Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship · August 10, 2008

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Lord, we come to you today asking you to fill our hearts and minds with your Word and your will for our lives. Let us be filled with your Spirit and a desire to serve you with all that we are. Let us be open to your ways. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture

Matthew 22:35-38

One Pharisee asked of Jesus this question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the Law is the most important?”

Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important commandment.”

Message

Spiritual Hokey Pokey

Lauren Fichter

How many of you have heard of the “Hokey Pokey?” When I was a kid, I loved to play the “Hokey Pokey.” At the very end of this great song you put your whole self in. You know… [Singing] “You put your whole self in, you put your whole self out.” Then at the end, the song points out that this is what it’s all about. 

This morning I want to share with you my experience of encountering God’s invitation to give my whole self to God. Not just this part, not just this part, but everything that I have. 

As some of you may know, I went to Missouri State University last fall in Springfield. At the beginning of the school year, some of the different organizations stand on the sidewalks and hand out fliers publicizing upcoming events. So I was walking back to my dorm one day after class, when a guy handed me a notebook. There was a flier taped to the front. So being new and not really knowing what I’d be interested in, I took the notebook thinking, “Well, if nothing else, I could use a free notebook.”

I read the flier on my way back to the dorm trying not to run into anybody, and I realized that I had been handed a flier for Christian Campus House. That sounded interesting enough. I went to church in Columbia, so I might as well go in Springfield. I remembered the girl across the hall had told me that she was religious. So I asked her if she wanted to go to the next Tuesday night Christian Campus House worship? She agreed but said she could only stay a while.

While I had only caught two/thirds of the worship, I was hooked. I loved the energy and enthusiasm in the room. I could tell that all the people in the room were friends, and this organization meant a lot to them. The speaker was fabulous. I didn’t know it then, but he was to become an important teacher to me in my journey with God. I could feel the passion in the room, and I knew that this was where God wanted me to be, right then. 

By the way, I want to point out that some of my ministers from Christian Campus House are here today. I am really excited. They came all the way from Springfield. 

I loved that I was hearing truth in a way that I had never heard before. It may sound great that I found a place to worship. Right? My journey is over, but I had a lot to go through before I felt comfortable giving my entire self to God. 

I continued to go Christian Campus House every Tuesday night. I loved the messages, the music, and the energy. I was going to go, but I wasn’t going to make friends, because I wasn’t going to be that committed to it. 

I started off my first semester thinking that I was on top of the world. I was out of the house, and on my own, and I knew what was best for me. That only lasted about a week though, until my Dad had to come down and help me figure out some stuff. But I thought that I knew what college was all about. Drinking, and parties, and friends, and boys, and how much I could get away with without being caught. I was living the good life. Mom and Dad were paying, and all I had to do was get a few As.  Easy; right? It felt great for a while. Everyone liked me, and I loved myself for being accepted. Little did I know that God had better plans for me.

You see, when I used to read the Bible, I felt contained: “Don’t cheat. Don’t get drunk. Honor your mother and father.” Honor your mother and father? I wasn’t always even nice to my mother and father. Then, not only were their things that I wasn’t supposed to do, there were things that I was supposed to do: pray, read the Bible, spend quiet time with God, help fill God’s kingdom. Yeah; right. What about my kingdom that I was building here? 

“God, seriously, if you want people to follow you, you better make this a lot more realistic. Who wants to give up having fun for you? I can’t even see you. Who has time to do all this stuff anyway? I’ll go to Christian Campus House, but only because I want to. God, I’ll give you my right hand.  I may even shake it all about, but I will not give you my whole self.” 

Although I thought that I would be missing out on the fun of life if I were a Christian, the messages at Christian Campus House seemed to make sense, and give me hope that there was something better. 

While I was craving God’s Word, I still had not been able to give my whole life to Christ, and I was quickly going down hill. I didn’t like myself anymore, and because of my self-hatred I was convinced that others disliked me as well. I was tired all the time from staying out late, and I had headaches all the time from parties that I went to. Suddenly I wasn’t having fun anymore. 

I was convinced that if could get more friends, or more boys, or go to more parties, then I would be happier, because that was what made me feel happy in the first place. I didn’t know it at the time, but following God didn’t take anymore time than not following God. Those rules didn’t turn out to be rules at all, but they turned out to be helpful hints at how I could live a better life. 

Who knew that God really knew what was best for me? The problem was I would find myself filled with joy on Tuesday evenings, but by Friday morning I felt hopeless again. Knowing that I needed a break and not knowing what I’d been looking for, I signed up for the Christian Campus House fall retreat. I don’t remember what the speaker said, and frankly, I don’t even remember the theme of the retreat, but what was most important was making friends and having time with God.

The first night I was there I started meeting people from Christian Campus House, and I realized that there was some really fun people who where Christians. Not only were they not boring, but they were so nice. I didn’t have to prove myself to them, or show them that I was worthy of their friendship. They wanted me to be their friend without adjustments. Making friendships with Christians helped me feel like I was a part of the CCH (that’s Christian Campus House). From then on, I couldn’t help but want to know more about this lifestyle. 

Not only did making honest friendship help me, but I also spent a good deal of quiet time. The first few hours of my time I spent sleeping since I was so tired. Once I woke up I felt refreshed and ready to find answers. I remember taking a long walk in the country outside of the retreat center. Green fields surrounded me, inviting me to take part in their beauty. A cool breeze brushed past my skin, filling me with peace. 

As the warm sun peeped out from behind full white clouds, I felt as if it was warming me to my core, filling me with energy and optimism. I watched the farm animals move slowly in the fields as if they knew that they had nothing to worry about. At that moment I knew that I could not be in control. I did not have the power to make myself happy. 

“God, when will I be happy,” I asked, unconvinced that I would get an answer? I didn’t get an answer during that walk or even that semester. That afternoon God showed me God’s world outside of my life, and showed me the hope and beauty that I would find when I gave my whole life to God. 

During my first semester, I continued with who I was and who I thought the world wanted me to be. I felt terrible about myself and who I was, but the harder I tried the worse I felt. Most of the time I knew I would never be good enough for the world. 

When I came home for Christmas break, I knew I could not live my life partying all the time. I was tired of struggling, and I was ready to move back home and go to Mizzou. I only had to say that once, however, to have my Dad sternly tell me I would not be moving back home. 

So, I went back to Springfield intending not to party and to sleep a lot more. I wasn’t going to do anything else but go to class, and do my homework. I continued to go to Christian Campus house and hear the message on Tuesday nights. As soon as my distractions had been shoved aside, I was able to listen to more of what God wanted for me to do in my life. 

I came back this time not simply hearing, but understanding and believing the truth. I understood that I had a purpose, that God created me to do God’s work, and I had an important place in this world. I knew that I had slapped God in the face every day that I thought I didn’t need God , every day that I went against God’s desires. But that was when God reached down, and forgave me, and held me close, and let me know that I am God’s child, and that God loves me with deeper love than anyone could ever understand. 

Suddenly I desired to be more loving, to read God’s Word, to pray, to build a deep relationship with the One who loves me more than I will ever love myself. I was valuable to God, and slowly I peeled off the layers of guilt and unworthiness, and I peeled off the layers that I had built up to protect me and make me worthy to the world. Suddenly I was hooked, and I knew God’s answer. God was what would fill me with joy. 

I couldn’t stop telling people about God, and inviting them to Christian Campus House. I wanted everyone to feel that joy. I wanted everyone to know that they could let go of everything they ever thought to break their barriers and to be the person that God created for them to be. 

Three months ago today, I got baptized for a second time, this time promising God and my friends that I would live a life fully committed to God. I was done with my old life, and I was ready to live fully and completely for God. 

Of all the wisdom that Jesus teaches, of everything that Jesus asks us to do, he tells us that the most important thing is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. What does that look like? It may look different for different people. 

At the core of our being is a need to follow God. People want purpose. People want joy. They want fulfillment. When The Purpose Driven Life hit the shelves in 2002, it was a number one seller. Why? My guess is that people want to find purpose in their lives through God. Why are we here? What good are we on this earth? We each have a void that only God can fill, and we need to take the initiative to let God fill us. 

In his book, Christian Caregiving: a Way of Life, Kenneth Haugk makes a wonderful illustration. Genesis 2 states that God created Adam from dust. God then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living being. “The picture of a statue-like corpse of a human motionless and lifeless suddenly gaining life and breath and personality, but the motion and coordinated movement is awe inspiring. It also shows that the first person really was incomplete until the physical elements were united with the breath of God.”   

We are not complete without God. Some of us try to fill our void without God. We may think that our void will be filled when we are skinny enough, get back at our mean co-worker, have enough money, drink enough alcohol, get rid of our spouse, finally go back to school. We get so wrapped up in what we think will make us feel better that we forget what is truly going to make us feel better.

Why is it easier for us to do things that are so destructive? Why is it easier for us to eat to feel better, or to cheat, when really it is giving us extra baggage, and moving us away from true life.

A spiritual teacher of mine said, “You can’t start following Christ until you stop not following Christ.” That is so true in all of our lives. Although I wanted joy, I couldn’t find it until I stopped partying long enough to see where my joy truly came from.

What is stopping us from loving the Lord with all that we are? Do we go to church? Do we say we are Christians? If we are Christians, then we should want to be Christ-like, and Christ as plainly stated the most important commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Not only has Christ stated the most important commandment, but he has lived his life giving everything he had to God. Christ spent time growing spiritually with God. Jesus spent time alone praying and listening to God and learning what God had for him to do. But Christ didn’t rank spiritual love than any higher than mental, social, or physical love. 

The Pharisees loved to test Jesus by asking him questions they thought would trick him, but Jesus used his knowledge of the Scripture and the sound mind that God gave him to answer their questions in a manner that portrayed God’s wishes. 

Jesus’ social love was also very important to him. He showed this in his love for his people. Jesus spent time with many different people, from his disciples to the tax collectors, to Marry Magdalene, to the children who came to visit. Jesus loved people, and he showed God’s love for people through his life. 

Jesus didn’t discount the importance of giving his physical self either. Jesus fasted to focus more on God. He showed his servitude in many ways, one that Rick mentioned by washing the feet of his disciples. Then near the end of his life on earth, he gave his body to be stripped, beaten, and crucified, so that we may have the opportunity to live fully for and with God. Jesus spent his whole life, everything he had, to serve God.

Not only did he give everything he had to serve God, but he also gave everything he had to his people. Jesus came to us where we were at. He didn’t just heal people spiritually, but he healed them physically and emotionally as well. 

Jesus comes to us where we need him, and God calls us to serve God where we are needed. As Christians, we try to live our life as Christ, and Christ gives us a beautiful example of how to follow God’s number-one request. 

I think it’s very interesting, too, that God request for us to follow. God doesn’t force us. God doesn’t threaten us. God knows what’s best for us. 

When God tells us how to serve in the Word, God isn’t trying to contain us. God is trying to help us live our lives to the fullest. God knows what will happen if we choose not to follow. 

God isn’t telling me not to have any fun. God wasn’t trying to limit me or control me, but God knows that I would regret some of my sinful choices. God knows that I was using things to fill a void that can only be filled by God. It is the same with anything else that God advises. God does not want to see God’s children hurting. We know that God knows us better than we know ourselves. God loves us more than we love ourselves. God wants the best for us.

So what does it look like to follow God? How can we give our full selves to God, just as Christ did? We talked about Christ serving God spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially. Let’s take a look at how we can incorporate those areas in our service to God. 

We can spend time in personal Bible study, and prayer, listening, asking, yearning to know what God has for us. It is also very important to serve God mentally. We us our minds to study God’s Word to use as a defense against sin. Also, we each have different gifts, different knowledge that we have. Working together we make a community: lawyers, doctors, teachers, preachers. People have different knowledge, when we work together to use that knowledge.

It’s also very important to live socially in small groups, in a congregation, visiting the sick, talking to a friend on the phone. Physically, we need to keep ourselves healthy and exercise and eat right so we can use our body to do God’s work.

You probably have your own list of ways that you can serve God. We each have gifts given to us by God to use for God’s glory. We can’t just give what is convenient to God. We have to give what is needed. We need to spend time in prayer and personal study with God. We need to take our personal time to listen, and to read, and to be with God so that God can better reveal God’s potential for our lives. 

In his book, Speaking the Truth in Love, Kenneth Haugk states, “That an assertive lifestyle invites the merging of your faith life, thinking patterns, and behavior choices. That allows us to reveal what we feel on the inside, what we believe on the inside.”

There is a separation in our lives when Scripture, prayer, and talk about God are kept out kept out of everyday life and conversation. We need to integrate what we believe and how we live. We need to incorporate God into our entire lives the way God calls us to serve. Of all the commandments in the whole Bible, Jesus tells us the most important command is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

We’re not playing “Hokey Pokey” with our faith here.  What God really wants for us to do is to put our whole selves in. That is what true life is all about.

And we all say together… “Amen.”

Benediction

God of All, thank you for all you are. Thank you for all we are in you. Help us to put our whole selves to good use in your name, knowing that this is indeed what it’s all about. Amen.