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Century Christian
Church 1301 Tamarack Road, Owensboro, KY 42301, (270) 684-0286, Pastor: Rev. Jim Westmoreland |
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Living Wisely The Road Runner cartoons, Wile E. Coyote and all the Acme products he bought may be the reason we have so many warning labels on products today. Warning labels points to dangers in life. Most warning labels make sense but some of them are just downright ridiculous and makes you wonder WHY a company had to put that warning label on their product. One web site had a section on things put on warning labels: "Not dishwasher safe." -- On a remote control for a TV. What I want to know is, are we all related to Wile E. Coyote. Sometimes, we aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer! It's a little scary to think that these messages are required for some people. Let's face it, life can be dangerous. Sometimes it can be like nothing more than an ongoing obstacle course. Or a mine field! You never know when something's going to blow up in your face or what the next challenge is going to be! This passage from Ephesians is intended to help us to live wisely. It could be the warning label for the Christian life. Not a funny one but a serious one. Hear again these brief instructions from Ephesians 5:15-20: "Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The passage gives us our outline. We are called to a life of faith that is filled with all kinds of pitfalls. There is some preparedness training that we can take to help us. We are called to live wisely. How will we do this? Paul tells us that we should: Be Prepared, Read the Manual, Stay Connected, Keep Our Focus, and Live Gratefully. The first thing Paul tells us is to be prepared. In verses 15 & 16 Paul says, "Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil." I understand that to mean be prepared. The motto of the US Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis, semper fi for short, which means "always faithful." The motto of the US Coast Guard is Semper Paratus, which means "always ready." The main focus of the Coast Guard and the most exciting aspect of the work in the Coast Guard was "search and rescue." Their job and our purpose is to save lives. In our Daily Walk with Christ, we're called to be just as ready. We're called to be prepared. Why, because we never know when our faith will be tested. Or, when we'll have the opportunity to share the Good News with others, which would be "making the most of the time" as Paul says. Second Paul says: read the manual. Actually he says in verse 17, "So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." What better place to start than with the book that contains the Word of God. A Book that describes the Will of God through the relationships and history of God's people. Missionary Stuart Sacks was serving in Paraguay when Rafael, a Maka Indian, came to sit on his porch. Stuart stepped outside and asked Rafael what he wanted, to which he replied, "Ham, henek met." This meant "I don't want anything; I have just come near." The missionary understood the simple meaning: Rafael didn't want anything from the American. He just wanted to sit on the porch because he simply enjoyed being near the missionary.(2) James 4:8 "Draw near to God and God will draw near to you." When we draw near to the God each day through the reading and study of Scripture, God draws near to us and we begin to learn God's will for our lives. It's all in the manual. All we have to do is read the manual. Third, Paul says: stay connected: What he actually writes is: "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit." We stay connected through Prayer and worship. You see, being filled with the Spirit and seeking the ongoing presence and outpouring of the Holy Spirit is essential to the Christian life because there are so many temptations out there, like the wine Paul wrote about. Whatever controls us become temptations that pester us and nibble at us and try to distract us from our relationship with God. They try to overload the power grid of our faith. So what do we do? A little boy and his father were hiking in the woods. They spotted a hawk circling above them. Suddenly, several black birds flew up, pestering the hawk. "Dad, why doesn't the hawk fight them off?" asked the boy. Motioning his son to be quiet, they watched the bird of prey spread his wings and soar high into the sky, leaving the other birds far behind. The father explained, "When a hawk is being pestered, all it needs to do is catch the currents and rise above the reach of the pests."(3) Isaiah 40:31 says: "But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles." NRSV In other words, if we stay connected through prayer and worship and don't forget to read the manual, we'll be able to soar like eagles and rise above the temptations of life. But only if we stay connected. Fourth, Paul says keep your focus. Paul writes in verse 19: "sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts." Why? So, you can keep your focus. Sometimes that's hard. French Lick, Indiana, is well known to basketball fans as the boyhood home of basketball legend Larry Bird. In fact, many basketball fans come to take pictures of the street that is named in Bird's honor, Larry Bird Boulevard. One day, a couple of tourists came out to take pictures of themselves in front of the basketball-shaped street sign for Larry Bird Boulevard. They paid no attention to a jogger who passed by, and who was probably caught on the periphery of some of their photos. That jogger was Larry Bird. He was going through his daily work-out in the off-season. But these two tourists were so focused on the Larry Bird sign that they didn't even notice when the real Larry Bird passed by.(4) Sometimes, we get focused on the unimportant stuff of life and miss out on what's real and what's important. Paul tells us to stay focused on our relationship with God by singing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Let's face it, if the words and tunes of Christian music are running through your head and heart instead of a litany of all the problems of the world or list of ways you've been wronged or hurt, your life will be more buoyant. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and said in 4:8: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." If you do, then you'll be able to keep your focus. The last thing Paul tells us in this passage is to Live gratefully. He says: [20] "[Give] thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Gratitude is one of the greatest gifts and greatest responses to God's gifts in our lives that we can give. According to an old Guideposts story, for Christmas one year, Phyllis Wohlfarth's husband gave her a gold lapel pin. Phyllis said she only took a second to thank her husband for his gift. A week later, as she put on the lapel pin, she reflected on her husband's thoughtfulness. With more sincerity, she thanked him again. Her husband explained that the pin had belonged to his grandmother, so it was very special to him. Phyllis noted that if she hadn't offered the second "thank you," she might have never learned the significance of the pin. It was only when she took the time to reflect on the gift and offer a more sincere "thank you" that she really learned to appreciate her husband's gesture. How often do we offer God a quick "Thank You" for our many blessings, and then forget about them? Or how often do we just take the blessings of God and never even say "Thank You."(5) (5) In 1st Thessalonians 5:18 Paul says: "Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." NRSV. In other words: live gratefully. Be Prepared, Read the Manual, Stay Connected, Keep Your Focus, and Live Gratefully. These are all designed to help us Live carefully. Ten-year-old Ashley Danielle Oubré gave a speech at Washington, D.C.'s Mayoral Prayer Breakfast in 1995. In the speech, she reminded the listeners of Jesus' words in Matthew 18 that they must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of God. And she encouraged the adults in the audience to learn from their children how to get along together, how to trust one another, and how to trust God. She ended by saying, "You teach us that when we have a problem, we should talk it out with others and with Jesus. You say that Jesus can solve all our problems, both big and small. But we notice when people get older and have problems, they are embarrassed to talk like that among themselves. We wonder if you really mean it, or is Jesus only for kids? I am still young enough to believe that Jesus knows how to solve my problems, the problems of the city, and of the world."(6) I think Ashley hit the nail on the head. Some people would say I'm naive but I agree with Ashley. I still "believe that Jesus knows how to solve my problems, the problems of the city, and of the world." But with all the bombardment from all the various forms of media, I have to remember and remind myself of that all the time. I have to "Live Wisely" as Paul put it because when we look out at the world "It's Not Booby Trapped, But . . ." it is dangerous. Live Wisely, put Christ first and use this passage not only as a warning label but as a guide to Living. A story is told of a rabbi in a European village, who one day summoned the townspeople to the village square. He said he had an important announcement. The people gathered, but not without much grumbling at the inconvenience. The merchant resented having to leave his business. The wife complained because she had so many errands to run. But, out of respect, they went unwillingly to the town square. When all were present, the rabbi said, "I wish to announce there
is a God in the world." That was all he said. But the people
understood. They knew they had been acting as if God did not
exist.(7)
. . . Living Wisely means that we live our lives in the
presence of and in relationship with a God who does exist and
does make a difference in our lives! Amen. Century Christian Church, August 20, 2006 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland 1. Retrieved 8-19-06 at http://rinkworks.com/said/warnings.shtml 2. A sermon by Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn, "It's Not Booby Trapped, But . . ." (Ephesians 5:15-20) 3. Ibid. 4. Brad Preston, Bradford, PA. 5. "The Second Thank-You" by Phyllis Amy Wohlfarth, Guideposts, Nov. 1966, p. 11. 6. By Ashley Danielle Oubré, cited by Ravi Zacharias in Deliver Us From Evil (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997), pp. 197-198. 7. Hal Brady, Dallas, Texas. |
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