If we sow lots of seed we can expect a greater harvest. The bible says God will multiply your seed. If your heart is humble and gentle, God cannot help but bless you. If you give grudgingly, and if you whine all the time, God cannot bless you.

The largest Methodist church in the world is the Kum Ran Methodist Church. The second largest church is the Kwang Lim Methodist Church. Hong do Kim and Sundo Kim pastor these churches. I heard him tell this story personally. When they grew up they were very, very poor. It was the time of the Korean war. Day by day they barely had enough to eat. But their mother who had no husband gave a tithe to her church. She did this for years, while they were in poverty. Finally the boys said, mother you give so much to God, but we are still hungry…lets eat and give a little less to God. She said ok I don’t want to, but I will. Well Dr. Kim said it got worse, and they said mother, mother give to God again. And so she gave 10%.

One day an uncle arrived from North Korea with a 50 pound bag of rice. Now to them that would be like 3,000 dollars worth of groceries for they could multiply that with some vegetables and eat for months. Dr. Kim said that from that time on they never lacked. God provides seed for the sower and bread for the eater. And their churches give millions and millions to mission. All because of a mother who gave a little that she hardly had. Amazingly, it was these churches who gave a gift to start the Baltic Theological Seminary in Tallin Estonia, opening up the Gospel in Europe. The bible does not say that if you tithe you will never have lack, like the name it claim it brothers and sisters say, but it says in due time you will reap…in due time you will reap.

I was on minimum salary for 14 years and I said Lord, what are you doing? but I kept on tithing. I only had a chance to preach to 60 people at a time for 12 years, and I said Lord what are you doing? I wanted to reach more people for Christ. I felt God had something more to offer through my preaching to more folks, but God kept showing me in due time you will reap. Brothers and sisters in due time you will reap. But make sure your heart is where it should be. Do not be jealous of someone else’s blessing. You may have a foolish heart and God has to pull the weeds out, and soften the soil and remove the stones. You have anger, you have jealousy, you have pride, you have greed, and you have complacency. God wants to get rid of those stones…so in due time you can reap….The bible says that discipline from God is not pleasant at the moment, but afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Fruit is coming brothers and sisters…fruit is coming…in due time…but keep on praying…keep on trusting…keep on obeying.

And you know for some people their reaping may be in heaven. There will be some people when you will meet them in heaven and it will be evident God has blessed them. You cannot count the people whose lives they touched, and their influence with God is great and God gave them a home much more wonderful then on earth and you will say sister in due time you reaped. Jesus did not reap all that he sowed while he was on the earth, but decades, and centuries and millenniums later he reaped billions of souls for the father.

God is using people to do his work through this church in many ways. Much fruit is being born. People are going out to serve other churches. Consider what gift He wants you to give to allow this to go on…and know that in due time…you and this church will reap. Sow bountifully and you will reap bountifully. Amen.

Message: Don’t Worry… Rejoice
Scripture: Philippians 4:1-8
Sunday, May 30, 2010
J. D. Landis

There was a song that came out about a decade or so ago. The main line to the song was don’t worry be happy. It was a Jamaican type tune that caught your attention. It was popular because it captured what we all think about every day. Are we going to worry or are we going to be happy? People would quote the song…don’t worry be happy. We realized that most of the time worrying just is not necessary and it doesn’t solve anything. The song reminded us that all of us want to have happiness and joy.

When you think about having days without happiness and joy it makes life an unpleasant experience. In fact without it life loses its meaning, so we are in pursuit of joy every day. When you start the day with a really good cup of coffee, when you see a rare bird at the feeder, when you watch a really great sunrise this gives us joy. When we go to work we want to hear some good news, and when we get with family on a Memorial Day weekend, we want to find joy in our relationships.

We are all looking for joy, but sometimes we end up looking in the wrong places. God wants to give us joy that lasts and that is satisfying. The apostle Paul begins the last chapter of Philippians with the words rejoice. He mentions it over and over. He tells us where we should find joy. First he says….

I. We need to Find Joy in God’s People
The Apostle Paul says they are his Joy and His crown. He rejoices because God allowed him to play a part in them coming to know Jesus Christ. They are now living out the faith. Paul says that someday he will receive a crown from God, because of their faith. Their service for God gives Him joy. Did you know that people are our main sense of joy? Yes somebody says but they can be our main source of frustration. That is true also.

But I think one of the things we see here is that the Apostle focuses more on the good things people do for God and for himself then the troublesome. He could have made his main focus the two women leaders, Eudia and Syntyche that were not getting along. He does address their problem, but he spends 90% of the letter celebrating the good things in God’s people. If you read Paul’s letters carefully, there where numerous situations where people let him down, attacked him, and even tried to destroy God’s church. If anyone could have focused on the trouble others caused it was Paul.
We face the same challenge. You know sometimes we find ourselves allowing our hearts and minds to be troubled by persons who have upset us, hurt our feelings or let us down. Without realizing it our lives are clouded by this negativity. Some people allow the hurts they feel from others to give then a downcast spirit for days, weeks, months, years, and in some cases a whole life.

But the bible says we must make a conscience choice to focus on the good things we experience with others. There is something built into us that wants to chew over in our minds the things others have said and done that cause us pain. We like to chew it over all day long. But it usually gets us nowhere. We need to shift our focus on to the people and circumstances that give us joy. We need to drink from the springs of joy. That is what the Apostle Paul did. He said I pray for you with joy. I thank my God every time I remember you. And I can’t wait to get back with you. Phil. 1:3,4
There was a book that came out about 20 years ago, that revolutionized thinking among Christians. Minirth and Meyer the authors realize that we often can determine our own happiness by the choices we make. The title of their book was “Happiness is a Choice” They said that we cannot control the trouble that comes our way, but we can control our response. We can reduce our anxiety level, by making a choice to focus on good things. But you may be thinking, but I can’t control myself. I can’t help it. But the bible actually says it is a command to think on good things.

In Colossians 3 the Apostle says…set your mind on things above, not on things upon the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ in God. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and minds. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you can die to those old fearful thoughts. Those words grabbed me so much that years ago I wrote song to it. But somehow we think it is our duty to worry. If we don’t worry, we have not been faithful to our responsibility as a human being. But we drive everyone crazy in the process.

Write this down. It is not your duty to worry. That is God’s responsibility. Your duty is to pray, to have faith, and to act letting God help you. If you claim to know God, if you claim to believe in His power, His miracles, and grace, but you worry you cancel your faith right out. This is a holiday weekend. I am asking you to take a vacation from worry.
One of our families favorite movies is “What About Bob”. Bob was a counselor’s nightmare. He was full of worry and anxiety, and he could hardly take the next step. He was worried about germs, about failure, about riding an elevator and about people getting him. Dr. Leo Marvin has written a book called baby steps, and decides to take this case from a Psychologist friend. But Bob takes over his whole life, threatening to destroy his much needed vacation. But Dr. Marvin comes up with a breakthrough idea. He writes Bob out a prescription, Bob says no, no, no I don’t need anymore pills. But the prescription is to take a vacation from your worries.

We need to take a vacation from our worries and fears. And sometimes we need to know that we actually have permission to do it. Like Bob, we need a prescription from someone in authority for our health. As I watched this movie, I though God has commanded me not to worry. In essences He has given me a prescription not to be anxious. He has given it to you also. Philippians 4:6 says be anxious for nothing. In essence don’t worry be happy. Write this down. Take a vacation from your worries.

But to get rid of worry we need to replace it with something to celebrate, and Paul says again celebrate God’s people.
We have an opportunity to do that every Sunday. I think one of the reasons that people enjoy worship, is not only to praise God, but to rejoice in what God has done in one another. It would be tough to worship God, if people were not happy, but everyone was prune faced. We need to look for joy, when we are with God’s people wherever it is. Conference was a great joy for me this year. As I looked around I saw God working in the lives of people that I knew and loved. I saw Margie Crawford giving leadership to the outreach in Haiti. She started out in our Neighborhood Group in Detroit as just a seeker and now she is in the ministry.

I also received joy as I watched Rich Moreland and Brian helping lead worship. They were up front all the time. I saw Hannah Plum and Alyssa Grant participating with the youth. It gave me joy. And I get to see that here every Sunday. I see ushers, greeters, welcome center, tech center people, musicians, set up persons, Sunday school teacher and worship leaders, well over a hundred people giving leadership. And we are sure missing some of them this weekend.
Take a vacation from those who frustrate you and just utterly delight in those who faithfully do the work of God. David wrote in Psalm 16 that it was God’s people who gave him delight. We have a lot of blessings to celebrate in this church and in our whole conference of churches. On Sunday morning we received the national award for churches who had been encouraging many persons to go into the ministry. Our superintendent introduced us as the winners, stating that we had beat out 18 other recipients including Church of the Resurrection which is growing to be almost as large as Saddleback, and crazy thing they are United Methodists. When the Conference heard that they just roared with approval.

Afterwards this lady that I only know a little, but is so kind to me always, a big strong woman, a pastor, with unlimited joy…think Poppa in the Shack, just wrapped me up in her arms and said I am so proud of you and your church. I said thank you Pat. I felt like I was getting a hug from God point…if we are going to have joy we need to…

II. Rejoice in God.
Paul writes, rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Rejoice is written all over the letters of Paul. It seems like it is pretty important to God. God knows that in a world that often delivers trouble we have to continually rejoice, be happy, and be blessed to counteract the downside.

Now somebody says alright I know how to rejoice in others, but how do I rejoice in God? Well it is similar to human beings. We have to make a conscience decision to rejoice in God. Our tendency is to get upset because of the things God has not done, instead of giving thanks and praise for the things God has done. In my own life I have found that if I am not intentional about praising God, it often does not happen. Think about how we come to worship. When you came this morning what was your mind on. You were wondering what songs we would sing, what the preacher would say, who you would see, when you would get out, where you would sit, and what the bulletin had to say about activities this week, but did you come to adore God and rejoice in Him? That is really our main reason for being here, but we often miss it.

The bible says delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4. Does that mean if we don’t delight in God, He will not give us the desires of our heart? It seems to say that. So then we are missing what God has for us when we do not rejoice. You may be praying for a breakthrough in someone’s health…delight yourself in God….you may be praying for God to give you a child…delight yourself in the Lord…you may desire more income to pay the bills, delight yourself in God.

Now the word here for rejoice greatly in the Greek is megalos. Now mega is a word we understand in our world today. If you take mega vitamins, that means 100’s and thousands of units. If a person says there is mega power in the electrical line, that means thousands of watts. So mega rejoicing means that we just thank and praise God over and over, many times, 100’s of times, thousands of times. We need to verbalize to God what we appreciate. We need to say outloud…Lord you are wonderful.. Say that with me…there that wasn’t so hard was it. Some Christians have a tough time ever verbalizing praise directly to God. We need to tell God He is our joy. Say..Lord you are my joy….Lord I love you. That brings us to our third point… We must also learn to….

III. Receive Joy and Peace From God Through Focused Prayer.
There was a man who went on some of our church fall trips. He battled cancer for a number of years, and now is free. I see him walking down the roads near our home. There is just this aura about him. He has this bouncing step, he takes up the whole road when no cars are coming, and he looks like he is just thanking God throughout his walk. The other day I ran into him in the restaurant and I said Jerry is so good to see you out walking after your battle with cancer. He told me to the day he was free. I said you just look like you are rejoicing in God, and he said that he thanks God every moment of every day for the miracle in prayer. I said that is wonderful. Now someone might say, well he could praise God because he was healed. Yes true, but many many people do not have a Spirit of constantly rejoicing in the Lord. Jesus healed many people who forgot about him.

Are you rejoicing in the Lord for all He has done for you? If you give your heart to it…you will not worry…but you will have joy. Only the believer can truly say…don’t worry be happy. Somebody said the other day that their favorite song is “It’s a great day to Praise the Lord” Everyday is a great day to praise the Lord. Will you delight in God’s goodness today? Every morsel of food, every moment of rest, every safe trip on the road, every gift of freedom. We need to thank and praise God for those who gave us freedom. It is so easy to get caught up in the fun stuff, to forget the sacrifice. I received a piece of information on giving thanks on Memorial Day Weekend. It said Thanksgiving is a day when we pause to give thanks for the things we have. Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks to the people who fought for the things we have. They are the real American Idols.

Could we have those stand who served this country, or are serving it now, in any form of the military, police, firemen, and emergency services. Thank you all, and thank you God for sending them.

This weekend I hope you will take time for prayer. The Scripture says we are to thank and praise God, for the things He gave us. But it is also in prayer that we are able to give our worries over to God. Many of my favorite Scriptures are found in Philippians. Chapter 4 has one of them, it says…Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will rule your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The only way we can be free, to take a vacation from worry is to take everything to God in prayer. There is a song, that says take your burdens to the Lord and leave it there. .. We need to leave it there. If you can’t let go, know that God commands you. You are sinning if you hold on to it. Stop it. Finally in poetic form the Apostle Paul tells us to think about good things. If we are going to replace worry and unrest, then we have to fill our mind with good things. I love the King James here…it says whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are lovely….whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue if their be any praise think on these things.

Think of the true things that you have seen and heard. Don’t dwell on what is false or deceitful. Don’t dwell on things that people who lack understanding have said. People will try to take away your joy, by saying things that are false. Think about the truth God has given you in Jesus Christ. Realize you are forgiven by God’s grace. Think about the true love of your husband or wife. Of the true words people have spoken that have uplifted you. Think about true friends. Then think about what is lovely. A mothers love for a child. A beautiful piece of artwork. A gorgeous sunset. Think about your favorite place in all the world. It will give you joy.

Also think about what is a good report. I want to hear how others have done good things not how they have failed. Again some people have 10 wonderful pieces of information about someone, but they dwell on the negative. I want to hear what God is doing in someone’s life, not how they failed. Dwell on the good report. Sometimes we need to just say to ourselves, I am not going to let that negative person, that negative thought, that fear rule me. I am going to trust God, rejoice in God, and rejoice in His good work in others. So in summary if you want joy, if you want happiness, delight in the wonderful things there are in others…delight in the blessings of God…take time for prayer…turning it all over and fill your mind with good things. And you will have joy. Don’t Worry…be Happy…

Listen or You Will Miss It
Acts 16:8-15
Mothers Day May 9, 2010
J. D. Landis

Most of us have had the experience of not hearing something a speaker said but it was something really important, the punch line or the key point. Maybe it was a preacher, or the shop foreman, or the doctor was telling you something about your surgery. Perhaps our minds were on something else, or we heard another noise, or we just could not make it out, but we really wanted to hear it. So we asked someone else, and they said, I didn’t hear it either, but finally we track it down, and we find boy that was something I really needed to know. There are many times in life when something is said, or an important piece of information is given and we miss out because we did not get it. We are going to look at the life of Lydia today who was a person who listened and did not miss what God had for her life. First of all…

I. Lydia Was Sensitive to Listen to The Needs of Others.

A. She Listened to The Physical Needs of her Household. To provide for them she had this amazing business of selling purple cloth. We don’t know if she started it, or took it over from her husband, but she was in the right place at the right time. Now she had come from Thyatira, and we don’t know if she was chased out , if there was a war, or if she came to Philippi for the business. But Lydia knew how to listen to the needs of her family and she paid attention and listened to the changing economy of the times.

This woman was one of the most prosperous in the whole city. She had found a business that was very lucrative. Purple cloth was made from mollusks and clam like shellfish and some came from fish. It took 8,000 mollusks to get one gram of die, and so it was worth its weight in silver. She had come to a place which had a great market for her purple cloth because this was a leading Roman Colony. There were many Roman soldiers and many retired officers. They loved purple cloth for themselves and their wives. And Philippi was on the Egnatian way, and its Road could take you any where in the empire.

We can learn a lot from Lydia who was an incredible entrepreneur who listened to the times. Other people missed it with work but she found it. There are lots of people who are having trouble with income in our day and age, because they are working in a field that no longer needs them. We have heard reports that there are 60,000 jobs in Michigan but people are not trained for them. You probably do not want to work for the company that makes home phones, but you want to work for the company that makes cell phones. Like Lydia we have to listen to the times and find things that are needed.

Lydia is an example to women everywhere. She was a financial entrepreneur who met her families needs, her churches needs, and blessed the whole community because she listened. We live in a day and age where people are realizing that women can do great things. Lydia might be an example to some women today who are feeling the crunch financially and God might have something for you to really bless the family budget. I thank God for the wonderful women He has raised up in this church and others, who are wise with finances, and who have a vision for what God can do with giving and finances. Some of you husbands have learned to listen to the wisdom of your wives, because God has blessed you with someone who is gifted in finances and management.

I believe Lydia listened and paid attention to all the needs of her household. She wants all their needs to be met. I am sure she involved many of them in the business, because she needed them but she also wanted them to learn skills. We can see her in the Scripture that Lydia was a very caring person. She cared for her household, cared for Paul and the travelers and sought to meet needs. But she was not only paying attention to their physical needs but she also was concerned about their spiritual and emotional needs. We know this because she had her family down by the riverside in worship.

B. We need to Listen to The Spiritual and Emotional Needs of Others.

You know we can get all wrapped up in our kids getting good grades, and getting a good job to have the right income, that we can miss the fact that they have other needs. They have emotional and spiritual needs. Mothers are those who often have a special tenderness for these things with their children. A mother can hear her child cry when no-one else can. As parents and grandparents we need to pay close attention to the feelings and emotional concerns of our household. Do you take time to listen to your family members? Sometimes children can be very quiet and not express what they are feeling. You have to read between the lines. If we don’t listen, we may miss a very critical thing they are going through.

Some times something is being said over and over by your child or family member but you just gloss over it. Perhaps you have blocked things out because of a preconceived notion, or you are so busy you are not taking time. Sometimes a young person goes into a state of sadness, and we have to listen for what is not being. Parents are you listening do you care about the spiritual needs of your kids? For instance sometimes a child has been a good student but all of a sudden their grades plummet. Parents want to get strict, but sometimes they need to listen to what is going on. If you do not pause and reflect on their life more fully you can miss it, and not be able to help them. Secondly in addition to listening to the needs of people…

II. We Need to Listen To God Through Worship and Prayer.

Lydia was one of the women that gathered at the river to read the Law and the Prophets to sing the songs of Zion, and to spend time in prayer seeking the will of God. She saw the need to have a place of worship for herself, for her family and community. Apparently the spiritual life for Judaism was burning low. Tradition said you needed 10 men by Jewish law to have a synagogue. They did not have that. We don’t know if the men were driven out, or if they stayed home. History tells us there was an edict at the time against some of the synagogues. But these ladies are going to have a place of prayer and worship. Lydia seems to be a leader. She obviously had it from her status in life and having a large household and later we read about it in the church.

A. Lydia was in pursuit of hearing from God. She knew that the answers to life were hidden in the almighty. There is no greater character a woman can have then to be in pursuit of God. She led the way for all her family to be in worship. Women of faith, rise up and see that all your family worships together, prays together and is in God’s house. I know you cannot always force that, but be all you can be.

1. Mothers you can set the spiritual climate in your home. I am so thankful for my grandmother Landis who did that for our family. She was a spiritual matriarch till she died at 100. My father went to her and asked for her blessing at age 70 for his remarriage. Grandma loved each of us so much. When you visited her she wanted to know everything about your life. She encouraged you, she prayed for you. No-one in the family would have ever done anything or said anything in front of grandma that was not upright, not because we were afraid, but because we respected and loved her so much. She counted on us going to church and having a spiritual life.Consequently, God blessed her that every single child, every single grandchild, when she was living attended church and had something of a spiritual life and there were over 90 of us. She left us a great legacy. But it didn’t happen by chance for she prayed for us day and night. Women leave a legacy that no-one can forget.

Lydia Wanted To Hear From God above all else. She did not want to miss it. She knew that she could not only listen to the voices crying out in the market square, but she had to listen to the voices of the almighty. If the only voices you are hearing are those in the market square like the mass media, the secular news, and the hedonistic entertainment industry you are not getting it. If don’t spend time regularly in worship, if you hardly ever pray, if you quickly tune out the Christian radio, if you take no time to connect in with what believers are saying you will miss hearing what God has to say.

B. Nothing can be exchanged for a time with God in prayer. When is the time and where are the places you take to pray? It really does not take much time at all to have a prayer life. Just a closing prayer at the end of the day with your spouse or call a friend on the phone or reading the daily bread or upper room, can change your whole focus for the day. It can lead your life in a much better direction.

With God’s will being revealed in your life you can have much greater success.

I watched with amazement as this whole state tuned into the life and times of Ernie Harwell. It was like we lost the very best of what made Michigan so special. People went on and on and on about the friendliness of Ernie Harwell and his care for other human beings. But his strength and guidance came from God. He was a man of faith, who studied the bible and who listened to God that is what made him so great. I heard him speak on a number of occasions sharing his personal faith. He loved the Lord and he loved people. He clearly listened to God when it came to relating to people.

My greatest memory I have was when we invited him to speak at Romulus Community United Methodist Church. We filled the house that night, we served hot dogs, turned the sanctuary into a giant fellowship hall. He seemed to have time for everyone. He mixed with almost everyone in the crowd. As he began the message, he said I made a new friend tonight. We all wondered, oh my who has become a friend of Ernie Harwell. He said there is a little blonde haired boy in the front row, who reminds me of myself when I was younger, and I am glad to have him as my friend. And we all were amazed he would single out a child but not an adult. But he cared for people because He loved God. Most people did not know it but they listened to Ernie Harwell, because he listened to God.

Are you listening to God in prayer? Do you hear that still small voice, that sometimes gets drowned about by the hustle and bustle of life. The story is told of a man who was walking with his Native American friend in a large city. Cars were honking, trucks were rumbling, and the street was full of sound. The Indian fellow learned as a boy to hear the sounds of nature, and all of a sudden he said I hear a cricket. The other fellow said that is impossible, there are too many city sounds it is all concrete, no way.

The person familiar with nature who heard the cricket walked over and lifted the branches from a plant in a pot on the sidewalk and said here it is. The other guy said, why couldn’t I hear that? He said because you have to learn to listen for the right things. Then he took some money out of his pocket and threw it on the sidewalk and everyone turned to see if it fell out of their pocket. See he said we listen for what we want to hear. We need to listen to the right things.

If you feel a burden in your heart that says I need to go somewhere and I need to do this thing, ask and say Lord are you speaking to me? Carolyn felt in her heart this week that she had to see Joann Hayes one more time. The Lord kept burning it in her heart. So she drove over to Brian’s house, a hospice center, on Sunday night and all the family was there. She led in prayer and with her dear daughters and lovely granddaughters with tears in their eyes she prayed that God’s will would be done and that He would call her home according to his timing. 45 minutes later with most of the family there, God called Joann home. That meant so much to the family.

Are you listening? The Apostle Paul had listened to God too. Paul wanted to go to Bythinia but God spoke in a dream come over to Madcedonia a part of Greece for they need help. And as Paul walked up to this place of prayer with Timothy, Silas, and Luke it was clear this was not an ordinary group of visitors. Those gathered wondered who are these persons? They have the appearance of authority and purpose. Have we done something wrong or will we be blessed?

Well they join in with the service and then they ask the guests if they have something to say. Oh does Paul love that when He is asked if he has something to say. And he is off telling about the fulfillment of all they have been reading in the Law and the Prophets and it is Jesus Christ. I can just picture Lydia leaning forward not wanting to miss a word. Joann would you keep that baby quiet back there, and Ruth don’t you do go into one of your little talks in the middle of the service, I want to hear this and not miss a thing.

When you come to worship are you listening or are you distracted. Cell phones, plans to eat, things we have to do…Sunday is to be a day of rest a time of listening to God. God has something for you. It may be in a song, in a prayer, even in an announcement of something that you are supposed to do. It might be in a thing that a persons shares after the service. And surely there is something for you in the message that points us to God’s promises. But if you are not coming to receive, to listen , you may miss something that God has for you. Put aside your own interests your own focus and say Lord speak to me, guide me.

All of a sudden the lights went on for her. All these things we have been reading, singing and sharing from God’s word now are fulfilled. This Messiah truly came from heaven, He died as the lamb of God, and now I want my sins forgiven and I want my life to be guided by the anointed one from God. She has a whole new life that will change her family, change her city and change all of Europe. You know God can have something for you today, this week that can change your whole life, your whole family, and the world around you.

I got a message this week that really blessed me and assured me again that God is working in this church and has plans for everyone here. It was life changing. About a month ago the superintendent said, I am going to submit Swartz Creeks name to an organization that is giving an award for a congregation that is encouraging others to go into mission and ministry especially pastoral ministry. Could you tell me what is going on there so I could tell them more. So I told him of how in the 70’s and 80’s different persons felt a call to go into ministry who were connected with this church. Artra Wilchers son, Dwayne Thom, Richard Euwells and others. I mentioned the Justin White, and of course LouAnn, then Janine, then Kristen Parks, and how we just simply sought to encourage people to be in the word, in prayer and to seek what God wants them to do.

Well this past week I got a call from this man in North Carolina, with the Foundation of Evangelism and he said you have been chosen to be the first one to receive this award. I was incredulous. I am not sure if it is nationwide or statewide, but I know that they called the bishop, and this fellow is going to fly up here to present it to you. So keep listening to God church…keep asking him what you are to do to make a difference in this world, to spread the gospel like Lydia to places where it has not been heard.

Well Lydia was baptized and then she asks other members of the family, do you believe in this Nazarene, and would you like to be baptized too. And the whole household is converted, perhaps 12-15 or even 20 people, and they are all baptized in the Gangitis River. We saw that river when we were in Philippi and we reached down and lifted that same water to our heads. It changed us too.

As Lydia listened to God she realized as Scripture said that we are to show hospitality to strangers, but these are more then strangers these are now family.

She invited these guests who had been traveling as missionaries for months and years and you get weary after awhile. Well of course Luke, Silas, Timothy and Paul are delighted. Mothers, women of faith, show hospitality. It is not just the persons who do dinners and who serve coffee hours who ought to be hospitable but all of us as believers. Our homes ought to be places where others feel welcome. But it is not just those who live far away, but we ought to reach out to our neighbors. When persons come into this church who are new, we ought to welcome them and take time to let them know we appreciate them. This shows God’s love, this brings people to faith. When you listen to the needs of others God listens to your needs. For now her home becomes a center for teaching. The Apostle Paul makes this his headquarters. So what we see here is that bible study, teaching from the Torah, and the ways of God are going on every day. Her whole family probably became spiritual powerhouses. Are you listening to God. Are you listening to the needs of those you love? Are you listening to the needs of our world. God has a blessing for you if you hear his voice. Continue to press on and listen to the new direction God has for you. God has something special for you… Don’t miss it.

Message: When Loving is Not Easy

February 28, 2010 – UMCSC

J. D. Landis

We are talking today about the experience that we all have when loving is not as easy. We can arrive at a place where relationships are strained and even severed.  Emotions are strong, bad attitudes are ingrained, and we have lost all patience.  It can get to the place where we feel that a person is like an enemy.  It can even be someone we are close to even a family member.  Jesus told His disciples love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.  This is not easy.  As the song says sometimes love don’t come easy.  So what do you do when you are being tested to show love when it is hard?  We have instructions from God’s word, in I Corinthians 13.  The whole chapter is about a love that is sacrificial.   Listen to verses 5 and 6.  It (love) is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

I. Love Is Not Rude…The word rude in the Greek  ασκεμονε, (askemone) has a variety of meanings.  It  translates to behave disgracefully, or unseemly.  It is that which is indecent, improper and shameless.  The background here is that the Corinthians had come to accept things that were indecent and crude.  They had lost their sense of what was proper and moral. So Paul writes love does not do something that is crude, or disgraceful.

We live in a society when the boundaries have broken down in this area. I hear radio stations geared to teens and young adults and the stuff they discuss is indecent. You can listen to it on the radio with talk show hosts.  I heard an announcer call our president a shameful name.  It seems like today that it is the in thing to slam others rudely.

As believers we are not to have rude or crude response though we may be greatly tempted. When people have emotions that are flaring, we might want to say something that will raise their eyebrows, but that is not loving.  If your boss is really getting on you, you might just want to say take this job and…but that is not being a good witness.  When we really want to give it to someone for offending us, it is the hardest thing in the world to still show love to them.

A. So How Could You Overcome Rudeness or Lack of Grace?

1. 1. Believe the best in others. We often judge motives without knowing for sure what is going on. We want others to believe in our motives.  Sometimes someone has done their best to get something done and it fails.  If they are slammed it will offend them and break their heart.
2. 2. Realize you may misunderstand a situation.  Many times there is information you are unaware of.  It is more complex then we know about.  Take some time to sort something out.  Wait on God.  The bible says be quick to hear and slow to speak.
3. 3. Realize you may have erred also.  We can be upset at someone for being rude, but without realizing it we can respond in even a more angry fashion then their initial comment or behavior.  This can happen with raising children. Sometimes parents get so frustrated with a child’s behavior.  They try and try and nothing works, so they start making demeaning statements, but later on they regret them. Perhaps as you look back on your life you might think of things you said or did, that were rude or crude.  It is still not too late to tell a child, even if they are grown, I am sorry for some of the ways I reacted to your behavior, will you forgive me?
4. 4. It is also important in showing grace and not being rude to keep calm. It can be one of the toughest things in the world to keep from getting overly emotional and shooting your mouth off.  I read about one man who had a very successful marriage.  He said when he and his wife were having a time of disagreement and emotions were flaring, and language was escalating, that he would take a walk and pray about it.  After 15-20 minutes he could come back with a new perspective.  So if it gets too bad it is just time to stop talking.  End the conversation gracefully and move on.

Secondly, the chapter on love, says…

II.   Love Does Not Insist On Its Own Way.

A.  We Must Ask Ourselves Whether the Things We Want Come From Selfish Motives–Will the thing I am promoting turn out for the common good or am I wanting a certain result because it represents my interest and the interest of just a few others. What is my ultimate motivation… is it to glorify God?  When we do not like some change that has come about, we need to ask will it be better in the long run for the greater good?

1.   Love seeks the best for others and not just ourselves.

Sometimes even when we do our best to show unselfishness people will not always believe it. They might think we have a hidden motive.  We showed the movie Fireproof on Wednesday.  It is really a great movie that challenges you to think through your life, to think of your own marriage, your family, and friends and whether we relate to them in a selfish or unselfish way.

Curt Cameron, the husband, who is in a troubled marriage decides to make a 40 day commitment to love no matter what response he gets from his wife.  He has been very self centered, but now he makes some amazing changes.  He starts making coffee for her in the morning.  He buys roses, and he prepares a candlelight dinner, and even starts to clean the house on a regular basis, but all to no avail.  She rebuffs every one of his attempts. She just will not believe he has changed and this makes him feel like giving up.  We can feel that at places in life.  Even Jesus experienced that kind of frustration.  He tried so very hard to love, but most of Israel just did not understand.

Finally Curt comes to a place where he is empty.  At one moment he is so mad and angry and he says to his dad, everything I do is rejected, all the efforts I make to show love is refused.  She shows no appreciation or response to me.  But in this clip he comes to see something else about himself.  SHOW CLIP.   His father helps him realize that the same rejection he felt from Catherine his wife, God has felt from him for years. God has been calling and he has been putting God off.  He comes to see what Jesus has done for him on the cross.  His life is changed.  Friends that kind of love can only come from Jesus when we allow Him to come into our life.  In the end Catherine also sees that love of God in his heart and they come back together.

2. True Love Can Only Come when we Empty Ourselves and let Christ Take Over.

The bible says in Philippians that Jesus humbled himself, emptied Himself.  He did not take the privileges that were His as the Son of God, but instead He died for you and for me.  He took the nature of a servant, and humbled himself even going to the cross.  Phil. 2:4  The same passage says we are to let that same mind be in us.  If you have experienced that kind of love you will be changed.  You will be able to give up your will and not always seek to have your own way.

In order to grow in unselfishness we need to take inventory of our lives.

B. What Could You Change to be a more Unselfish person?  All of us can see the faults better in others then we see in ourselves so we have to work harder at seeing it in ourselves.  We need to ask some questons.

1. Are we giving our family enough time? It is easy to bet so wrapped up in friends and our own special agenda’s that we do not give our children or spouse enough time. Could we plan some of the things we do to include them?  Sometimes people can have a hobby, an interest, or sporting activity that they pursue at the expense of others.  A pastor told me a story of a man who spent all his spare time on his bass-boat, many hours a week.  He realized, however, that it was taking him from his family.  He realized all his free time was spent drinking with his buddies, and it was pulling him from God too. He literally gave up his bass-boat to his churches ministry to pay off the building debt so he would not lose his family and so he could come to God.

2. We need to grow in the way we say things to our husband or wife, children or friends Would they respond differently to you if you responded differently to them? We can get in a correction mentality and miss showing love.  If our main focus in life is to make sure that things are done right, we might miss showing love.

3.  Thirdly we need to ask how could we adjust our personal goals to live more unselfishly? Is serving others and showing love the top priority, or is it serving yourself.  Are you using your talents to honor God and build others up? It is easy sometimes to just attend church on Sunday and not get involved in any other way in the life of the congregation, but you may have talents that God needs for his people. You may have an artistic ability that could be used to teach children crafts.  The ladies that do the artistic design following the theme at Alive every week are awesome.  You might be a secret piano player.  You might even be a counselor and could volunteer to give counsel to others.

4. How could you live more sacrificially to meet others needs? How about how you spend your money? We all like to spend money on things we like.  Someone said let me see someone’s check book or bank statement and I will tell you where their priorities are?  What could you give up spending on yourself, to meet the needs of others?  Many people make an effort when they shop to buy less expensive items and then use the extra to buy items for the food bank.  Thirdly the Apostle Paul says..

III Love is Not Irritable Or Resentful.

This is another thing that is tough to practice. Irritability can creep up on us when we are tired, or don’t feel well, or we are stressed to the max. We need to get a handle on the times in life when we are irritable.  When do you find yourself irritable?  What kinds of things upset you?

I think one of the things that can irritate us is when someone we love has a bad habit. We have told them about it kindly a number of times, but they don’t change. We can easily start to keep a running record of how often they do it, and now it has really begun to upset us.  But Scripture says here that we are not to keep an account of wrongs suffered.  But if it is something that impacts our daily well being it can really get us.  I have counseled families where one member has run the credit card so high that it cannot be paid off.  We have to learn how not to be irritable, to forgive them, but also to push them in the right direction.  One solution is to go to a financial class together.

Sometimes we become irritable when people constantly misunderstand our motives.  You can really try and do what is right at work, and others put you down as a do-gooder.  The other side is also true. We can become irritable when people expect too much of us.  What upsets you? How about interruptions in your schedule that get you off track?  Or suppose you planned something and initiated a project, but someone takes it over and now they take the credit.  That is a hard thing.  People do that at work all the time.

Take a moment and ask yourself when do you find yourself getting irritable and resentful?  List three things that upset you.  Ask God to help you be more unselfish, more patient, and more loving.  Think about steps you can take when you get home.

1.___________________

2. ___________________

3.____________________

Finally Love…

IV. Does Not Rejoice in Wrong Doing But Rejoices in the Truth.

Let’s think for a minute what are some basic values and right behavior God wants us to have?  Let’s list them.  Tell the truth, show respect for others, show appreciation, be honest, and be fair.  Then we ought also to be helpful, kind, understanding, and loving.  We are to celebrate and affirm these things.  But sometimes these things are not working and we have patiently prayed about it for a long time.

1. We then have to figure out how to communicate the truth with love.  So how can we express what is right without being self-righteous? Some people just stuff their frustrations and refuse to speak what is on their hearts and they basically ignore a bad situation.  We have to learn how to speak the truth in love.  Some people think that they have a right to be blunt and honest whenever they want.  But we have to earn the right to do this by showing people we love them. This can take some sacrifice.

There may be someone in our lives who is addicted to alcohol, or perhaps someone who has health problems and will not take care of themselves, or it could be a person is abusing someone verbally or even physically. Our first response is I am going to let them have it. They need to be told in no uncertain terms what needs to change. But we forget that the way Jesus pointed us to truth was by living a sacrificial life, by emptying himself, and by entering into our experience of pain.

2. We Need to Let People know we are not above failure.   If a person has failed we need to let them know we could be in the same situation without the grace of God.  If we stand back in self-righteous judgment God will judge us.  Say a person has failed horribly and now serious consequences face them.  We need to find a time to talk with them.  We cannot excuse their failure, but we can let them know that we will go to the ends of the earth to help them if they are willing.

3.  Speaking the truth in love includes telling the person the good they have done.  We need to tell them the hopes we have for their lives.  If our words are completely condemning they will feel we have given up on them, that we are trying to do them in.  Showing sacrificial love is what is going to soften their heart.  I remember ministering to persons who had to go to court.  I stood with them in their trouble.  I prayed for them.  We spoke truth honestly but I entered into the trouble with them.

That is what Jesus did.  He entered into our troubled world.  He walks with us if we are willing to let Him. Jesus Christ spoke truth, but He did it in love, and He did it as a servant.  He went to the cross.  He said Father forgive them for they know not what they do.  Are you willing to walk with another person in their struggle?  Can you tell speak truth really wanting the best for them?  Christ spoke truth to us while He went to the cross for us. And that love, that truth is what draws us to Him.  Love is not rude, love does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable, it does not keep track of wrongs, but speaks the truth in love.  Amen.

Message: Loving Our Families
February 21, 2010-UMC-SC
J. D. Landis

We continue in our series on love and this weekend many of our studies begin on growing in love. Today I want to look at 4 qualities Scripture says are needed in love, especially patience. Patience is probably the single most difficult fruit of the Spirit to cultivate. I have often said to couples who are getting married that the best thing that I could give them as a gift would be patience. The Apostle Paul begins His instructions on love by saying love is patient, love is kind. The two go hand in hand. If we are going to grow in patience we need God’s help, but we also need to take some practical steps to ensure that it can happen. Often we say, well I just need God to give me more patience, but we must realize there are steps we can take to help us grow in that. We can set ourselves up to fail or to overcome by how we prepare for it. First of all..

I. We Must Begin To View The Testing of Our Patience as An Opportunity to Show Love.

We must begin to see that things that happen are not out of God’s view, not out of God’s awareness or control, but as opportunities to show love, to show grace, and to let God know we are growing in character. When we are obedient others notice it, and God is honored, and then people are drawn closer to God through our faithfulness. This then show’s God’s Glory. Think of patience like a bow and string. The arrow is our love. In order for an arrow to be shot out there must be the resistance of the bow and the string. The further you want the arrow to go, the greater the resistance. You have to develop your muscles to be able to pull a 150 pound bow back, but when you are able to overcome this resistance and hold the arrow then whoosh there is a good shot and love is accomplished.

A. Tough circumstances that tries our patience is the resistance that allows us to release more love.

If there is no resistance then the arrow cannot be shot as far. If there is no resistance to our patience, then not as much love can be shown. So we need to see every stressful situation as providing an opportunity to overcome that resistance to stay calm, and show patience. Sometimes if feels like the pressure is more then we can handle…like oh my word I can’t hold this string any longer, but that is when we are forced to trust God for patience. And God is like a compound bow, that is built to actually release the pressure when we get to a certain point, it is not so hard. And likewise when we get to a place of overcoming our resistance to patience…it all of a sudden with God’s help gets easier.

1. Our homes are a testing grounds to help us to grow in patience. There are days everything seems to be going right and there are days when everything seems to be going wrong. Most of the time though there are daily circumstances that bring pressure giving us an opportunity to show patience. I want to give you some illustrations and some applications. Probably a version of these has happened in all of our homes at one time or another. Ok here we go.

Suppose somebody drank the last bit of orange juice that you wanted. You can say…Every time I want something some greedy persons takes the last drop…or with patience you can respond…well I guess we need more orange juice in this house…I am glad people are staying healthy. Here is one for parents. The kids trashed the living room now they are gone and you have to look at it or clean it. You can say….Without patience you can blurt out…If I see one more mess of yours in this house you are going to sleep in the barn… and be grounded for a week. Or you can respond…now I want you to know that I cleaned up your mess in the living room…and we know each person in this house must do their part….so lets try a little harder, but now show me you want to help out by going to your room and straightening it out.

Here is another for husbands and wives. Your wife took your keys put them in her purse by mistake and drove off with them leaving you stranded. You angrily comment…if you take my keys one more time I am just about going to go crazy. Or you can call and say dear…I know our keys look alike, and I think you have mine in your purse…could you get them back to me. Here is one that plagues not only the home but the office. Your husband has been trying his best to get the computer working like it should….it is starting to frustrate you. You can say…why doesn’t that stupid computer ever work? Or you may respond with patience I know you are working hard on that…is there anything or anyone I can connect with to help. Here is one that can happen to a husband or a wife numerous times in a week. Your wife comes home stressed from work…she really needs to talk. You have a choice to show patience and kindness or irritability. Your expression can be…I really don’t want to hear it…I have things to do…or you can respond…I am sorry dear…give me 15 minutes to wrap this up and we will sit down and talk it out.

B. There Are things We Can do To Cultivate Patience

1. Pray before difficulty comes.

Living at home with those we love can test our patience. Wisdom dictates that we prepare our selves in prayer for what might occur. Start to think ahead of time what could occur and begin to pray for the right reaction. The ultimate example of this is Jesus as He goes to the garden and prays before His great testing and trial culminating at the cross. He needed much prayer to endure with patience the suffering He would go through. Too often we just fly off the handle without any conscious dependence on God. We have to harness difficult circumstances to be used for our blessing and God’s glory. Listen to Romans 5:4

It says as we go through difficult things..These very things will give us patient endurance, this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a hope that will be steady and not disappoint. This then leads to expressing love, for verse 5 says the love of God will flood through our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Phillips Modern Version. So in other words do not let circumstances control you, but let God control them and use them for something better. The best thing that can come out of tough things is to show love. Secondly in order to do this..

2. We need to see the larger picture.

Sometimes we get trapped in the moment with our emotions. All we can think about is our own frustration, disappointment and anxiety. But we need to stand back and see the bigger picture. Is that thing that has set us spinning really that big in the larger scheme of things? Think about how Jesus carried out His ministry and outreach to others.

Jesus showed incredible patience. People misunderstood him everyday. His family thought he was crazy. They came out one day to bring him back home because they thought He was spending too much time in the ministry because he was not even stopping to eat. Mark 3:21 says that when his family heard of this they went to get Him for they said, He is out of His mind. His disciples were constantly confused at what He was doing but Jesus had patience knowing that God was working on them, and that the Holy Spirit needed time. So we need to…

3. Believe in What God Can Do In Others.

Because Jesus had patience He could say of Peter, you are the rock upon which I will build my church. Peter did not look like a rock in many cases. He was impulsive, mouthy, he ran away, and he denied Christ 3 times. But Jesus saw beyond that to the wonderful faith and obedience that would come for decades. Sometimes we must see beyond the failure of family members and believe greater things for them. This requires patience. To grow this patience we need to…
a. Learn to Understand Our Children.

Most all of us parents need to formulate a little more patience when it comes to our children and their school habits or responsibilities. I know that almost all kids need some pushing to get their homework done. But most kids are also trying. We need to be patient with their failures and affirm their strengths. I know parents…. whose son went through a very difficult time when he moved from one school to another. The second school said he was two years behind because of the poor quality of his previous school. Not something you want to hear. But these parents worked hard every night with their son, because they believed in him. They refused to let the teacher’s negative attitudes discourage them. They saw ability in him. Their child went on to do very well in college and found a very fine job. Pause and think, where do you need to believe more in your kids?

II. Secondly Love is Kind

Ephesians 4:32 says be kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another as Christ loves us.

What is kindness? Kindness comes from the same root Old English word as kin. It is how you treat your kin. It is the love we show to that is special.

A. We are to Show Love To Others as if they were Family.

But sometimes it is hard to love our husbands and wives our children and grandchildren as we should.

1. A picture of kindness is a grandmother’s love. I have known who have special love for their grandkids. I have seen some grandma’s that have a little grandson who is a bit of a pistol, and he really stresses the family and neighbors. But when he comes to grandma’s house he can do no wrong. Grandma always has cookies and a kind word. But later on that little boy remembers his grandma who always believed in him, and he starts to try and do better. Kindness gets outside of our own interests and welfare. It sees the good in others. It also seeks to build up through kind words and deeds. Kindness is simple to understand.

2. Do the things that we would like others to do for us. Jesus put it well…”do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It is easy to understand but sometimes so very difficult to practice. Paul says it in another way, he says he who loves his husband or wife, loves themselves. When you do something kind to your spouse you actually are making it better for yourself. Try to meet your spouses needs just like your own. It can be oh so simple. When you put the coffee on in the morning, and pour a cup take one to your husband or wife. And give them a kiss too. If you have an errand to run ask you husband or wife if they need anything. If your wife is going to be late then husbands you put dinner on. Wives if your husband has had a rough day, don’t give him such a long list of things to do. Now somebody might be think oh those little things are not so important.

3. Little things are important to God. When Jesus went to one Pharisees house, a woman poured perfume over his feet and wiped them with her tears. When the ruler criticized her, Jesus admonished him. He said when I came to your house, you gave me no kiss, or we can infer a hug, and you did not wash my feet. In other words you gave no evidence of kindness or hospitality. It is impossible to show love without kindness, and people feel it when it is there. Ask yourself this morning have you been kind to your spouse?
a. We must also show it in the little things to our children. It is so easy for us to get wrapped up in our adult agendas and to ignore what our children are feeling or going through. Loving a child does not mean we can never bring correction, but parents can be so commanding with kids that the children cease to respect them or honor them. In some cases parents are so overbearing and demanding it causes the child to rebel. Some parents never realize it and they do it even as adults. And then they wonder why their kids do not want to spend so much time with them. In some cases it is even the reason a grown son or daughter will not come to church. We all need to ask ourselves this question, have I been overbearing at times? The bible says we are not to exasperate our children.

B. We must learn to discover what they our feeling.

When our children come home from school we should give them special attention. If you go out to eat on a Friday night, make them the center of conversation. Sometimes it is hard to get into that little heart and mind, but we have to learn the language they speak. We must create an environment where they can feel that love and kindness is being expressed towards them.

1. Do Things They Like to Do

When you plan a trip, do some things that really exciting for your teen or child. If I go somewhere I want to see historical sites, and sometimes go hiking, but that is bor-r-ring to my daughter. But if I tell her I will take her to a concert with one of her favorite singers…like Taylor Swift wow she lights up. Learn their language and speak it. That is showing kindness.

III. Thirdly Love is Not Envious

Another attribute we must work to counteract in the family is envy. Sometimes children feel that another child gets more attention then they do so they are envious. We must show equal love to our children, even though it may be harder for one child. Children must also show the same love to each parent. It is so easy to show favoritism. Sometimes brothers and sisters become jealous of what the other has. But love is not envious, love rejoices in another’s good fortune.

A. Envy Is Very Destructive

It was envy that brought the greatest anger on the part of the religious leaders with Jesus. Their envy turned to pure hatred. Sometimes in the family of God, persons are upset because someone else has it better then they do. Sometimes when things happen to us we wonder why did God let me have this trouble and someone else has none.

Yes envy puts unpleasant thoughts into our hearts and minds. If we see someone else getting more attention then we are we become jealous and we strive to get what they have. We then seek to get that attention in unhealthy ways.

Paul also says that pride ought not to be in us. Envy and pride go hand in hand.

1. Pride Often Leads Us To Be Envious

When we think we are doing pretty well and ought to be appreciated and when another gets more praise we are envious. Love however does not boast and is not proud. Love is humble. Love realizes its abilities and has some confidence, but love does not make others feel we are better then they are. Love does not revel in its accomplishments in an unhealthy way.

There is a time to celebrate something good and wonderful that has happened to us. When someone throws a party for a graduation, a promotion at work, or if you receive an award at a banquet that is cause for us to rejoice in our achievement, but still we must be humble about it. When praise is given we must be sure to give praise right back for every wonderful thing that others did to allow the good thing to happen to us.

2. Praising Other’s is the key to stop Pride and Envy In fact, if you are receiving a lot of praise but you are not giving a lot out, you are in danger of being proud. People who give out lots of affirmation and praise really draw others to them. But if you give it out sparingly you will be missing one of the most important aspects of showing love. In fact it is pretty hard to show love without giving praise.

When someone affirms me I feel really close to them, but if someone is silent I an not sure where their heart is. You are the same way.

If you stopped praising your husband or wife years ago, you have allowed your love to grow cold. The same is true with our children. The bible says if we do not have love we are nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious, proud or boastful, but it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Jesus loves you. He is patient and kind with you. He affirms you and seeks to build you up all the time. So let us love one another. Amen.

Message: The Healthy Church
John D. Landis-UMC of Swartz Creek
Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16
Sunday, January 24, 2010

Most of us have numerous appointments each year where we have our health checked out. We go to the eye doctor, the skin doctor, the dentist, and the family doctor. We want to get a check-up and see if we are healthy. Just as we check on the health of our bodies, we also need to take inventory on the health of the body of Christ the church. In the series I am doing on the church the first part was in discovering who we are as God’s people in ministry, secondly how we function in mission, and today I am looking at how we work together as a healthy body.

When you think of a healthy body you think of each part doing what it should, with a sense of wellness throughout the body. It is tough for the body to be healthy if the stomach is always churning. It is difficult if you have a back problem. It affects walking, sitting and doing simple tasks. The body of Christ must also have every member doing what they are called to with basic good health. Each member must be healthy in the way they operate. Those who lead children must have a healthy understanding of how to care for them. Those who minister to families must be sensitive to the unique struggles that they face in today’s world. And those who care for persons that are ill must have some awareness.

Perhaps the first and foremost important attribute for health in the body of Christ is unity. Paul said in Philippians 2:2, make my joy complete by being of one mind. Think about how your body works together as a unit. When the body is working properly all the signals are coming from the brain and all parts are in sync. Sometimes trauma occurs to the body and signals go haywire. An example of this is when a person has a stroke. When the blood clot hits the brain all of a sudden things stop working properly. One leg tries to walk and the other limps. One hand seeks to reach out and the other is frozen. The brain tries to say things that the mouth will not speak. It may be so bad that the body may not even be able to get up.

This is what happens in the Church when we are not all getting our signals from the central nervous system or head. Who is our head in the church? It is Jesus Christ. What keeps us from getting the right direction from Him? We may not be in the Word, we may not be praying enough. We may be allowing our hearts to become proud or selfish. We may simply refuse to submit our will to something God wants us to do. We show favoritism and build factions. The church is dis-unified, and like a stroke victim it cannot function in a healthy manner. It can get so bad in the church or body of Christ that the church becomes dysfunctional. It can even die. So the first step in the healthy Church is to be…

I. United in Purpose

On the night in which Jesus was betrayed He said, Father I pray that they may be one as we are one. He understood how important it was for the church to have the same unity of purpose that He and the Father had. There is nothing wrong with Christians having different sorts of ministries and special focuses, but when the body is so divided that people think we are an entirely different religion things have to change. I think when Christ looks upon the earth that He must be disappointed. There is tremendous division in His around the world. In North America alone there are 1,000 denominations. I think that He must weep.

As believers, to keep unity we must learn to discern what the essential doctrines are of our faith, those you must believe to be called Christian and then those beliefs that sincere Christians have differed on since 40 AD. One of the reasons the church locally and nationally is so divided is that we do not know the many things we are united in, and we do not realize there is some grace to agree to disagree. On the day that we had our Christmas concert for the food bank Father Steve and I joined hands as we said the Lords prayer. Some people said they had never seen that. But we can have unity. To help you discern and have a reference for your spiritual life let me give you this list of things we should have in common.
I have touched on some of these things over the years, but today I want to give you a more complete list.

I hope that you can use this in your faith, in your discussions with others, and in building unity. I believe God would have us move beyond our differences to unite his church with love in our hearts. John Wesley said it well, in essentials we need unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity. If you study the bible, and if you look at what the church has believed for centuries in the great Creeds, The Apostles, the Nicene, The Westminster Confession, The Church of England’s 39 Articles, and our Own Doctrine you will find great unity on essentials.

Essentials of the Faith

I. A Belief in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Matt. 3:13-17

II. A Belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son who was Human and Divine. Phil. 2:5-8

III. A Belief That Jesus Truly Died, Was Buried, Rose, and Will Return Again. I Corinthians 15:3,4, I Thess. 4:13-16

IV. A Belief That Jesus Christ is the only one who can Atone for our sins, and give us the gift of Eternal Life. Romans 3:23,25, 6:23

V. That Scripture is God breathed, preserved and our authority for Knowing God and Knowing how to live. I Timothy 3:16, 17, Isa. 40:7

VI. That Each person must receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, thereby allowing the Holy Spirit to enter their lives. I John 4:13,14;5:12

VII. That God calls us to live a life of obedience, and faith according to Scripture. II Timothy 3:14-17

VIII. That God calls all of us to mission and ministry making disciples of all people. Matthew 28:18-20

IX. That submitting your life to the Teaching of the Word, Order and Sacraments in the Church is essential. Acts 2

X. That There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Luke 10:20, Matthew 10:28

Essential Doctrine, that we can agree to disagree on.

I. The Time, and Form of Baptism.
II. Understanding When and How Christ Will Return.
III. The Way That a Church Governs Itself.
IV. The Use of the Gifts of the Spirit.
V. The Understanding of God’s Sovereignty and The Free Will of Human Beings.
VI. How Communion is Administered and what the Elements Mean.
VII. The View of War and Responsibility to Government.
VIII. The Style and Form of Worship
IX. How We Are Resurrected
X. What Will Happen In Eternity

Unfortunately presently and throughout history Christians have not practiced charitable unity on these doctrines. Christians have even killed other Christians for not believing what they thought on baptism. My ancestor Hans Landis was put to death for his view on war, on communion, and baptism. Both the Protestant and Catholic Church were intolerant on those things. Whole denominations have been started over stressing non-essential doctrine.

Churches have said you cannot take communion if you are not a member, you cannot join unless you take a certain view on tongues, or on the end times. Christ’s body is divided. Do you really think Jesus is going to keep anyone out of heaven because they do not believe in the proper moment he will return. My goodness Jesus did not know Himself. He said that only the Father knew. We think we know more than Jesus.

Now I thank God for the unity in this church. I see you working with other denominations such as the Catholic Church in the food bank. I see harmony within this body on respecting what others believe. Let us be a light to the world. I have found that if you emphasize the things we have in common that we can minister effectively. If you are with Baptists, don’t try to force them to be an infant Baptist. If you are with Charismatic folks don’t put down their conviction on miracles. If you are with Presbyterians don’t down-grade their view of God’s sovereignty. And if you are with Methodists, don’t tell them they can believe just any old thing.

If President Clinton and President Bush can have unity over caring for Haiti, then we should have unity in our mission. Listen to the Words of Paul… make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace Ephesians 4:3 Secondly, to be a healthy church, we must…

II. Build One Another Up

Let’s think of the body again. What builds it up?

Maybe we should start with what runs it down. If you don’t get rest the body wears out. If you only ate nacho chips and drank pop all week long, you would not have the nutrition you need and it would tear your body down. Proper nutrition and proper exercise are critical. The nutrition is feeding on the Word of God and sharing about it. The exercise is doing the things we are called to do.

In my new years sermon I talked about committing to exercise and I want you to know that I have walked or jogged just about every day since then. I noticed that my knees felt stronger, that I had more energy and strength. Paul says that if the body properly exercises each part that it builds itself up. Did you know that the use of muscles around the joints actually strengthens the ligaments and builds up bone mass. Ephesians 4:16 says this very thing. The whole body is joined and held together by every supporting ligament and causes it to grow and build itself up in love as each part does its work.

We see in Scripture that every part of the body needs to be working. We know that some of the best exercise is when we use every part of the body. We need to get the blood pumping, the lungs breathing, the heart moving and as many muscles working as possible. That is what you will do in therapy after surgery. That is what builds up.

So in the church of Jesus Christ we need every person to do their work. If someone has a gift they need to use it. If someone has a talent that does not seem to fit in with what we have then we need to develop new things. The healthy church is always starting new ministries. We ought always to be discovering the gifts in more and more people. We ought always to help people get training to develop those gifts, so that everyone in the body might have their needs met. We need to be in prayer asking God what it is that His body needs.

For the last few months I have been feeling that we need to work on strengthening our marriages. We do a lot of things in groups that focus on our personal relationship with God, and our fellowship with others in the church, but sometimes churches ignore marriages. One man said to me years ago that he said didn’t feel the church ever gave tools to help build his marriage up, to help him understand communication. As I looked back on the history of that church I knew he was right. I don’t want that to be the case here.

We are going to start some groups in a few weeks to help focus on building up our marriages. We are going to use the material from Love Dare and the movie Fireproof. It is really powerful. It has helped thousands of people around the country, and some right in this congregation. Some of you might feel, well my marriage is ok, but it can still improve. Others today might feel I am so far on the edge I cannot wait another few weeks. But we are going to start with the idea of two groups in mind, more if needed. We also hope to have 5-7 groups studying love in all relationships.
Now as we build one another up, the bible says we must have a servant attitude. This attitude is one which thinks I am doing this to bless others.

If people let me down I am going to keep on giving because it is not about people pleasing me, and doing it my way but it is about helping others to have their needs met and to grow in Christ. When you get involved in a ministry or activity if you have a servant attitude, you will be able to accept disappointment, failure and in some cases rudeness. If you do not have a servant attitude, as soon as someone disagrees with you, challenges you, or fails you your thoughts will be… I am outta there.

Think about Jesus. If he would have given up every time someone criticized him, disappointed him, or was rude, he would not have gotten past day one. Jesus whole life was characterized by enduring countless thousands of misunderstandings and failures. But He hung in there. He had a greater vision. Listen to what Paul said, Let this attitude be in you which was in Christ Jesus who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant…and he humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Phil. 2:5-8

Folks we have to learn to die to our pride, our self-centeredness, and the desire to always be appreciated. We have to do some things because Jesus told us too. How many acts of love does a mother perform for her child, without the child truly appreciating it? I heard a man say the other day…I did not really appreciate who my father was as a man until I went to college.

A servant has one goal, and that is to please the master. Now I know that we all need affirmation, support and appreciation, and that must be there in a healthy church, but we also need to grab a hold of this servant attitude. We are not going to be able to serve, care, and be healthy without it. Because of our own fallen nature, it cannot happen by ourselves but only through the Holy Spirit. But when we let the Holy Spirit take over you know a funny thing happens, not as much stuff bothers you. So you are happier. So don’t worry be happy…be a servant.
Now it is not always easy, but it will give true fulfillment.

So let us be united, let us build one another up, and let us do ministry as servants. Amen.