Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship · August 17, 2008

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Holy Lord, heaven and earth are full of your glory. You chose to become one of us in Christ Jesus. And so we praise you for your love, which is great enough to embrace the universe, yet close enough to enter our hearts. During this hour of worship, we humbly yet boldly ask that you surprise us with your grace so that we, with the rest of the Church and the whole of creation, may praise and adore you! Amen.

Scripture

Romans 11:36

For everything comes from God, everything lives by God’s power, and everything is intended for God’s glory.

Message

The Legacy of Our Convictions

(Convictions that Shape Our Decisions)

Rick Frost

Good morning to you. If you are a first-time visitor or if you have been away for a while, we offer a special word of welcome. We always are delighted to have you here. You caught us on a great day, a wonderful day, my final day to be in Broadway’s pulpit as your preacher. What an honor, folks! What a privilege it has been. It has been nearly a quarter of a century, nearly half the life of this congregation. It has been my good fortune, my pleasure, my joy, and my genuine satisfaction to stand before you nearly 1,200 times. Oh, my gosh! It has been in the hope of effectively communicating the good news of the gospel.

As some of you know, we have been in a series about our legacy – about leaving a lasting legacy – which you and I are going to leave for the next generation. Whether you have been here 50 minutes, or 50 weeks, or 50 years, you are a part of passing something on to the next generation.

Over the past few weeks, we have talked about the legacy of our faith, the legacy of our hope, the legacy of our love, and I want to wrap it up today by focusing on the legacy of our convictions.

They tell me that you and I tend to base all of our major decisions on one of four motivations. 

Sometimes you and I base our decisions on the circumstances we are experiencing. What’s going on around us: the price of gas, what the market is doing, what’s happening at home, the circumstances in which we find ourselves. 

Sometimes we make decisions based on what is convenient, what is easiest, what is useful, what is expedient. How can we get this done, done, done quickly?

Sometimes we make decisions based on criticism. What will other people think? What will other people do if we think, or do, or say this? 

Sometimes – not all the time, but sometimes – you and I base our decisions on our convictions. What is a conviction? A conviction is a deeply-held belief that guides your life and mine. It is not just an opinion. It is not just a point of view. It’s not just somebody’s idea. Those are the things we argue about. Those are the things we debate. Those are the things we discuss. Sometimes we even change our minds about opinions. I’m not talking about opinions today. I’m talking about convictions. I’m talking about convictions that are deep, core, basic, and fundamental. I’m talking about convictions that are your principles, your maxims, your creed. I know that is a naughty word in Disciples language. I mean that in the best sense of that word “creed.” That’s what we are talking about. We are talking about our convictions of deeply-held beliefs that motivate, that shape our decisions. It’s why we do what we do.

So, today, I want to talk about four biblical convictions. Of course, being Disciples, I’m fully aware you may or may not share my convictions, or the convictions that most of us in this place embrace. In our church, that’s OK, as you know.

But I submit to you, if you are going to build convictions, if you are going to build something that is deep and fundamental, I suggest that you build them on something that’s going to last. OK?

In a world where everything is flexible, where everything is in motion, where everything is changing, where we keep learning more and more about less and less, there is only one thing, I believe, that never changes. We talk about it every Sunday here. That is the Spirit of the Living God, the One who was, and is, and evermore shall be. It is what Paul Tillich loved to call “The Ultimate Reality.”

In Isaiah 40 it says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever.”

Folks, the truth of God never changes. I believe truth is lodged in the Bible, yes, but more, it is lodged in the Bible’s underlying spirit. You see? It is in the underlying spirit rather than in literal events. That is sort of what separates us from some others. It’s not faith we have in the Book or what’s in the Book, it’s faith in the God revealed through the Book that we embrace. I suggest that is one of the things, not the only thing, but one of the things that you and I are willing to go to the mat for.

So, let’s jump in. I want to name four convictions for you today.

Conviction Number 1: It’s All About the Creator, Sustainer, Judge, and Redeemer of All That Is.

Folks, it’s not about economics. It’s not about the market. It’s not about politics or religion. It’s not about gold, silver, or bronze. It’s not about money, sex, or power. It’s not about your family. It’s not about my family. It’s not about me, and it’s not about you. The reason it’s not is because it is all about the Creator.

God is the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end point. Folks, if you get that, you can begin, I believe, to understand. You can begin to make sense out of this rather wild ride called “life,” if you will start at that place. The goal of your life, the goal of my life, the goal of all of life is the glory of God.

Romans 11 says it this way: “For everything comes from God, and everything lives by God’s power, and everything is intended for God’s glory.”

Circle “intended for God’s glory.” Everything on this planet, everything in this universe was created for God’s glory. That includes you, and that includes me.

Now, what you know is (and I just want to remind you) that every conviction you and I hold always have implications. So, if it is all about the Creator, if it is about the Mama and the Papa of us all; and it’s certainly not about what the world says is really important, what is the implication of that conviction?

I think Lauren Fichter named it so beautifully last week. She called it “spiritual hokey-pokey.” I had never heard that term before, but it’s that notion of throwing – putting – your whole self in. That’s what God wants us to do. To put our whole self in, connect with, have a deep, abiding, growing, personal relationship, actually loving the Creator of all that is. Just the fact that is possible is phenomenal.

Jesus said it this way, and Israel said it for hundreds of years before him: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37).

Nothing, folks, tops this one. Miss that, and you miss it all. Miss that – I’m sorry – and you have wasted a whole lot of your life. The most important thing in life is to get to know, become acquainted with, and develop a loving relationship with the Holy One who actually created you. Phenomenal!

Now, I realize some of us are just getting started in that effort. For some of us, this is brand new. You’re beginning, and how wonderful! I ask you to check with Kim, Jacob, or other church leaders. We have something you have heard about for years called “The Eight Keys.” They are designed specifically to help you build that loving relationship. You are a beginner, and that is good. 

Now, for others of us, not all but some have lost, quite frankly, our first love. It didn’t happen quickly. It happened over time. It generally happens slowly. You know about this. We become so familiar with something or someone that we begin to do what? We tend to take them for granted. Do you remember what the thrill was like when you first started? 

When Jan and I were dating, I used to drive one hour, one way to her house just to kiss her good-night. Wow! She used to sit by the fire and read me poetry and feed me grapes and pomegranates. OK, we didn’t have pomegranates. Then, she would read the Bible to me. She would turn to the Hebrew Covenant, open the book, and quote,

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfume. Your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you. Take me away with you. Hurry up. Let the king bring me to his chambers.

I love that! Now, that’s what I call Bible study, folks. What do you read to each other? Lamentations or something? I don’t know. The Song of Songs; it’s right there in your Bible. It’s fantastic. Do you remember those days? Of course you do.

But now, it is very easy to take that for granted. Why? Because you have forgotten. You have forgotten what a good thing you had.

I think it is the same way with God, sometimes. We forget. We sometimes get so familiar. We get so used to taking the good life for granted. It’s just not as exciting as it once was. 

What happened? We have lost our first love. We need to come back to it. We need to come back to that first, that greatest priority, the One that makes your life and my life count. It is the One who creates, sustains, judges, and redeems all that is. 

But, if you do that, I need to warn you about something. If you actually put Jesus number one in your life – really number one – and if you start loving God and living in Christ more than anything else in this whole world, you are going to have opposition. You know that. Don’t you? In John 15:21 Jesus said, “People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don’t know the one who sent me.”

Folks, if you try to live for Christ, if you try to love him more than anything or anyone else, you are going to upset some people around you. There are lots of reasons. I’m going to give you three.

Number 1: Materialism. In a culture that loves things – lots and lots and lots of things – and you come along, and you love God more than you love things, you are going to make some people around you nervous. That is so because they are out there busting their hump day in and day out, week in and week out, and they have “sold their soul to the company store.” You come along, and you say, “You know… That’s not really what life is all about.” When you say that, and you start living that, it irritates them. Your life becomes a judgment against their values. It upsets them.

Number 2: Injustice. In a culture of big oil, and sub-prime lending, and identity theft, and a health-care system that just somehow has to get fixed, and where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and you come along in your life and say, “This is just not right. This is not the way it is supposed to be.” If you say that and mean that, it will irritate people. It will upset people around you. Your life will be a judgment against their values. It will upset them.

Number 3: War and Peace and Violence. In a culture where the biggest, and the strongest, and the most powerful, and the most dominant will use whatever means necessary to serve their interests, and then you come along, and you say, “No. No. That’s not the right way. There’s a better way. Isn’t there a better way to resolve these real problems?” When you do that, your life is a judgment against their values. It will upset them. It will irritate them, just like it upset the people that surrounded Jesus. That causes people like you and I to distance ourselves from this very first conviction I’m offering you today. If we are going to love God more than anything else, with every conviction there comes, not only an implication, but also opposition.

Conviction Number 2: Only the Family of God Will Last Forever.

No business, no government, no nation, no philosophy, no culture is going to last forever. Only the family of God is going to last forever. Did you know that? Let me tell you a little bit about that.

In the beginning, God decided. God wanted a family. I don’t know exactly why. God didn’t tell me why, just that God did. So, God created the entire universe so there could be human beings. God created them to love them. Yes. But more than that, God created them with free choice. God wants a family, just like some of you want a family. God wanted us to choose God, not just to receive love, but to give love back. You see? That’s why everything, according to Scripture, including you and me, exists. We exist because God wants – bottom line – essentially a family.

Now, unlike many, I do not pretend to know what God wants from Muslims, and Buddhists, and Hindus, and Jews, and secularists, and humanists, and atheists, and anybody-else-ists. I can leave that to God. God can deal with that. But I believe I do know what God wants of us. I think it is found in Scripture.

Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Who do you say that I am?”

Simon said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon. You are Peter – you’re the Rock – and on this rock I will build my church, my family, my community of faith, and the powers of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:15ff).

Folks, as you know the Church is not a building. It’s not an institution. It’s not an enterprise. The Church, the real Church, is a community. Yes. But more than that, it is part of the family of God. It is people that grow in and get to know that God, and receive God’s love, and then they freely choose to love God back. Wow!

A thousand years from now there is probably not going to be a United States of America. There is probably not going to be a Microsoft. There is probably not going to be a China. There is probably not going to be an Exxon. But there will be a Church. There will be communities of faith – living, breathing, loving communities of faith. Why? Because the family of God is made to last forever, even when this earth passes away. That is our belief.

Now, there is an implication to that conviction. Here’s the implication I think there is. If we are going to live together forever, we probably ought to learn how to get along. Does that sound reasonable? I think that’s a good idea. That means, of course, it is not enough just to love God back. God also wants us to love God’s family, too. That’s a little tricky. It’s a little easier to love God than it is to love people I’ve found. 

Now, you may have noticed this, probably at Thanksgiving or Christmastime at your place. Every family has its own peculiar dysfunctions. Does anybody know what I’m talking about? Does anybody else here, besides us, have an Uncle Oddball? I have brothers and sisters, and nieces and nephews, that somewhat deviate from the norms of acceptable social behavior. Now, just the thought of spending a long weekend with them is a little bit more than I can handle. But the notion of, God knows, spending eternity in the same mansion with them, is beyond comprehension. Does anybody else know what I’m talking about? It’s hard to love people. But in spite of that imperfection that you have and I have, and I’m sure they think the same way about me… In fact, they call me “The Missouri Mormon.” Did you know that? That’s my family’s nickname for me. But even given that, you have to love them.

I think the same thing is true of the family of God. There are no perfect churches. There are no perfect communities of faith, no more than there are perfect families. Yet, you have to love them. That means you don’t criticize them in public. You stick up for them when they need to be stuck up for. You help them out when they need a helping hand. You treat each other right. You learn to get along. That’s what we do.

I think that’s what this church union thing the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has been harping about for nearly 200 years. We have to learn, we have to choose, we have to find a way, just for the Christians in this world, to get along.

Paul said it this way in 1 Corinthians 1:10: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters in Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissension, no conflict, no bickering among you, but that you are united in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Jesus said it this way in his prayer: “Lord, I pray… that they – the disciples, my followers, (you and I) – may be one” (John 17:20).

Ephesians 4:4 says, “There is one body, one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father and Mother of us all, and in all, and above all, and through all.”

Folks, I believe God hates it when the members of God’s family fight. It’s wrong. It cannot happen. God says, “I want you unified. I want you to be harmonized. I want you to love me back, and I want you to love each other.”

Why?  Because we are all part of God’s family.

Yet again, there is opposition if you do this. The Scriptures warn us: “…Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way to the teaching you have learned” (Romans 16:17).

Conviction Number 3: God Expects Us to Love Everybody Else, Too.

Not just the Christians. That would be an incredible feat in and of itself, but everybody else, too. Are you starting to see a pattern here? 

Life is not about acquisition, or achievement, or popularity, or partying. It’s learning how to love – really love. God says, “The most important thing in this world is learning to love me. The second most important thing is learning to love your neighbor.”

“Who’s that, Lord?” Well, the short answer: Everybody. Everybody? Everybody! Everybody on this planet is your neighbor. Every person, whether they love you, like you, or not, is your neighbor. Every person, even the people you are least likely to like and love, is your neighbor.

Is there an implication for that? Yes, there is. Let me tell you about who your neighbor is. There are four categories.

Category Number 1: My neighbor and your neighbor are the people who are different from us. They have a different background, a different language, a different culture, a different religion, different beliefs and practices. “How in the world, Lord, are we supposed to deal with all of this diversity on this planet?”

1 Peter 2:17 says, “Show proper respect for everyone.”

Wouldn’t that be a great place to start? Proper respect for everyone. We’re in this culture now in which civility just went out the door in the way we are dealing with each other and talking with each other. It is “show proper respect for everybody.”

Category Number 2: My neighbor is not just the person who is different from me. It is also the person who is difficult. It is difficult to love somebody who is really selfish, egotistical, disrespectful, arrogant, and demeaning to other people. There are people who, basically, do not like you.

“Lord, what in the world are we supposed to do with people who are difficult?” 

Jesus answers that in Matthew 5:46: “If you love only those who love you, what reward are you going to get? Not even the Republicans… I mean the Publicans do that.” It actually says “the tax collectors,” so that must be the Democrats. Anyway…

It says, “If you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing more than anybody else?”

Good question. We have to love. We have to find a way to connect with, and take care, and love people who are difficult.

Category Number 3: My neighbor happens to be the people who are dangerous. Wow! Not only just the people I dislike but those who are difficult. It is the people who want to harm me. They want to harm people and the things I love. These are the people who are called my enemies. “How, Lord, in the world do you expect me to deal with them?”

Jesus says in Luke 6:35, “You are to love your enemies. (The criminals, the bullies, the terrorists.) Love your enemies and do good to them. (What a novel notion.) Lend and expect nothing back. If you do, you will then have a great reward, and you will be the children of the family of the Most High God.”

Category Number 4: My neighbor is not just the person who is different, or difficult, or dangerous. It is also the person who is down and out – the people who are hurting. Mother Teresa called them “the poorest of the poor.” These are the people who have nothing.

“How, Lord, do you expect me, in this wild and crazy world, to deal with them?”

Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you, whatever you do for one of the least of these persons, you do for me.”

The poorest of the poor.

Now, folks, I want you to know if you do this – if you really take this seriously – you need to know you are going to upset people. There will be opposition. They will not only be irritated, they will be out to get you. They will want to shut you down.  Jesus knows this, because he, himself, experienced it first hand. He tells us about that in John 15:18: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don’t.”

Conviction Number 4:  The Whole World Needs What Jesus Has to Offer.

This is politically incorrect, but you need to know we have an assignment. It’s called “The Great Commission.” As Jesus talks to his disciples, as recorded in Matthew 28:18, he says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… and teach them… for surely I am going to be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Folks, this is not the Great Suggestion, or the Great Recommendation. This is the Great Commission. This is our charge. This is our mission, our job description. We’ve lost this over the last 60 or 70 years. 

What’s our authority for doing this? Our authority is not some government. It is not some agency. It is not the C.I.A. It is Jesus.

Are we supposed to make disciples just of some nations, just the United States and Canada, just people who speak English? Obviously, no. The answer is clear: all nations. Is that Syria, Rwanda, North Korea, Iran? Yes. 

We are not politicians. We’re not entrepreneurs. We’re not involved in promoting a culture. We are disciples of Christ. 

If any nation opens its doors to us, we ought to be going in. That includes our neighborhoods. It includes this city, and this state, and this nation. There are no exceptions. “Go, make disciples, baptize, teach.” Who? The world, which the Bible says, “Jesus came to save, to heal.” It’s way past time for us to stop judging what’s going on in this world, and talking about it, and being critical of it, and start healing it. It’s time we stop using people and start loving people. 

To do that, we are going to upset some folks. We are going to do it, because there are people in this world all of whom are valuable to our God.

Is there an implication? Yes. 

Second Corinthians 5:14 says, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all… and that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him… So from now on we regard nobody in this world from a worldly point of view.”

Wow! So, with gentleness, with kindness, with love and respect, it’s time for us to start saving the world again. It is time for us to start healing this broken-hearted world.

How in the world are we supposed to respond to forces, and they are huge, that do not want us to do this?

Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, when they persecute you, and when they falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11).

I take that to mean we need to have some spine, folks. Be a woman; be a man; be a Christian. Stand up for your convictions. Stand up for what you believe. Why? Because I believe we are on the verge of the greatest spiritual awakening, literally, in history. I don’t think you, or I, or most of us in our culture realize that. I do believe that when we become aware of it, we are going to want to be a part of it. 

Do you know that 2.3-billion people on this planet claim to be followers of Christ? Do you know that the largest communities of faith in this world are not in America? They are in Asia, Africa, and South America. Do you know that in China, every single week, 80,000 people give their lives to Christ? Yes, that is every single week of the year. We are on the verge of a global tsunami of another kind – an enormous spiritual awakening of global proportions. 

I believe what that means is that you are part of this church for a reason. You’re not here by mistake. I believe God wants you here, and I believe God wants to help you, and use you, and create something you may not even be aware of yet. God wants you to be a world changer. Not just a church changer or a community changer, but a world changer. I believe you are here so that God can help you do that. I believe that when you do that – when you choose to yield yourself to God and serve the One whose kingdom has no end – I believe the blessings, glory, and honor will be to God forever and forever.

So, I’m going to ask you to stand. I want you to stand up for your convictions. I want you to stand up and read with me the affirmation that disciples in most places believe. Would you join me as we read this affirmation together?

A Disciples Affirmation

As members of the Christian Church,

We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.

In Christ’s name and by his grace, we accept our mission of witness and service to all people.

We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in the covenant of love which binds us to God and one another.

Through baptism into Christ, we enter into newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God.

In the communion of the Holy Spirit, we are joined together in discipleship and in obedience to Christ.

At the table of the Lord, we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ.

Within the universal church, we receive the gift of ministry and the light of Scripture.

In the bonds of Christian faith, we yield ourselves to God that we may serve the One whose kingdom has no end.

Blessing, glory, and honor be to God forever. Amen.

-          Preamble to the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

God bless you. I love each and every one of you.

And we all say together… “Amen.”

Benediction

God of all people, all times, all things, all possibilities; God of our hearts: keep us, one and all. Keep us safe; keep us loving; keep us close; just keep us. Amen.