It was Mark Twain who said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." Some people discover their "why" quite early in life. When I was in high school, a classmate named Jeff always knew he would be a doctor. A few months back, when my dad was having heart surgery at the Riverside Medical Center, Jeff was walking down the hallway, donning the white coat. He's now a successful Anesthesiologist.
It takes others much longer to discover "why am I here?" A blogger named Karen Kennedy remembers being told by her mother that she was an accident--that her parents never intended to have another child. So Karen grew up knowing she wasn't wanted. She writes, "I knew I was a mistake, an accident. I wasn't supposed to be here. I spent most of my childhood trying to be the best at everything to somehow justify my existence and prove to my parents that I wasn't a mistake, that I belonged."
One day she suddenly fell, and fractured her knee, and developed a blood clot. The blood clot traveled to her lung, and she developed a pulmonary embolism--a condition few live to tell about! As she recovered her doctor leaned over and told her she "shouldn't be here," that she "shouldn't have survived."
That was the moment Karen chose to believe a different story... that God must have been keeping her around for a reason! She realized her purpose was to help people live better lives. She writes, "The day I found my purpose really was like being born again. It was more than just figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, it was feeling like I finally belonged here in the world; I finally stopped feeling like a mistake." (quoted from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-ann-kennedy/the-two-most-important-days-of-your-life_b_5229311.html)
For most of this series we've been exploring, "how can I live a better story?" Today we turn the tables and ask an even bigger question, "How can I help others live a better story?" One obvious way is to. . .
INSPIRE people with the CHARACTER of Jesus
We're all given different lots in life. Some are given much; some very little. Some rise to places of great prominence; some feel like they live in the shadows and corners. Some are endowed with natural gifts and abilities; others have to work extra hard, and nothing comes easy. Whether you start at the bottom of the pile or the top of the pile matters very little. As the saying goes, "The cream always rises to top."
What matters more than "what you have" or "what you've been given" is "who you are." God says be grateful for what you have and be mindful of who you are becoming. In Matthew 5:13 Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." In Matthew 5:48 Jesus says, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"
What happens to you in life isn't nearly as important as how you respond, and who you are becoming. For example, who do you show yourself to be when someone insults you? strikes you with their hand? forces you to walk a mile? threatens to sue you? catches your eye? sins against you? asks you for forgiveness?
This past week there was viral story about a girl getting bullied at her school. After someone stole her IPAD and posted on her Facebook wall she should kill herself. So she wrote 800 positive post-it-notes, and stuck them on every locker in her school. "You are beautiful... you are awesome." The teachers frowned upon her for littering, but her gracious response to her enemies rallied the student body to take up her cause!
Romans 12:20-21 says, "If you enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coast on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Our "lot" in life matters very little to God. God is more interested in our saltiness--to what degree our character reflects his holy character. 1 Peter 1:16 says, "Be holy as I am holy." Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed..." Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
You can INSPIRE people with the CHARACTER of Jesus no matter what your circumstance, your lot in life, status, position, education, job, age, gender, ethnicity... The Bible says, "Jesus set an example that we might follow in his steps." Despite his extreme hardships Apostle Paul said, "Follow my example as I follow Christ." What is a practical way you can inspire someone to live a better story?
Another way we can help people live a better story is to...
CARE for people with the WORKS of Jesus
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus says, "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
In John 13:35 Jesus says, "By this all men will know you are my disciples if you love one another."
Ephesians 2:10 Paul says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
James 1:27 James says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
1 Peter 2:12 Peter says, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
In 1 John 3:17-18 Apostle John says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person. . . let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
The question isn't whether we should CARE for people, its why. Our LOVE proves the reality of God's love. Hate comes natural; Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control is "supernatural."
The most poignant description of Jesus' life is in John 5:19 where he declares, "I do whatever I see the Father doing; whatever the Father does the Son does." What if that was your personal mission statement? "I do whatever I see the Father doing; whatever the Father does Jon Morrissette does." Love is the best card we can play, in every single circumstance. Love is the trump card that trumps all other cards. Love helps people see God more clearly.
This past week a couple, in dire circumstances, called the church. Before I'd even introduced myself, the man said, "Sir, you're our only hope!" I immediately corrected him and said, "No I am not you're only hope... but if we meet I'll make sure you know who is your only hope." So we met, and talked. They shared their stories. I was most struck by the woman's story... she had grown up in a church, and even sang in the choir, yet she'd never felt loved. Her whole family, including her mother, her uncles, abused her from a young age. When she finally turned 13, she ran away for her life. When she was finally found she was put into foster care where the abuse continued. Her new guardians showed her how to kill herself. Everyone she's ever turned to has used her, abused her, and discarded her. I asked her where she saw God at work in her story. "He's been with me, in everything. I wouldn't be here without God." My prayer the entire time was, "Lord, help her know how much you love her." Buying them a soda and just listening without judgment was probably more love than they'd been shown in long time. Who has God put in your path this week, to love, or to care for?
Another way to help people live a better story is to...
SPEAK to people with the WORDS of Jesus
In James 3:6,8 James warns that "The tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell... it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
I think we'd all agree that few things are as lethal, corruptive, or destructive to people's lives as words. The character of people is bad enough. The actions of people are bad enough. But when people open their mouths, it can be like pouring gasoline on a fire. I cannot think of anything more potentially destructive (or potentially redemptive) as the words we choose to speak. . . Think of how the words of someone changed the whole trajectory of your life for the better or for the worse.
This is why Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death." Proverbs 10:11 says, "the words of the godly are a life-giving fountain." Its why 1 Peter 4:11 says, "If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God." It's also why Jesus says, in John 12:49-50, "I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me."
Whenever I meet with someone, I pray for God to show me what to say. And God never ever fails me. After this man told me I was his "only hope" we met for awhile at Arby's. After hearing their story, we talked about God at length. We talked about the difference between living in fear and walking by faith. I shared scriptures with them. I asked them if they had ever had joy in all their life, or if they'd only known fear, and had only been running on adrenaline all these years. I encouraged them to trust God with all their needs. "He is your creator, your provider, your everlasting hope. He promises to meet all your needs in Christ Jesus."
Next week is our Mission Expo. You can meet people our church is partnering with here in Springfield but also around the world... people who are setting an example of what we've been talking about this morning. But we really hope you'll take up the mission of Jesus in a practical way. . .
In your sermon notes there is a blank. This week I will _______ _______. As we come to our time of offering, write down a name.
I will INSPIRE ... with the CHARACTER OF JESUS
I will CARE FOR ... with the LOVE/WORKS of JESUS
I will SPEAK TO ... with the WORDS of JESUS
Writer Brennan Manning says, "We don't have to join mission works in places unknown to us. The passion of Christ is being played out in our own communities, perhaps in our own homes, in anyone who is in agony of flesh or spirit. Jesus is there not in some vague, eerie way but as a real presence-- for what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for Him."
Post-it-note story: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/positive-post-it-day-trends-as-city-rallies-behind-bullied-alberta-girl-1.2047075