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Hero or Historic? HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. The true story is told of baseball star babe ruth
playing one of his last ever major league games. IN THIS SEASON OF GRADUATIONS AND CHANGE… WHERE ARE ALL THE HEROES? DID YOU KNOW THAT ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY, 70% OF ALL AMERICANS SAY THEY HAVE NO LIVING HEROES… WHERE HAVE ALL THE HEROES GONE? THE LACK OF… LED THE BRITISH SINGER BONNIE TYLER IN THE 1980’S TO WRITE A HIT SONG CALLED "HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO." IT WAS FEATURED IN THE MOVIE FOOTLOOSE…. I’D SING IT BUT I DON’T WANT TO UPSTAGE THE CHOIR…HA HA… WHO CAN FORGET THE WORDS…IN THIS EDITED VERSION.. I NEED A HERO I NEED A HERO HOW WE ALL LONG FOR HEROES…! I REMEMBER AS A CHILD, AS SOON AS SUMMER BREAK HIT, I WATCHED EVERY RED SOX GAME ON TV… AND AS THE PLAYERS WOULD COME TO BAT, I WOULD HAVE THEIR BASEBALL CARD IN MY HAND SAY A LITTLE PRAYER.. EACH OF THEM WERE HEROES TO ME… WHO HAVE SOME OF YOUR HEROES BEEN OVER YOUR LIFE? COME ON, ADMIT IT…MAYBE IT ALL BEGAN WITH HEROES LIKE…
MAYBE
RALPH WALDO EMERSON DEFINED A HERO THIS WAY… HE SAID: A HERO IS NO BRAVER THAN AN ORDINARY MAN, BUT HE IS BRAVE FIVE MINUTES LONGER… LET ME TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER LAND AND TIME CRYING OUT FOR A HERO… THE ANCIENT LAND OF ISRAEL… TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, LET ME GIVE YOU WHAT I CALL A BIT OF TURBO HISTORY… THE YEAR 920 B-C-E… ISRAEL IS LARGE AND WEALTHY, EXTENDING OVER THE FERTILE PLAINS OF CANAAN. BUT THERE WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM LURKING. YEARS EARLIER, DAVID AND SOLOMON CONQUERED THE ENTIRE CANAANITE AREA, BUT THEY ALLOWED THE NATIVE CANAANITES TO CONTINUE THE WORSHIP OF BAAL. IT INFURIATED GOD. SO, ON ONE SIDE, YOU HAVE THE JEWS LIVING WITH A STRICT ADHERENCE TO JUST ONE GOD AND ONE GOD ONLY… BECAUSE REMEMBER, GOD HAD JUST GOT THEM THROUGH THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA! ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THINGS- WERE THE CANAANITES.. WHO WORSHIPED FERTILITY GODS AND BAAL. AND SO THESE TWO GROUPS.. THE JEWS AND CANAANITES LIVING IN AN UNEASY TENSION. BUT THEN THE CORK ON THE BOTTLE BLOWS UP IN 850 BCE. THAT’S WHEN A NEW KING IS APOINTED TO LEAD ISRAEL. ON PAPER KING AHAB BELIEVES IN THE GOD….BUT! BUT HE’S MARRIED TO A WOMAN, (NOT KIDDING HERE) HER NAME IS JEZEBEL… YES, IT’S WHERE WE GET THE WORD… JEZEBEL IS A BAAL WORSHIPPING, FERTILITY GOD FOLLOWING WOMAN— KING AHAB IN ORDER TO PLACATE HIS WIFE… BEGINS BUILDING TEMPLES TO BAAL FOR HER… AND THEN OVER TIME HE HIMSELF BEGINS TO WORSHIP BAAL… HE EVEN GIVES HIS WIFE JEZEBEL 850 PROPHETS OF BAAL TO KEEP HER COMPANY! SO, WHILE THE NATIVE CANAANITES IN THE KINGDOM REGARDED AHAB AS A WISE LIBERAL HEBEW RULER, THE JEWS DON’T SEE THINGS THAT WAY! TO THEM, AHAB HAD COMMITTED THE GREATEST CRIME OF ALL BY ABANDONING THE SOLE WORSHIP OF YAHWEH TO WHICH ISRAEL HAD PLEDGED ITSELF UNDER MOSES AND JOSHUA… AND GOD RESPONDS TO AHAB & JEZEBEL BY CAUSING A DROUGHT ON THE LAND, AND THIS IS HOW TRICKY AND SMART GOD IS… GOD CHOOSES A DROUGHT ALMOST AS A JOKE SO HE CAN PROVE ALL THE FERTILITY GODS WRONG! REMEMBER THE FERTILITY GODS ARE THE ONES WHO SUPPOSEDLY BRING THE WATER! GOD REFUSES TO SEND RAIN BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WOULD ATTRIBUTE ITS PRODUCE TO BAAL. NO RAIN=NO FOOD=DEATH AND DYING… BRING BACK BONNIE TYLER.. I NEED A HERO THE JEWS IN ISRAEL CRY OUT TO GOD FOR A HERO… AND A HERO THEY GET… ENTER THE WILDMAN ELIJAH STAGE RIGHT… WE DON’T KNOW A THING ABOUT HIM UNTIL HE APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE, HERE IN CHAPTER 17 .. BUT WE DO KNOW THAT HE HEARS RIGHT FROM THE VOICE OF GOD, IN FACT, ELIJAH IS THE ONE WHO MAKES THE PREDICTION THAT THE DROUGHT WOULD TAKE PLACE… AND GOD TELLS ELIJA TO GO TO A PARTICULAR TOWN AND STAY AT THE HOME OF A WIDOW WHO HAS A SON… NOW, IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT GOD CHOOSES A WIDOW FOR ELIJAH TO STAY WITH… THE WIDOW WAS A WOMAN BROKEN WHO KNEW HER NEED FOR GOD… AND SO GOD CHOOSES TO TAKE SPECIAL CARE OF HER….MORE ON THAT IN A MINUTE… NOR IS IT AN ACCIDENT WHEN WE FIND OUT THAT HER ONLY CHILD IS DYING, NOT ONLY THAT BUT THAT ONLY CHILD IS A BOY… FOR A WIDOW TO LOSE A SON MEANT NOT ONLY INCREDIBLE GRIEF, BUT ALSO THE LOSS OF MATERIAL SUPPORT, HE WAS TO BE THE BREAD WINNER. IT WAS THE TRAGEDY OF ALL TRAGEDIES.. I REMEMBER THIS PAST FEBRUARY, I WAS IN LONDON, AND TOOK PART OF AN AFTERNOON TO JOG. I WAS IN THE PECKHAM SECTION OF THE CITY AND GOT COMPLETELY LOST AND ENDED IN A CEMETARY. THE ONE TOMBSTONE THAT CAUGHT MY EYE BELONGED TO LITTLE DANNY …AGE 5… AND ON HIS TOMBSTONE WERE THESE WORDS… THE LITTLE FLOWER IS LENT…NOT GIVEN… AND IT BUDS ON EARTH…TO BLOOM IN HEAVEN… I COULD ALMOST FEEL THE TEARS OF THE PARENTS THROUGH THAT TOMBSTONE… THIS WIDOW IS NO DIFFERENT, DESPARATELY NEEDING A HERO TO SAVE HER SON. AND ELIJAH DOESN’T JUST SAY A PRAYER OVER THE BOY… NO, THIS IS A FULL BODY EFFORT WITH NO FOOLING AROUND ELIJAH CRIES OUT IN PRAYER TO GOD… USING ALL THE STRENGTH AND FORCE THAT HE HAS---- HE STRETCHES HIMSELF OUT ABOVE THE BOY…. STRETCHES ONCE,
STRETCHES TWICE
STRETCHES THREE TIMES
THE LORD HEARS THE CRIES OF ELIJAH…AND THE LIFE OF THE BOY IS SAVED… A MIRACLE THAT WOULD SEND SHOCK WAVES ALL THROUGH THE NATION, THE SAME WAVES JESUS MAKES IN OUR GOSPEL READING AS HE HEALS AGAIN A WIDOWS SON IN THE TOWN OF NAIN.. MY FRIENDS, ARE YOU AND I REALLY THAT DIFFERENT FROM THE WIDOWS AND THE ISRAELITES? FOR US, IT ALL BEGINS THE WAY IT DID FOR ELIJAH, THE WIDOWS, AND THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE.. REALIZING WE ARE PEOPLE WHO NEED GOD. I THINK OF THOSE WORDS OF PLAYRIGHT EUGENE O’NEILL… MAN IS BROKEN. HE LIVES BY MENDING. AND THE GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE GLUE… THE FIRST WAY OF LIVING INTO OUR NEED FOR A HERO, IS TO ADMIT WHERE WE ARE BROKEN… NOW I KNOW WE DON’T DO THIS WELL IN WASHINGTON, BUT WHAT IF RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE THIS MORNING, WE WERE TO TAKE DOWN OUR WALLS, STOP THE PRETENDING, AND GOT REAL WITH OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER ABOUT THE THINGS WE ARE REALLY DEALING WITH IN LIFE… IE…IF THE PERSON SITTING NEXT TO YOU KNEW YOUR MOST PRIVATE WORRIES… WORRIES YOU’VE NEVER SHARED WITH ANOTHER… WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF THE MASKS CAME OFF? AND WE SAID JESUS COME INTO OUR BROKEN-NESS AND HEAL? MY FRIENDS, I KNOW YOU AND IN THE NAME OF CHRIST I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU.. AND I KNOW WHAT MANY OF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS MORNING…
SOME OF YOU ARE FEELING DISTANCED FROM GOD AND THERE IS SOMETHING IN YOU THAT SO WANTS TO HEAR HIS VOICE AGAIN…
WHEREVER WE ARE, THERE IS SOME BROKEN-NESS WITHIN… THE WIDOW DID TOLD GOD HOW MUCH SHE NEEDED GOD…… ELIJAH DID…IN FACT HE WAS SO BROKEN, REMEMBER IT WAS HE WHO WAS THE ONLY PROPHET LIVING FOR GOD IN THAT ENTIRE NATION! BAAL HAD NEARLY ONE THOUSAND PROPHETS.. JUST 2 CHAPTERS LATER, KING AHAB’S WIFE JEZEBEL IS SO ANGRY WITH ELIJAH FOR WANTING TO TAKE DOWN HER TEMPLES TO BAAL, SHE THREATENS ELIJAH’S LIFE! AND ELIJAH GETS SO DISTRAUGHT AND ANXIOUS… HE SAYS THIS… “I CAME TO A TREE, SAT DOWN UNDER IT AND I PRAYED… I HAVE HAD ENOUGH LORD, TAKE MY LIFE, I AM NO BETTER THAN MY SINFUL ANCESTORS,” IT WAS THEN THAT AN ANGEL OF THE LORD COMES TO HIM, AND SAYS: I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU TO CONTINUE MY WORK. DO YOU SEE? IT IS OUT OF HIS WEAKNESS THAT GOD COMES TO HIM… AND USES HIM TO SAVE OTHERS! ONE OF THE THINGS THAT EVERY EARTHLY HERO HAS IN COMMON IS BROKEN-NESS.. BROKEN TO THEY OFFER THAT BROKEN-NESS TO JESUS AND THAT CRACK IS THE THING THAT BRINGS LIGHT AND LIFE!!!! WHERE JESUS COULD USE THEM TO BE HEROES TO OTHERS… THEREFORE, A CHRISTIAN HERO DEFINED, IS ONE WHO IS ABLE TO TAKE AMAZING RISKS BECAUSE THAT PERSON IS BROKEN AND DEPENDING SOLEY ON CHRIST. MY FRIENDS, THIS MORNING I ASK YOU A QUESTION THAT PUTS IT ALL ON THE TABLE… A QUESTION THAT ASKS US TO PUT ASIDE ALL MASKS AND PRE-TENSION… ARE YOU DEPENDING ON THE POWER OF JESUS CHRIST WHEN YOUR LIFE SEEMS TOO DIFFICULT? PUT ANOTHER WAY, IN YOUR LIFE, IS JESUS HERO (ONE WE GO TO IN OUR BROKEN-NESS?) OR SIMPLY A RELIC TO THE PAST THAT YOU LOOK TO ONLY FOR COMFORT AND NOT STRENGTH.… A HERO WHERE LIKE THE WIDOW YOU CRY OUT TO HIM FOR HELP, KNOWING HE HEARS YOU… OR A MUSEUM L IKE RELIC WITH NO POWER TO SHAPE AND CHANGE YOUR FUTURE? THAT JESUS THE ULTIMATE HERO AND SAVIOR OF THE WORLD ADORES YOU… HE WANTS YOU TO COME TO HIM, NOT ONLY SO HE CAN HEAL YOU, NOT ONLY SO HE CAN TAKE A DIFFICULT SITUATION AND MAKE IT RIGHT, NOT ONLY SO YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN AND SET FREE FROM GUILT… BUT SO YOU CAN BE AN ELIJAH TO OTHERS IN YOUR LIFE! JESUS HAS PLANS FOR YOU, PLANS THAT BEGIN WHEN WE CAN ADMIT TO HIM OUR NEED! WHAT DO YOU NEED TO GIVE TO JESUS, SO YOU MIGHT BE THAT ELIJAH, THAT HEROIN TO ANOTHER? WHERE IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW ARE YOU HESITANT TO DEPEND FULLY ON JESUS? WHAT ARE YOU HESITANT TO BRING TO HIM THINKING YOU WILL BE JUDGED OR SHUNNED… BRING IT TO THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU, BRING IT TO JESUS AND HE WILL OPEN YOU UP FOR MINISTRY IN WAYS YOU NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. HERE IS THE DEEP LEARNING… NOW THIS IS REALLY GOOD… EVERYTIME ELIJAH OBEYS GOD AND TAKES RISKS, HE’S GIVEN EVEN MORE CHALLENGING RESPONSIBLITIES! ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE JESUS CHRIST YOUR WHOLE LIFE, YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, SO THAT HE IN TURN CAN USE YOU AS AN ELIJAH TO A CULTURE THAT SO DESPARATELY NEEDS HIM? TODAY WE SAY GOODBYE TO A WONDERFUL ELIJAH ON OUR STAFF… WE HAVE A PROFOUNDLY CLOSE STAFF HERE AT ALL SAINTS, AS A STAFF, WE OFTEN SEE EACH OTHER MORE THAN OUR OWN FAMILIES… BUT IN ADDITION TO WORKING TOGETHER WE ARE ALSO FRIENDS, AND AS I LOOK AT JOY, I SEE A WOMAN WHO LIKE ELIJAH POURS HERSELF OVER THE YOUTH OF OUR CHURCH…LIKE ELIJAH WHO STRETCHED HIMSELF OUT OVER THAT DYING CHILD… THIS HAS BEEN THE MINISTRY OF YOUR YOUTH DIRECTOR… BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING EVEN MORE IMPORTANT… JOY HERSELF HAS BEEN BROKEN, THROUGH OUR 3 YEARS TOGETHER I HAVE SEEN HER OVER AND OVER COMMIT HERSELF TO JESUS IN COMPLETE AND UTTER DEPENDANCE… AND THAT, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD, HAS GIVEN US MIRACLES AFFECTING THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN IN WAYS THAT WILL CHANGE THE REST OF THEIR LIVES… FINALLY THIS MORNING… ONE OF MY FAVORITE DEMONSTRATIONS OF THIS WORD, THE TRUE STORY OF A MAN WALKING HOME FROM WORK LATE ONE EVENING… VERY DARK OUT, WALKING NEAR A PARK WHERE HE HEARS WHAT HE BELIEVES IS A WOMAN BEING BEATEN OR SOMETHING WORSE… HE CONTINUES WALKING… AND AS HE COMES AROUND A BEND IN THE SIDEWALK… HE SEES IN THE DARKNESS THE OUTLINE OF A WOMAN TRYING TO FIGHT OFF A MAN. THE OBSERVER GETS ON HIS KNEES TO HIDE, BUT ALSO TO PRAY… HE KNOWS HE DOESN’T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO TAKE OUT THAT LARGER MAN… PARALYZED BY FEAR, AND IN THAT HEAT OF THE MOMENT HE BEGINS TO PRAY TO GOD TO TAKE: HIS FEAR, HE KNEW HIS NEED FOR JESUS… AND SOMEHOW IN GIVING THAT TO GOD, HE RECEIVES A STRENGTH HE DIDN’T KNOW HE HAD, HE JUMPS UP AND WITH ALL HIS MIGHT PUSHES THE MAN OFF THE GIRL, AND BEGINS TO JUST PUNCH FREE FLOWING… IT’S ENOUGH WHERE THE ATTACKER FLEES.. AND THE GIRL GETS UP AND RUNS BEHIND A TREE… THE MAN NOT WANTING TO SCARE THE GIRL, WHISPERS…ARE YOU OKAY…- HE’S GONE NOW, YOU’RE SAFE. THERE IS A MOMENT OF QUIET.. NOTHING COULD PREPARE THE MAN FOR HEARING WHAT WOULD COME NEXT… THE GIRL IN SHOCK WHISPERS BACK SAYING… SAYS… DADDY….IS THAT YOU… AND OUT FROM BEHIND THE TREE, STEPS HIS ELDEST DAUGHTER… THE WORLD NEEDS ELIJAHS WHO HAVE BEEN BROKEN, WILLING TO TAKE RISKS… TO POINT THE WORLD TO THE ONLY TRUE SAVIOR… JESUS THE CHRIST. AMEN. |
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