February 5 Souper Bowl Sunday “Loving Our God: Loving
Secrets” Isaiah 58.1-9a *I Corinthians 2.1-12 Pastor Jacqueline Hines
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Not long ago there was a radio report [slide #1 radio] that declared in order to have well-behaved children,
you had to have very clear expectations. [slide #2 clear expectations…] When we give clear expectations to our children, they
will most likely stay on track and do what they are taught to do. When we say
one thing and do another, they may do what we do and not what we tell them to
do. For the most part when we are clear about what we expect, when they notice
that we are not ambivalent, they follow the rules.
The apostle Paul spent years studying God’s word
seriously and diligently. He was all about making sure everyone knew
God’s rules as well as God’s love. Paul presented clear expectations for
God’s children. He taught that behavior has consequences and God guides us
every step of the way. [slide # 3 God’s rules] When we
fall, God picks us up, [slide # 4 Jesus holding man up] when we soar, [slide# 5 dove soaring] we go to unimaginable heights on the wings of the
holiest spirit. When we need comfort, it is always a prayer away. [slide# 6 hugging]
Paul says in verse 2 he did not come preaching
mystery or as the CEB version says, the secrets,… but he came demonstrating
God’s power.
God’s blessings are as clear as God’s expectations
to those who are looking for them. They are real and a powerful presence in our
lives. We may wonder where God is. We may not appreciate God’s position behind
us pushing us or at arm’s length beyond our reach, but we know God beyond a
doubt that God is with us. We can see what non-believers cannot see. The
secrets of God’s love are clearest when we love God back.
Whether we are on the mountain heights of stardust
and glory or in the valley of many shadows our God is still an awesome God. We
can still expect great things. There is a song that says, “It is no secret,
what God can do. What he’s done for others, he’ll do for you. With arms wide
open, he’ll pardon you. It is no secret what God can do.”
The song was written by Stuart Hamblen, known as a
“singing cowboy.” [slide
# 7 Stewart Hamblen] He was the son of a
Methodist minister from Texas, but when he became a famous singer, the story is
told that he didn’t handle his fame very well. He went to jail several times
for his drinking and brawling behavior, but when he met Billy Graham, he turned
his life around and rumors about his conversion spread like wildfire. Finally,
a friend came right out and asked him, “Is it true? Are you a Christian now?”
He answered his friend, “It is no secret what God has done for me and God can
do it for you, too.” His friend suggested he turn those lines into a song. That
friend was John Wayne, and that song rose to number one on the gospel, country,
and pop charts and was sung by greats like Mahalia Jackson and Elvis Presley.
Apostle Paul taught that the power of God is not
hidden. It is a prayer away. But you do have to love God to experience the
depths of God’s powerful love.
Those who have been snorkeling [slide # 8 snorkeling] or
scuba diving [slide
# 9 scuba diving] are able to see deep
things that cannot be seen from the shore. There are marvels to be seen, colors,
and light and movement that we witness when we look deeply and prayerfully into
what is before us.
After a loved one slips into eternity’s grey shadows, still we know that God is with us. It is no
secret. God reveals Godself in the darkness. When a dream that we have fought
and worked for forever, disappears into ashes and dust, we can see still see
God in what the great mystic Howard Thurman calls, the Luminous Darkness. It is
no secret. If you seek, you will find because Jesus leads us, calls us where we
need to go. He says, “My sheep know my voice.”
In troubling times when light is scarce, let the
light within you shine every day. You never know who will find their way back
to life because of the light you shine on the path. Light works wonders. Our
light is energy like the sun that makes life grow. Our light reveals, like a
candle in the dark. Our light transforms like the rainbow glow of a campfire
cooking a nourishing meal. Our light comforts like a lantern of welcome in a
window for the weary traveler. Our light heals like the infrared light used by
doctors. Let your light shine. For it is no secret that we are children
of the light.
I have grown to appreciate the spiritual disciplines
of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the United Methodist Church and other
denominations. I have been strengthened by repeating prayers for years in
addition to the Lord’s Prayer. I have been blessed with set times of prayer and
fasting, too, but it has become more and more clear that spiritual disciplines give
us spiritual power only when we are in the light of God’s love and God’s word.
We need to be in the presence of that
spiritual light that is within God’s people in worship so we will have less
time for worry and wandering. We need to be in the light of God’s word in
reading, radio, television, and bible study in the daytime if we are going to
be able to glow in the dark.
Stuart Hamblin did not go on a fast when his life
turned around. He met Billy Graham and Billy Graham’s light shone on him and
transformed him, gave him a new song for all the world to sing. Shine your light and the power of God will be
revealed. It is no secret what God can do.
Pastor Khan from Royersford UMC told a story of how
he and his wife prayed to have a second child. They prayed and prayed and the
baby was born, not one or two or three or four…but nine years later. I asked
Pastor Khan if he got impatient during those years or was he tempted to stop
praying and give up or get mad at God. It amazed me that he said he was very
calm and patiently waited on the Lord all those years until the answer came.
That son is now in seminary and preaching the gospel like his father. He
represents the fifth generation of Christians from Pakistan. That is a good
example of God’s power revealed.
You may not want God’s blessings in God’s
timing. You may be like me, wanting to know the secret to getting a certain
blessing instantly. There are very few blessings that we can have on demand. There
is very little in life that we are in charge of. If we just take charge of the
little we are in charge of, then we will be more secure and on track. Naturally,
at times, we rather remain distracted by anything but our own affairs.
You understand this if you ever watch Cesar Milan,
the dog whisperer. Cesar is called in to households where the dog is ruling the
house, tearing up shoes, nipping at the neighbors, acting aggressively toward other
animals. Cesar reminds dog owners, you need to take charge of your dog and let him or her know
that you are the leader of the pack and they will no longer be allowed to
frighten or destroy. You need to have that in your mind and in your heart so
that the dog will be convinced by your body language and your speech. Taking
charge of what we are in charge of is not easy. It is easy to do lots of other
things to procrastinate doing what we should do which is taking charge of our
own lives and our own responsibilities.
Right now, our Bethel business is to take charge of working
well together, to be right with God and to be gentle and respectful and kind
toward one another in the midst of several conversations about our future.
From my angle, as your pastor, I hear God speaking
through you saying four things: Number one God has given us gifts to use in
that beautiful kitchen and as we are using those God-given gifts of hospitality
[slide # 10 hospitality
sign] and cooking, we need a dishwasher
and a few important renovations. We want God’s time with our fellowships to be as
beautiful as God helps us to make them. The Trustees have taken care of that
call to ministry. God has provided all the skill and the money to answer that
prayer. [slide #
11 hospitality team]
Secondly, I hear God speaking through all of you
saying we need more accessible restrooms. [slide # 12 restroom sign] There is no doubt about that. We are praying
continually and there is no doubt that God will faithfully help us to
accomplish that. [slide#
13 If….God will help us]
Thirdly, I hear God speaking clearly through you
saying, we need to be responsible stewards and pay off the loan [Slide# 14 man with
bill] we have for the elevator and the
lobby and not leave that debt for our children to pay, and not abandon it for
someone else to pay. This is good because God has entrusted us with
great resources and we want to use them wisely and not make a mockery of God’s
generosity by neglecting to care. [slide# 15 paid…]
Fourthly, I clearly hear God saying loudly through you that if we
sincerely love our God, we need to have missions
[side# 16 MISSIONS] as
an even higher priority than we do now.
Aside from all the wonderful ways we are already in
mission, God is saying, “There is room for more.” God has stirred our hearts. That stirring is
becoming a spiritual whirlwind. God has something special in mind for us to do.
[slide # 17 around….across the street]
A Bethel member brought to my attention a church
that has been transformed by their answering God’s call to make missions a
greater priority. [slide#
18 Jesus knocking] The church is Shadow
Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California. They were struggling to
meet their budget year after year. At one point, they wondered if they could
even afford to do any significant missions because after all the bills had to
be paid. [slide
# 19 Jesus hand wrestling…] Then the
church leaders came up with a deeply spiritual idea. They would tithe from the
general fund to missions, just as they asked each member to tithe. Everything
got quiet.
It is at that point, Dr. David Jeremiah the pastor
of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California says he went out
on a limb and asked a question. He said he was not planning to ask the question
and was not even sure why it came to mind. He asked, “What would God do if we
tithed not only 10% but 20% of our offerings to missions.” [slide # 20 mission] He
said it got real quiet again.
I do not know all the details of what they finally did, but Pastor Jeremiah
says from that time on, they never again struggled to meet their budget and all
the other ministries that they cared for fell in place! That is certainly inspiring.
God is not asking us to do what other churches do,
but there is no doubt in my mind that God is asking us to make missions high
priority. There is no longer any doubt in my mind that if we do not find a way
to work together and answer that call to mission together, we will be missing
one of our greatest opportunities to please God and worship in peace.
There is no other reason to be here than to please
God. We please God when we work peacefully and respectfully together, when EVERYONE does their part no matter how
great or small that part may be. We please God when we treat one another
gently, whether we are building a mission team or an elevator with a beautiful
lobby. We please God when we listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd. His sheep hear his voice. May we
hear his voice clearly today and always. Amen. [slide # 21 thy will…]
