Even God has work to do

November 17, 2013 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Isaiah 65:17-25 “Even God has work to Do” 26th Sunday After Pentecost Year C What does the word impossible mean to you? When someone says that things are impossible, what does that mean? The dictionary says something that is not possible, something that cannot be done, or unable to occur. Something where you can see a brick wall between what is possible, and what cannot be done. I was encouraged by one definition, which said that impossible is something that is difficult to occur. Something difficult, but can be done. This is one story, where a mom explains to her son that what is difficult takes time, what is impossible just takes a little longer. The Impossible Takes a Little Longer At the age of 20, Art Berg was a very happy man. Everything was going right. He was a gifted athlete and had started his own tennis court construction company. And he was engaged to a beautiful woman. Leaving California one Christmas eve, he was headed to Utah with a friend. He was going to meet his fiancée and complete their wedding plans. During the long drive, he fell asleep while at the wheel. His car hit an abutment and rolled down a hill. He was ejected from the car and found himself laying on the desert with a broken neck. He was paralyzed from the chest down. He completely lost the use of his legs and arms. The doctors told him he would never work again. They concluded that he could never play sports again and would be dependent on others the rest of his life. One even suggested he forget getting married. Art Berg was really afraid. It was the darkest moment in his life. The "end times" were upon him. In the midst of his peril his mother came and whispered a few words in his ear. "Art, while the difficult takes time, the impossible takes a little longer." In other words, "don’t panic!" Suddenly, Art’s darkness was filled with a light of hope. That was years ago. Today Art Berg is president of his own company, a professional speaker and author. He has gained back some of the use of his arms and legs and can now drive. He travels across the country sharing his message, "that the impossible just takes a little longer." Art married his fiancée and they have two children. He has even returned to the world of sports, swimming and scuba diving. In l993 Art was the first quadriplegic to race 32 miles in a marathon, all because he didn’t panic. Don’t panic, is the message of the day. Keith Wagner, Are You Having an Anxiety Attack? Muhammad Ali defines impossible this way…. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali What is it that makes the impossible, possible? What is it that brings things that were not so into reality? Faith, hope, love. We have to remember that all things in life are possible through God. What does not make sense to us, makes perfect sense to God. What we cant do, God can do. How do we makes things that are impossible possible? We have to practice our faith in God. New Heavens and a New Earth 17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. Explanation of Isaiah 65 These words were written by third Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is a series of impossible visions of the future, designed to give hope to a people who were convinced that change was impossible. That things would be in a state of devastation forever. Each vision in Isaiah builds upon making what was impossible possible, and as the doorway is opened, the vision becomes clearer and clearer. But each vision is designed to remind us all – that things that make sense – in the presence of God. The day is coming, when there will be nothing that separates us from God. And with God – we will live in total peace, and wellbeing. How many things in your life are behind the wall of impossibility right now? Are they impossible, or will God make a way someday for what you cant see, to come to reality? The message of Isaiah 65 – is to have hope, that if we have faith in God – it will all turn out, and we will all live together in harmony in life. the key is to have hope. There is a fundamental difference between hoping for something and wishing for it. It is essential to distinguish between hoping and wishing. They are not the same thing. Wishing is something that all of us do. It proects what we want or think we need into the future. Just because we wish for something good or holy, we think it qualifies as hope. It does not. Wishing extends our egos into the future; hope grows out of our faith. Hope is oriented toward what God is doing; wishing is oriented toward what we are doing. Wishing has to do with what I want in things, or people or God; hope as to do with what God wants in me and the world of things and people beyond me. Wishing is our will projected into the future, and hope is God’s will coming out of the future. Picture it in your mind: wishing is a line that comes out of me, with an arrow pointing into the future. Hoping is a line that comes out of God and points toward me. Hope means being surprised, because we don’t know what is best for us or how our lives are going to be completed. To cultivate hope is to suppress wishing – to refuse to fantasize about what we want, but live in anticipation of what God is going to do next. – Eugene Peterson Wishing is dependent on us – hoping is depending on God. Wishing is about what happens on earth, hoping is about what happens in heaven. More importantly – wishing does not require anything on our part. Hoping requires all of our life. Hoping for something means that we not only pray for it, we not only wait for it, but we live for it. We live as if we trust God to make it so. This morning, I also wanted us to think some more about the message of 2 Thessalonians. Last week we talked about the thessalonian error – the world was coming to an end- so people thought they did not have to do anything. Paul had to remind them that they still needed to work. Well Paul continue that conversation in chapter 3. He goes as far as to say that those who do not work – should not eat. I am not going to go that far this morning. But I did think that it was important for us to continue this conversation. To be reminded that God indeed had a vision for heaven, but he also has a vision for earth. God had a vision for the future, but he is here working in the present. God has a plan for all things in life. And God knows that in order for that plan to work – the we all need to work. Working is not what we do with our hands, but it is also what we do with our heart and our mind. As a matter of fact, what we do with our hearts and minds, determines what we do with our hands. The word idle Paul says – Now we command you, beloved in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness. There is a lot of debate about that word idleness. What does it mean to be idle, and what harm does it do to be idle. Paul uses the greek word – ataptkos – which means truant. It means that in he body of God, some people are just absent. You see them in body, but they are not contributing anything. We all know those people, they are the people who.. An unknown author said he met the strangest man on his way to church. Here is how he described this man: “He said he believed in the Bible, but he never reads it. “He said he thought well of the church of which he is a member, but he never attends or invites others to share in its ministry. “He said a person should be honest with God in money matters, but he never tithes. “He said the younger generation needs the Lord, but he isn’t leading them in that direction. “He said the church needs dedicated Christian members, but he isn’t one. “He offered some ‘constructive’ criticism of some of the workers but he never works. “He said the church should do more n ministering to people, but he doesn’t help. “He is critical of the way the church is ‘run,’ but he never participates. “He says he believes in the Second Coming, but he lives as though the Lord will never return. “He says prayer will change things, but he never prays. “He was,” says this author, “a strange man, indeed!” (3) Not so strange. Their number in the church is legion. Paul is saying that the harm done by those people are to their fellow brothers and sisters. It is to the community that is working for Christ. Those who work, have to bear the burden of those who don’t. People judge us by the work that we do. When people do not work – that is a reflection on us all. The truth is – we all get tired, we all want to give up, we all want to take a break sometime. What is it that keeps us going, when we are tired? Our love for God and our faith that God will give us strength , and that our hope will get us through. God Renews Our Strength In times of need, Jesus promises his disciples, you will receive strength from beyond. Rabbi Harold Kushner reflects on this strength. "I have seen weak people become strong," he writes, "timid people become brave, selfish people become generous. I have seen people care for their elderly parents, for bra iin damaged children, for wives in wheelchairs, for years, even decades, and I have asked myself, where do people get the strength to keep doing that for so long? Where do they get the resources of love and loyalty to keep going? The only answer I come up with is when we are weary and out of strength, we turn to God and God renews our strength, so we can run and not grow weary, so that we can walk and not feel faint." Rabbi Harold Kuschner, quoted by King Duncan,www.Sermons.com Dr. Tom Long tells about a friend of his who was telling him about taking a church youth group on a mission trip to Jamaica. “On their trip they visited one of the local elementary schools, and they spent some time observing in a classroom seriously overcrowded with children, most of them very poor, all of them needy and wiggly and noisy and unruly. It was a difficult, sometimes even chaotic, learning environment; but the youth group marveled to see that the teacher carried herself with great calm and patience, treating all of the children with love and respect, despite the poverty and the chaos. They decided that the only way she could do this was that she must really love being a teacher. But they were surprised to hear her say, ‘Oh, I don’t come here every day mainly because I love teaching. I come here every day because I love Jesus, and I see Jesus in every one of these children.’” (5) In those times when we are tempted to stop working, let our faith in God’s vision sustain us. When you hear Paul’s words – he reminds us that everyone has to work. Paul uses himself as an example of someone who worked hard to do what it right. The back story to Paul’s words is that in the jewish tradition – hard and honest work was important. Even as a rabbi – you were not supposed to accept money for your work. You needed to have another way to support yourself. Paul wants to make sure that everyone knew that he had a job like anyone else. There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph. When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, their height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. Within a week, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen. That's the yoke Jesus invites us to take. Do not be misled by the word "easy," for its root word in Greek speaks directly of the tailor-made yokes: they were "well-fitting." The yoke Jesus invites us to take, the yoke that brings rest to weary souls, is one that is made exactly to our lives and hearts. The yoke he invites us to wear fits us well, does not rub us nor cause us to develop sore spirits and is designed for two. His yokes were always designed for two. And our yoke-partner is none other than Christ himself. The work of Christ may not be easy – but it is well-fitting for us and makes us comfortable. Whatever God calls us to work to do, God always equips is to do it. But most importantly he gives us the strength to see it through. So let us always remember to serve God, love Christ, work towards God’s vision, in order to make what is impossible today, possible tomorrow with God. Amen! Do What Is Right by Brett Blair, Tim Carpenter Passage: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 • Lectionary: Proper 28 Item 10 of 12 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate that we should not be weary in doing what is right. Props: Three stuffed animals that you will use as puppets (two alike and one a dog, e.g., two toy birds and a toy dog), a wallet, and a piece of candy. Lesson: [Introduce the two puppets as John and Joe. All through the story have them talk and walk as needed.] I want to tell you a story about John and Joe. They were brothers who wanted to go for a walk. Their mother told them that if they were good, they could have a piece of candy when they returned home. So they went on their walk. After a short time, they came across a puppy dog. Have the toy dog lying on the floor or on a table where everyone can see it. The puppy dog was lost. John said, "I think we should help that puppy dog find its way home." Joe said, "Nah, I don't feel like it. Let's just go on." But John looked at its tag, and found that the address on the tag was just around the corner. So he took the dog home. Then they went a little further. They found a wallet lying in the road. Just as the stuffed animal was laid out previously, have the wallet out in the open before you begin. John said, "We need to find out who owns the wallet and get it back to them." Joe said, "Nah, I don't feel like it. I'm getting tired. Let them find it themselves." But John picked up the wallet and found that it belonged to a man who lived just up the street. So he took the wallet to the man. When they got home, their mother asked if they were good. What do you think? (response) Both boys said that they were good. So the mother asked what they did. John told the mother how they had found the dog and the wallet, and took them to their owners. Joe said, "I told him to come on, but he went ahead anyway." The mother said, "Why did you tell him to come on when he saw the dog and wanted to help it?" Joe said, "Because I just didn't feel like it." So the mother said, "Well then, only John gets a piece of candy, because only John was good." Have John pick up a piece of candy that is sitting out. Joe said, "But I didn't hurt anyone or anything. I wasn't bad!" The mother replied, "No, but when there is something you can do to help and you don't do it, then you have not been good and you should not be rewarded." Application: Why didn't Joe get any candy? (response) That's right. Joe didn't have a good excuse for not helping the dog or for not helping with the wallet, did he? Neither do we have good excuses when we choose not to help someone who is in need. The Apostle Paul said that we should never ever get tired of doing good things. And he said that people shouldn't get rewarded if they don't want to help do good things. You see, Jesus gave everything because he loves us. Jesus was so good to us, and he never got tired of being good. We should always try to do the right thing and be like Jesus! Let's Pray: Help us, dear Lord, never to get tired of doing good things. In Jesus' name. Amen. Children's Sermons A to Z, Brett Blair, Tim Carpenter, CSS Publishing Company, 2000, 0-7880-1780-2