October
29, 2017 Youth Sunday – Deuteronomy 34.1-12, * Matthew
22.34-46 “Enemies Under our Feet When…”
+++
A guy was crossing the street to visit
his neighbor. As he started, a car was bearing down on him, so he stopped and
backed up to the curb. The car stopped, so he started to cross, and the car
started to move toward him again. He changed direction and went back to the
curb and the car moved toward
him. Then he moved to run across
the street and the car swerved in that
direction. He moved left and the car moved left. He moved right and the
car moved right. Finally, he just stopped in the middle of the road. The car
screeched to a stop right in front of him. He walked around to the driver’s
window and the window rolled down. The man was surprised to see a squirrel
behind the driver’s wheel. The squirrel said, “I just wanted you to know what
it feels like.” *
In this day and age, whether
we are a youth or an elder, we toss and turn every which way so that the other can
know what it feels like to live whatever
life we are living. [slide # 1 squirrel]
We do live in a
wonderful world. It is a different world from what many of us grew up in. It is
still a wonderful world. The beauty of nature surrounds us and brings us comfort
and joy. The humanity of others brings us inspiration and the will to live and
build a future worth living.
On this youth Sunday,
we are reminded that Jesus is here for everyone, no matter what our situation,
our age, our experience. Jesus is a valuable treasure for anyone who will
accept him. *There was a family that had an interesting old rock that they used
as a door stop [slide
# 2 rock of gold]. The rock was so
interesting that they passed it on for three generations. One of the grandsons
became a geologist, he saw the rock and identified it as the largest pure gold
nugget ever discovered in the area. It is a blessing when we can at last pass
down to the next generation how valuable Jesus is in our lives.
Since 1844, 173 years
ago or about 9 generations, Bethel has been in continuous operation on behalf
of our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. Every generation found its own way to
fulfill the will of God, to follow the vision. Every generation finds a way to
equip and empower the next generation to hear God’s voice and to do the mission
and the maintenance that the Holy Spirit puts before them.
We are like the
Pharisees and the Sadducees of Jesus’ day; we try to figure out the best path
for our faith. We question Jesus in order to decide if we will go along with
his program. The Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew asked Jesus some basic questions
regarding his authority compared to the authority of King David. We raise
questions about the authority of Jesus versus some pastors, some Bishops,
some Conference decisions, or the Book of Discipline. It is good to think and
question ideas and traditions before we make final decisions.
For a thousand years
before Christ, it was a Jewish tradition to study the Psalms and teachings and
history of King David, especially. David was a hero. He started out as a lowly
shepherd who became a king because God was with him. David killed the enemy of
God’s people. With one sling shot, he killed Goliath, a giant Philistine bully.
Getting rid of that bully was considered a miracle. It was an act of God to be
relieved of Goliath’s tormenting and demeaning forces.
David was a hero like
Martin Luther [slide
# 3 Martin Luther] who in 1517 dared to
debate whether the Catholic Church had any God given authority to ask people to
pay money as a way to wash away their sins. It no doubt occurred to some church
leaders that it was very easy to take advantage of people and profit from their
guilt. This tradition can still be seen at work over 500 years later among our
Catholic brothers and sisters today. It is very common to hear of families
paying $500 for a baptism or thousands of dollars to remarry after divorce. (At
the same time, I and others have been super blessed by the Catholic church.)
Martin Luther protested
these “guilt” offerings, and the protests led to a reformation. Today we
call ourselves Protestants because we were organized around Luther’s protest.
Martin Luther King civil
rights leader [slide
# 4 MLK] was named after Martin Luther in order to embrace the authority
and tradition of heroes like Martin Luther who took a stand for peace and justice.
Our Latin American neighbors have the same idea when they name children after
Jesus.
The Sadducees and Pharisees knew about the greatness
of King David, but they did not want to acknowledge that Jesus was the great
Messiah, the one to come and bring eternal salvation from sins – even their
sins.
So, Jesus asked them, . 42“What do you think of the
Messiah? [that you hear is to come into the world] Whose son is he?” They said
to him, “The son of David.” ‘Well’, Jesus says in verse 44 that Kim read -
“How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord,” and Jesus quotes David’s
Psalm 110 verse 1 where David writes that Lord God-Yahweh told Lord Jesus to
sit at God’s right hand until God puts Jesus’ enemies under his feet. [slide# 5 St. Michael]
The Sadducees and Pharisees knew the famous Psalms
of David, so when Jesus quoted David’s Psalm 110 verse 1, the Spirit
illuminated their minds. There they had it on good authority. Now they could
not help but see Jesus for who he was, the Messiah. They were speechless. There
was no other argument. We can imagine that the day would come when they would
sing with conviction that chorus that comes to mind: I need no other argument, I need no other plea, It is enough that Jesus
died, And that He died for me.
Jesus had enemies, but staying at God’s right
hand meant that his enemies would be put under his feet. We have enemies in
this world. For our young people there are at least three enemies that will
wind up under our feet, by the authority, influence, and power of almighty God.
Those enemies are drugs, violence, and greed.
This week our president declared the opioid
epidemic a national health emergency. Drugs ruin lives. White collar as well as
blue collar greed is out of control and we all pay the hideous price of
billions of dollars. One specialist says that drugs feel like a hug for our
brains. It is up to us to realize that what feels like a hug is really a thug. It
is time to get right, right with God.
Violence is a second enemy for young people. You’ve
heard the poem Children Learn What They Live.
If children live with encouragement, they
learn confidence.
If children live with praise, they learn
appreciation.
If children live with criticism, they learn to
condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to
fight.
If children live with acceptance, they learn
to love.
When we teach children to be peacemakers,
violence finds fewer hiding places. It is time to get right, right with God.
Finally, a third enemy for young people is
greed. We all want nice things and more of them. When we ask God for help to
make choices about what to give and take, to whom and when, God is faithful and
will guide us in the
direction that is good for old and young, rich and poor. When youth find ways
to tithe, give generously, do missions, make sacrifices, as well as open their
hearts to God’s wonderful blessings in the church and out, the church remains
for the next generation.
Young people have enemies – drugs, violence,
and greed to name a few. But, that will not stop the Holy Spirit from doing
great things with our youth just like God has done with the generation before
them. Nothing will stop God from getting to them with love, leadership,
tenderness, and blessings above and beyond what any of us can imagine. We are beginning
to see those blessings as our youth worship, serve, and share testimonies.
We cannot imagine what great things God will
do with the younger generation, just like the first generation at Bethel which
started as a bible study did not imagine 173 years later what the current
generation has accomplished to glorify God.
In time, every enemy is under God’s feet. When
we get right with God, we see it firsthand. Amen. [slide # 6 hands raised]
*David Dykes August 20 2012 Sermon
Central
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