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My heart beats for love. I want to be different. I want to be who I am called to be. WORTHY and LOVED!

Sunday, October 26, 2014

“The Growing Ambition” Matthew 6: 19-21

Pastor Andy Stanley tells the story of Milton Scott in his book Fields of Gold. In all appearances, Mr. Scott was an average man, who died at the age of 106. He worked from the time he was 25 until he was 102 in a textile mill. He lived his entire working life in the same house, driving a simple car. He owned only four suits and four pairs of shoes. By all appearances, Mr. Scott was living a less than middle class ideal life. But what people didn’t know was that he was a fearless giver. As his income grew over the years, he kept his life style the same. Appearances or being noticeable were not among his priorities. Funding the work of ministry was his priority. He helped widows and orphans. He smuggled thousands of Bibles into Russia before the iron curtain fell. He didn’t save money for a rainy day or worry about tomorrow. He didn’t ask the “what if” questions about money we talked about last week. He was simply wrapped up in the joy of giving for the Kingdom of God. By the end of his life it was conservatively estimated that he gave away 70-80 percent of what he earned for the work of God.
Where would you say that Milton Scott’s treasure was? In the gospel of Matthew this morning Jesus is teaching his followers about money and possessions - asking them where their treasure is stored - on earth or in heaven. Telling them that where their treasure is, that’s where their heart is. 
My guess is that the Milton Scott story made some of us uncomfortable. We cannot even fathom parting with that much money for the work of God. For others of us we simply dismiss the story by citing how this man had more money to give so of course he gave more away. But the story of Milton Scott isn’t about the specific details. Or how much money he made. The story of Milton Scott challenges us past where we may be comfortable with questions like: how much am I willing to give to the work of the Kingdom of God? Is advancing the Kingdom of God my priority no matter what the cost? 
Or in the words of Pastor Stanley, “What if God called you to give beyond your comfort level?” Where is our treasure? Where is our heart?
I think the fact that this passage of scripture is found in scripture points to the fact that the tug of war between generosity and self-preservation is age old. Part of us wants to save money “just in case” and buy things for ourselves because “we deserve it”. We get caught up in questions of what if: what if the harvest isn’t good this year? What if I get a pay cut? What if my bills increase? What if the stock market crashes? So we focus on self-preservation, letting the fear of the “what if?” block our generosity. Let me be clear - I am not telling us to be irresponsible with our money - going into debt for the Kingdom of God. Instead, I’m asking us to examine our lifestyle, live below our means, and look past the “what ifs” for the sake of the Kingdom. 
Stanley admonishes that “as believers we have the responsibility to leverage our wealth for kingdom purposes”. In other words our giving to the work of the Kingdom tells where our heart is. Tells where our treasure is stored. Church folk feel pretty okay when the pastor brings up working for the Kingdom of God. They feel comfortable with the idea of growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ. However, resistance comes when talking about putting our money where our mouth, and our heart is, for God. Its as if money is where we hit our limit with trusting God. We don’t quite trust God financially. And as a result we don’t sow for the eternal harvest with our money - it just seems like a little too much to ask. But in the words of Stanley “Sowing in faith results in an eternal crop. Cowering in field yields empty fields”
I’m not trying to make you feel nervous, uncomfortable, or angry. But I can understand why those emotions may be present because of this sermon series. Instead, I’m asking you if you trust God financially? If your check book reveals your heart chasing after God? If you are trying to grow in your stewardship? Because its not until we start to ask these questions that we can find freedom. Its not until we start examining our hearts that we can truly seek the Kingdom of God first. 
Here’s the thing - every person in this room, including myself, has a threshold when it comes to giving. Just as everyone in that crowd gathered around Jesus as he taught about where our treasure is, so our heart is, had a threshold for what they would give. Thresholds are natural for humans. They are the dollar amount or percentage of money that we feel comfortable giving. When we step out in faith beyond our threshold, thats when we become uncomfortable. But the question is are we willing to step out in faith, beyond our threshold? Are we willing to surrender control of our money to God? Or are we going to let our fear be in control? Stanley shares his own threshold moment to which he responded, “God I’m not 100 percent comfortable with giving this money but I’m too uncomfortable not to give it”.
In the church there are typically two types of people who give in the offering plate throughout the year. The first are those who give out of what is left over - after all of the bills are paid and they see what is left over. The second type of giver takes a risk and gives off of the top. One way is not better then another, but the order in which we write our checks speaks of our priorities. Speaks of what makes us more comfortable - giving up front or giving what’s left over?
Do we become more uncomfortable with not giving then we are with giving an amount that scares us? Are we more focused on sowing for the kingdom or taking care of ourselves in potential situations in the future?
If God has given us all that we have, including the money we get from our vocation, and the offering plate belongs to God, why are we still fearful? If all of our treasures belong to God, why do we invest so much time and money into protecting them? And do we offer the same level of care and money into the work of God among us?

United Methodist consultant Cliff Christopher points out “Stewardship is a journey that is grounded in gratitude, revealed in prayers, and lived in faith.” We are not going to let go of our fear around finances tomorrow. It comes one little step at a time. One percentage more in our giving each year. God is inviting us to a lifestyle of generosity vs. Fear, but the choice is ours as to what we will choose. Money and our attitude towards possessions speak directly to what we choose. So I ask you - wheres your treasure this day - on earth or in heaven? And where would you like them to be even if it is beyond our comfort level? Amen. 

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Fields of Gold: Dust in the Wind Matthew 6:25-34

I get it. Talking about stewardship of our time, talents, and resources makes us uncomfortable. We like to claim that money and church just don’t mix - and that’s where I stop understanding. Stop getting it. Because Jesus talks about money and wealth a lot. Sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, but there is no shortage in either testament in addressing money. And if Jesus talked about it, so do we.
I grew up in a tithing family. I remember watching my dad write out his tithe check  every Sunday before I could even really know what a check was for. The story goes that around the age of six I came out to my dad while he was writing his tithe check and asked for an envelope. Dad gave it to me, and I disappeared into my room, returning with my name printed in large letters on the front in crayon. I handed it to my parents and my dad asked me what it was. I told him it was my money for church, just like his - and when he opened up the envelope he found $1.00 - a treasure for someone that age. I have tithed and given to the church ever since.
Now maybe its easier to give when we are children. We aren’t all wrapped up in the fear of what is to come. But I also think that children understand the wisdom of today’s gospel lesson in a way that we forget when we grow up. When we are children who are well cared for, we don’t worry where our next meal is going to come from or if we will have clothes to wear. We simply trust that we will be provided for. Trust our parents. Trust our grandparents. Trust those who are our caregivers. But then we grow up and think that we need to make it all on our own - we start to fret over not just having food and clothing, but having the best. We start to fear that we will not have enough instead of trusting God to provide. We start to sum up our lives not by God’s grace but by what we have accumulated. We start to worry that God doesn’t know what we need or that God won’t come through for us. We fear that if we give to the church, give back to the work of the Kingdom of God, that our quality of life will diminish. We start to wonder if we will need that money for something else. As we write out the check, we hesitate, wondering if we are saving enough for future, unknown needs. 
As we grow up we lose confidence in the belief that we will be provided for and that brothers and sisters, takes all of the joy out of giving. I remember the joy of giving as a child - whether it was giving to the church every week or wrapping up one of my favorite books to give to my cousin on her birthday. I remember the joy of celebrating my birthday, not because of what I would receive, but because then I got to put a special offering in the birthday Sunday School bank for missions. What happened to that joy? The joy of simply giving unto God because we have been provided for beyond our wildest imaginations?
Life. The drain and worry of living. The worry about things that we cannot control. The worry that Jesus is talking about in this passage. In his book Fields of Gold, Pastor Andy Stanley tells the story of one man, Jeremiah Clay’s, worry. Maybe you can identify with it...
Jeremiah was a farmer during the Great Depression and was lured west by promises of fields being ripe for the harvest. So he packed up his family and headed out to a new life - only to find out those fields were more like a dust bowl. From year to year he didn’t know if there would be enough water for his crops, or if they would be flooded out, or blown away. Each month, for five trying years, he could spend an entire salary on seed - seed that he didn’t know would take or not. Jeremiah was now finding the courage to replant hard to summon. He hadn’t made a profit in five years. He found himself worrying each day about the next storm that may come and blow away his investment. He wondered if he should even bother planting another bag of seed.
When we start to worry about things that we cannot control - we let our anxiety drive us to be irrational. We stop seeking the most important thing, the Kingdom of God, and become fixated on the immediate, and on us and on our own needs. But that fear is mis-placed, brothers and sisters. If God intends for us to sow our financial resources for the Kingdom of God, shouldn’t we more aptly fear under sowing for the Kingdom? Shouldn’t it bring us to our knees that we may be spending our lives worrying about food and clothing and only sowing a few handfuls of our finances for God as a result?
The truth is that the Christian Church doesn’t like to hear stewardship sermons because it makes us face our fears about money. Our fear of not having enough. Our fear of owning up to the fact that we are watering down our giving. In the Untied States only one-third to one-half of church go-ers give in the offering plate. Give anything. And out of that percentage only three to five percent actually give God ten percent or more. In the United Methodist Church it is even worse. We are among the lowest of all denominations in giving. And for those that do give, they often give only one percent or less of their yearly income. 
We get anxious when we start to talk about stewardship or pass the offering plate. We start to hear only what we want to hear or let our anxiety and fear lead to anger, instead of allowing God to speak into our hearts. But there is good news, brothers and sisters - fear and faith often go hand in hand. We become fearful when we trust God to do something grand amongst us, but when we trust and take that step of faith, we get to see who God is and why we can stand on the promises of God. 
Our finances allow us to proclaim what we believe - and make us come face to face with the questions of if we really believe that God will provide and if we trust God enough to faithfully give? When we give to God, boldly, we get to see Jesus Christ at work. Its not about keeping the doors of this particular church open or continuing the mission and message of this denomination, though I believe that both of those things are good and pleasing to God. At the end of the day its about trusting that we are sowing for the Kingdom of God - here and now and in the future. Its about setting aside our fear, and having a conversion about our wallets, in order to proclaim the Kingdom message. 
I know that doesn’t make the message about finances any easier to hear. Too many of us feel that we are drowning in our debt and are caught on the hamster wheel of worry. When we talk about money we need to confess those spending habits that we have that keep us away from God, keep us in debt, and render us ineffective for the Kingdom. And after confession we need to repent and turn around in a way that fully releases all of our resources - time, money, and talents - for God’s purposes, instead of only looking to and trusting God when we personally are in need.

That is a hard message to swallow. To cease worrying is a challenge unto itself. To cease worrying about money and the future - that seems insurmountable. And yet, this conversation also gives us a chance to dive into the heart of the question - what do finances reveal about our commitment to God? Are we striving and seeking after the Kingdom of God, first, foremost, and forever? Or are we worrying about what tomorrow may hold. Amen. 

Sunday, October 5, 2014

What Christians Believe about Salvation Psalm 96: 1-6

Up to this point in our sermon series on what Christians believe, it could be said that Christians across the board believe the same statements of faith about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Church. However, today’s topic, the final in this particular sermon series is a bit trickier. Salvation is a hot topic in the church - how do you get saved. When were you saved. Do you need say certain things. Can you only be saved once. Has God chosen some people to be saved and others to perished. The list goes on and on.
Salvation is also confusing because we cannot address it apart from sin. God created humans to be in relationship with Him and with each other, but we screwed that up. Royally. We have strayed from the love of God in so many ways - and every possible way that we can sin is equally in the eyes of God; there are not some sins that are “worse” then others. Sin also always has consequences, both in the present and the eternal. And yet, we are also hesitant to admit or confess our sins, because we don’t want to acknowledge that we have screwed up. 
Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Enter Jesus. Who seeks to reconcile the lost world to God through his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection. Salvation is accepting this gift, this sacrifice, for one’s self. However, believing is not enough, for salvation should transform us into new people serving God in new way in community. 
We need to be communities of faith that remind us that our human story involves creation, sin, grace, and the law. To be reminded that we cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we try.  In “Our Doctrinal Heritage” for United Methodist it states, “as sinful creatures we have broken covenant, become estranged from God, wounded ourselves and one another, and wreaked havoc throughout the natural order. We stand in need of redemption.” We need community to remind us that genuine salvation comes from God and that we have a responsibility to respond to that salvation. For John Wesley believed that humanity had a responsibility in being made in the image of God and a responsibility in responding to God’s grace. 
At its core that is what salvation is, responding to God’s grace. We cannot earn salvation. In fact, salvation belongs to God. Today’s psalm reminds us that we are to bless God for the majesty of salvation, telling that story each and every day. Telling of the marvelous work God has done among his people. It is by God’s power and grace alone that we can be redeemed. Christians believe that before we knew God that God has gone before us to prepare a path to the Divine. This grace stirs in us the desire to repent, which in traditional evangelical doctrines means turning around or going a new direction. It should be noted that “because prevenient grace from God moves us to repent, this repentance is not our good works, but God’s gracious activity in us.” Repentance involves the realization that we cannot save ourselves as we experience sorrow for our sin. As a result of this realization repentance leads us to seek God’s help and restoration
Wesley preached a two-fold legal and evangelical repentance. Legal repentance was a conviction for sin, but evangelical repentance was a change of heart that led to a life of holiness. He believed that change in mind and behavior were inextricably linked, thus a change of heart and mind would be most noticeable by changed behaviors and actions. This change of heart and mind came from an “awakening of the sinner to one’s need for God, one’s own guilt, and one’s inability to solve it on one’s own.” 
United Methodists do not believe that repentance is a one-time event. Rather, repentance is ongoing as we become more self-aware and seek to grow in holiness of heart and life. One of my favorite quotes from John Wesley comes after his life transforming experience with God when someone asks him if he is saved. His response: “I am being saved”. Salvation, like repentance, is not a one time event, but rather a process where we grow more in love with God. The journey to salvation starts with repentance, and as God convicts us of our sins, we turn in the other direction, moving closer to the heart of God. 
When I think about Wesley’s statement two friends come to mind. Both attended a Bible study I was a part of. Both claimed to come to know Christ at the same time - however, one only changed his behaviors for a few weeks, before giving up. The other still attends to his faith. What was the difference between the two? The first thought salvation was a one time event that cleared him to act however he desired in the future, While the other lived into Wesley’s statement - seeing his faith as a process.
In recent months the conversation has emerged in different studies in the parish about whether you need an event that you can point to in order to be truly saved. While some people have such life changing events, others grow up in the church and transition from infancy in faith to maturity without a large landmark to point to. Both are equally valid paths of salvation - one is not better that the other.
However, Wesley believed that the fruit of our salvation, whether a gradual process or a life defining moment, should be seen in how we treat others, especially the poor, the sick, and the hungry. For the early Methodists it was not enough to save souls, for they believed we needed to seek to redeem society, which God deeply cares about, as well. We cannot earn salvation through good works, but good works should flow from our repentance, in order to reveal to others the One who has changed our lives.
As Christians we believe that individuals and the world is in need of salvation - delivered from the death we are due for our sins. Christ gave the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, which we will celebrate today around the communion table, in order to reunite humanity with God. However, there is no one right way to accept Christ’s sacrificial death for one’s self. Instead, as Christians we are in the process that continues throughout our lives and will be complete when we stand before Christ in judgment. 

The question really is are we going to accept God’s gracious gift of love in our lives and how are we going to live in a way that reflects this love? Will we be freed from the bondage of sin or will we dismiss salvation and be held captive? Will we live into our salvation in a way that draws others to God or will we make it all about us? What fruit have we bore through accepting the sacrifice of Christ? Hard questions that reflect an even harder topic - but questions we must ponder for our sake and the sake of our world. Amen.