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The Spiritual Partnership HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. +++++++++++ THE STORY IS TOLD OF A LINE OF MEN STANDING IN FRONT OF THE PEARLY GATES WAITING TO GET IN… A SIGN OVERHEAD READS: FOR MEN WHO HAVE BEEN DOMINATED ALL THEIR LIVES BY THEIR WIVES… THE LINE OF MEN UNDER THAT SIGN EXTENDS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE… BUT NEARBY IS ANOTHER SIGN WHICH READS: FOR MEN WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN DOMINATED BY THEIR WIVES… UNDER IT IS STANDING JUST ONE MAN… ST. PETER COMES TO HIM AND SAYS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? THE MAN SAYS: I DON’T KNOW…MY WIFE TOLD ME TO STAND HERE…! +++++++++++++++++++++ LAST WEEK, WE TALKED ABOUT MARRIAGE, SPECIFICALLY THE MARITAL TRIANGLE… HUSBAND AND WIFE ON THE BOTTOM, YOU CAN SEE IT IN YOUR SERMON RESOURCE SHEET. JESUS AT THE TOP WITH THE PREMISE THAT THE CLOSER WE ARE TO CHRIST, UP THE VERTICAL LINE… THE CLOSER WE NATURALLY GET TO EACH OTHER! +++++++++++++++++++++ TODAY, I WANT TO CONTINUE THAT MARITAL TRIANGULAR THEME, AS WE LOOK AT SOMETHING I’M CALLING: SPIRITUAL PARTNERSHIP. THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP IN MARRIAGE IS CRITICAL- BOTH TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE, AND TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE WITH CHRIST.. +++++++++++++ HERE’S WHAT I MEAN. ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS WHEN OFFICIATING WEDDINGS, IS THAT MOMENT WHEN THE RINGS ARE BEING PUT ON… AND THE BRIDE AND GROOM SAY TO EACH OTHER.. ROBERT, ASHLEY…I GIVE YOU THIS RING…AS A SYMBOL OF MY VOW, AND WITH ALL THAT I AM… AND ALL THAT I HAVE… THAT’S PARTNERSHIP! WITH ALL THAT I AM… YOU SEE, THIS PROVES THE FALLACY OF THE PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENT! IF YOU ARE VOWING ALL THAT YOU ARE, AND ALL THAT YOU HAVE, EXCEPT FOR THOSE SECRET MUTUAL FUNDS… AND ACTUALLY, THAT HOUSE IN BETHANY BEACH… THEN THERE IS NO REAL AND AUTHENTIC PARTNERSHIP, THE MARRIAGE IS NOT A MARRIAGE… PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS ARE ABSOLUTELY CONTRARY TO CHRISTIAN MARITAL PARTNERSHIPS! FOR THE PARTNERSHIP TO WORK, WE REALIZE THAT THERE IS NOT ONE THING I HAVE THAT IS NOT HERS! THIS IS NOT AN EASY LIFE TO LEAD! IT REMINDS ME OF A MAN TALKING ABOUT HIS MARRIAGE…. HE SAID…YES, WE FIGHT, BUT TO BE HONEST, WE HAVE NEVER GONE TO BED MAD… OF COURSE ONE YEAR WE WERE UP FOR 3 MONTHS! THIS MARITAL PARTNERSHIP IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE… NOW, MAKE THIS JUMP WITH ME… THE CHURCH IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST! OUR MARRIAGES ARE BASED ON THE RELATIONSHIP THAT CHRIST HAS WITH HIS CHURCH… AND WE MIGHT ASK, WHO OR WHAT IS THE CHURCH? YOU ARE! THE CHURCH ISN’T ME, OR THE WARDENS, IT IS YOU! DO YOU REALIZE THAT? MARRIED OR UNMARRIED, WE ARE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST! THANKS BE TO GOD, BECAUSE AS WE SAID LAST WEEK… WE DON’T FIND OUR COMPLETION IN OUR SPOUSE, IT IS THE LORD WHO COMPLETES US! SO, WHETHER MARRIED OR UNMARRIED, WE FIND THE MODEL RELATIONSHIP IN THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST! …THROUGH OUR BAPTISMAL COVENANT… LORD CHRIST, WITH ALL THAT I AM, AND ALL THAT I HAVE…I HONOR YOU! +++++++++++++++++++++ IN TODAY’S GOSPEL, WE GET A REAL LIFE LOOK INTO WHAT A PARTNERSHIP WITH CHRIST REQUIRES! IT’S THE STORY OF A RICH YOUNG MAN WHO WANTS THAT PARTNERSHP WITH JESUS.. THE YOUNG MAN SAYS IN EFFECT, JESUS, WHAT MUST I DO TO ENTER INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU? AND AS A DISPLAY OF THAT EARNEST DESIRE, WE’RE TOLD THE YOUNG MAN IS ACTUALLY OUT OF BREATH, BECAUSE HE’S JUST RUN TO THE FEET OF JESUS! HE IS SO HUNGRY TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP HE RUNS
TO SIT AT THE FEET OF THIS PENNILESS PROPHET.… AND SO JESUS BEGINS TO EXPLAIN JUST WHAT IS REQUIRED IN A SPIRITUAL PARTNERSHIP… JESUS BEGINS WITH THE STEREOTYPICAL THINGS, THAT PEOPLE TODAY THINK MAKE UP A CHRISTIAN.. ALL THE DO NOT’S…. DON’T
THE YOUNG MAN SAYS, GREAT, DONE THAT… THEN COMES THE COUP-DE-TAT… THE MOMENT JESUS HAS BEEN WAITING FOR…. WHEN HE WOULD GIVE THIS MAN THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME… BUT FIRST, JESUS LOOKS AT HIM, AND GLOWS WITH LOVE FOR HIM. LET’S PAUSE THE TAPE RIGHT THERE… HERE IS A CRITICAL ETERNAL TRUTH THAT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE IN EVERY SITUATION… AND THAT IS THIS… JESUS ALWAYS LOOKS AT YOU ME WITH A DOUBLE EYE…. HE SEES WHO WE ARE…. BUT HE ALSO SEES WHO WE CAN BE… THANK GOD! JESUS SEES WHO WE ARE… BUT HE ALSO SEES DOWN THE ROAD INTO WHAT WE CAN BE! AND THIS IS WHY JESUS LOOKS AT THIS MAN WITH LOVE FIRST… HE SEES THE AMAZING FUTURE AT THE MAN’S DOORSTEP IF HE WILL TAKE THAT NEXT STEP… REMEMBER, JESUS GAVE THIS SAME DOUBLE EYE TO PETER… PETER WAS A FISHERMAN TRUE ENOUGH, BUT JESUS SAW HIM WITH HIS DOUBLE EYE AS TO WHAT COULD BE, AND THEREFORE SEES PETER AS A FISHER OF MEN! ++++++++++++ HE SEES MATTHEW, NOT AS A COLLECTOR OF TAXES, BUT AS A COLLECTOR OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD KNOW THEIR NEED FOR HIM! SO, JESUS LOOKS AND LOVES THIS YOUNG MAN, FOR WHO HE MIGHT BE…. AS JESUS THEN SAYS AS AN ACT OF PARTNERSHIP… SELL WHAT YOU HAVE, AND GIVE TO THE POOR… WITH ALL THAT I AM AND ALL THAT HAVE, I HONOR YOU… DEEP SILENCE… THE ONLY THING MOVING AT THIS POINT, IS THE SKIN OF THE YOUNG MAN’S FACE FALLING TO THE GROUND. JESUS IS SAYING HERE THAT DOING THINGS, LIKE OBEYING THE COMMANDMENTS, BEING A NICE PERSON, IS NOT ENOUGH! TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS MEANS GOING DEEPER, TAKING THAT VOW…LIKE THE MARRIAGE VOW… WITH ALL THAT I AM, AND ALL THAT I HAVE I HONOR YOU! NO PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS… NO PRIVATE ACCOUNTS FROM JESUS! IF CHRISTIANITY FOR US IS ONLY ABOUT WHAT WE DO AND DON’T DO, IF IT’S ABOUT HORDING THOSE ACCOUNTS… THEN LIKE A MARRIAGE, WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES, ARE WE REALLY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HIM? ++++++++++++++ THINK ABOUT THIS IN YOUR MARRIAGE.. WHAT IF THERE WAS JUST ONE THING YOUR SPOUSE KEPT FROM YOU, THAT ONE THING WOULD END UP RUINING YOUR MARRIAGE! AND SO IT IS WITH CHRIST! MONEY IS SO OFTEN THAT ONE THING WE HORD FROM HIM, MISTAKENLY THINKING WE EARNED IT, IT’S OURS! BUT JESUS IS SAYING, WAIT A MINUTE, WE ARE IN PARTNERSHIP, IN FACT, ALL YOU HAVE IS A RESULT OF WHAT I’VE GIVEN YOU! JUST GIVE ME A PORTION BACK SO THIS THING DOESN’T RULE YOU AND DESTROY THE PARTNERSHIP! +++++++++++++++++++++ RECENTLY I CAME ACROSS INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO CATCH A MONKEY. THIS IS CONNECTED TO MY SERMON, HANG HERE WITH ME… ONE WAY TO CATCH A MONKEY EVERY TIME IS THIS:
IS THAT THE MONKEY WILL NEVER LET GO OF THE RICE, AND THEREFORE HIS CLENCHED FIST WILL NEVER GET THROUGH THE HOLE
THIS IS WHAT JESUS IS SAYING TO THE YOUNG MAN… LET GO OF THE MATERIAL STUFF YOU THINK YOU NEED… HAVEN’T WE BEEN THERE MY FRIENDS? FEELING SO CONTROLLED BY MAKING MONEY, ATTAINING MONEY TO THE POINT THAT GIVING A WAY A PORTION OF IT GOES AGAINST EVERY GRAIN OF FIBER IN OUR BODY? THE MORE ROOM IT CAN TAKE UP IN OUR HEART------ THEREBY SQUEZZEING HIM OUT! AND WE BEGIN TO DIE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS… WE BEGIN TO DIE TO SELF-LESS-NESS… I THINK OF THE MAN WHO WAS SHOWN AROUND AN AMAZING PLANTATION… AFTER HE SAW IT ALL, HE TURNS TO THE OWNER AND SAYS… THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO DIE… HAVE YOU HEARD THAT PREMISE THAT FOR A HUNDRED PEOPLE WHO CAN STAND ADVERSITY, ONLY ONE OF THEM CAN STAND PROSPERITY…. PROSPERITY CAN MAKE US
++++++++++ MY FRIENDS, THE BIBLE IS SO REAL. THE TRAGEDY OF TODAY’S STORY WITH JESUS AND THE YOUNG MAN IS THAT LIKE THE MONKEY, THIS MAN CHOOSES TO KEEP HIS HAND IN THE TREE, IT WOULD MARK THE ONLY TIME IN THE GOSPELS WHEN THE PERSONAL CALL OF JESUS WOULD BE REJECTED.. AND TO THAT END SEVERAL SCHOLARS HAVE WRITTEN THAT THIS MAN DESERVES THE PRIZE FOR HAVING MADE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BLUNDER. I MEAN.. WHAT ELSE IN ALL HUMAN HISTORY COULD COMPARE TO THAT PRIZE OF AN ELBOW-TO-ELBOW PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS? HEARING HIM? SEEING HIM? BEING LOVED BY HIM? PARTNERSHIP LOST…BECAUSE THE MAN COULD NOT LET GO--- AND NOTICE WHAT THIS DOES TO HIS POSTURE… REMEMBER, HE COMES TO JESUS RUNNING, BUT NOTICE, HE LEAVES JESUS TRUDGING, HEAD DOWN… DON’T WE SEE THIS IN MARRIAGE AS WELL? ALL THE COUPLES I SEE WHO RUN TO THAT ALTAR, CAN’T WAIT TO BE MARRIED… BUT THEN REALIZE THE COST OF STAYING MARRIED, AND SOME LEAVE, TRUDGING, HEAD DOWN… COSTLY… IT’S WHY JESUS GIVES THAT RATHER HUMOROUS COMPARISON OF : IT WILL BE EASIER FOR A CAMEL TO GO THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE THAN FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD. JESUS GIVES THIS ANALOGY OUT OF THIS PRACTICAL REALITY. THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE REFERS TO THE NICKNAME GIVEN TO A SMALL GATE WITHIN THE LARGER GATE AT THE ENTRANCE TO A CITY… IT WAS COMMON TO BUILD AN ORDINARY DOOR IN THE HUGE GATE SO THAT COMMON FOLK COULD GO AND COME WITHOUT OPENING THE HUGE GATE, THEREBY AVOIDING PUTTING THE CITY IN DANGER. BUT HERE’S THE CATCH… FOR A CAMEL TO GET IN, HE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE OFF ALL THE STUFF ON HIS BACK- AND KNEEL DOWN AND CRAWL THROUGH THE DOOR. JESUS IS COMPARING THE RICH YOUNG MAN’S MANY POSSESSIONS AS A LOAD OF STUFF KEEPING HIM OUT OF THE GLORIOUS CITY! YOU SEE, THE OPPOSITE OF RICH IS NOT POOR, THE OPPOSITE OF RICH, IS FREEDOM! AND ISN’T IT TRUE? LET’S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS…
+++++++++++++++++++++ MY FRIENDS, AS YOU PARTNER WITH YOUR SPOUSE, AND JESUS…YOU ARE THERFORE PARTNERING WITH HIS CHURCH… THEREFORE: GIVING TO THE CHURCH IS MORE THAN A CALCULATED ACT OF CHARITY… IT IS A DEMONSTRATION OF SPIRITUAL PARTNERSHIP! GIVING TO THE CHURCH 10% OF YOUR INCOME IS AN ACT OF SPIRITUAL PARTNERSHIP! IT IS ESSENTIALLY SAYING TO THE LEADERSHIP OF ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, WE ARE BEHIND YOU… WE SUPPORT THE VISION OF KNOWING CHRIST AND MAKING HIM KNOWN, WE NOT ONLY SUPPORT IT, WE WANT TO BE A SPIRITUAL PARTNER.. I WANT TO GIVE TO CHRIST THROUGH THE VISION OF ALL SAINTS’! I KNOW THE COUNTER-CULTURAL MINISTRY GOING ON, I KNOW HOW DIFFERENT ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH IS IN THE DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON… I WANT TO BE A PARTNER… IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO SAY, LIKE THE RICH YOUNG MAN, BUT LOOK AT ALL THE GOOD I DO! I SERVE ON 8 COMMITTEES, I’VE BEEN IN THE CHOIR SINCE MY YOUTH! MY FRIENDS, THERE HAS TO BE A BUY-IN OF THE VISION THAT MARKS YOUR PARTNERSHIP, AS YOU CONTEMPLATE YOUR GIVING TO ALL SAINTS’, ASK YOURSELF ARE YOU LIVING WITH THE EQUIVALENT OF A PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENT IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST? ARE THERE THINGS YOU ARE KEEPING FROM HIM? AND MY FRIENDS, THIS IS NEVER EVER EASY. THIS MORNING I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU. AND WE ARE TAKING BABY STEPS TO GET THERE! YOU NEED TO KNOW YOU HAVE A LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT IS TITHING, FROM YOUR STAFF TO YOUR VESTRY. THERE MIGHT BE SOME ON OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM WHO ARE NOT YET AT 10%, BUT EACH PERSON IS AT A %, WORKING TOWARD 10. +++++++++++++ I WANT TO END WITH A STORY THAT INVOLVES SOMETHING VERY PERSONAL FOR ME, AND BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT LIFE AS PARTNERSHIP WITH:
I’VE ASKED MY OWN PARTNER, MY WIFE ELIZABETH TO SHARE THIS TITHING STORY THAT BRINGS IT ALL HOME. |
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