March 15 2015 Give It Up Darkness

March 15 2015 “Give It Up – Darkness” John 3.14-21 Pastor Jacqueline Hines

We begin the conversation with John talking about snakes. Snakes get mixed reviews. On one hand, the skins they shed make lovely handbags and shoes. On the other hand, snakes bring to mind the spirit that deceived Eve, enticing Adam to eat forbidden fruit.  Usually, snakes provoke fear and disgust. There are poisonous snakes and snakes that kill. [ slide # 1 brown snake ]  There are also snakes that are cute, colorful, and harmless. [ slide #2 green snake ]. Snakes are often portrayed as a symbol in the medical profession [ slide #3 medical symbol].

If the truth be told, we feel ambivalent about snakes. Even as the best medicine cures, it may have unpleasant and deadly side effects. So, we may hesitate to avail ourselves of the cure for concern about the side effects. We may hesitate to approach a snake because we are unsure of the possible outcomes. We may be hesitant to approach Jesus for the same reason.

John quotes Jesus in chapter 3 of this morning’s lesson as saying, “14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent (the snake)[ slide # 4 snake on pole with crowd  ] in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” [slide #5  verse 14And just as Moses……may have eternal life.”]

Moses raised the serpent, lifting it high so all could see it in the wilderness [stick prompt from closet] because God told him to do so. They needed to clearly see the bittersweet realities of the journey ahead. They were trained to have faith, give thanks, and praise God every step of the way. Free from slavery, on their way to the Promised Land, they were happy, but they still found things to cry and complain about. You would think they would be grateful for deliverance, ecstatically dancing for joy. But we all know, it is easy to be negative.

In order to give God the praise and honor that is due God we have to have help from the inside. Like the sails on a sailboat, we are whipped around by tough winds. Sails withstand because they have weights that keep them keep them on course. [ slide #6 sails  ] Praying and meditating, and worshiping and fellowshipping really are weighty enough   [slide #7 weight ]  to keep us moving along in our journey, in spite of how the world blows them off.

God’s people complained because they thought it would do some good, at least bring some relief. They were deceived. Complaining and negativity only came back to bite them like a poisonous snake. It weakened them. Do not scriptures teach us that the joy of the Lord is our strength? [ slide #8 joy]  Looking up and giving thanks would save them and bless them to prosper.

So when they lifted up the snake in the wilderness, they could keep their negativity, but by looking up they could never miss seeing God. [ slide #9 looking up] It seemed silly of God to direct the traumatized children to lift up a snake, but when we try it, we know if works. No matter what we are going through, if we dare to look up, we always see God and our hearts are always stirred to gratitude [ slide #10 gratitude ] and we see rainbows [ slide #11 rainbow ] and silver linings [ slide #12 cloud]. We see the shooting stars and the guiding lights [ slide #13 light house ] we so desperately need.

On our way to any of God’s promises to us, the journey may have a few rough patches. We may complain and get a little negative. But, just as Moses lifted up the serpent (the snake) in the wilderness, so we must lift up Jesus. The Son of Man is to be lifted up, 15that we might believe in him and have eternal life – that is life that is as wide as the heavens and as deep as the ocean.”

And if we lift him up, as the songwriter echoes, “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.” Do we all not long to be drawn and driven by such a great and awesome love? It is time to look up to the one who has been lifted up.

If we have issues in our bodies, it is time to look up. If we have financial worries, it is time to look up. If one of our relationships is in a tangled mess, it is time to look up. If our fears and anxieties are getting the best of us, it is time to look up. Snakes may surface, but if we look up, we will see what we need to see in order to make it to the Promised Land. We will see the cross as well as the crown.

A church that looks up sees the light. A church that looks up finds the poor and needy in our homes, our hearts, and neighborhoods that God is crying out for us to see. A church that looks up finds the mission to which God is guiding them. A church that looks up finds solutions for scary problems that seem impossible. A church that looks up finds people who need the Lord and want to serve with us. A church that looks up constructs a handi-capable restroom, drives miles, talks for hours, and bakes cookies for shut ins a Compassionate Care Team. A church that looks up loves and cherishes God’s people, even sacrifices life, and limb, and kidneys, and hundreds and thousands of dollars, and endless hours in the classroom, the board room, the conference room - all at the impulse of God’s love. We love because he first loved us.

Have you ever walked into a room and saw someone looking up at the ceiling? Naturally, we look up so we can see what they see. [ slide #14 man looking up ] That is the best reason of all for all of us to keep looking up. For, there are others who have yet to see the light and the love that we have seen. That person may be a neighbor, a coworker, a relative. They may not know anything about the church we have grown to love and appreciate. But, as we look up they too will look up and find a church where members are united, forgiven, blessed, and talking and walking in a love that the world cannot duplicate because it does not live by the power of the Holy Spirit like we do. As we look up, they will be stirred to gratitude as they see the rainbows and silver linings and shooting stars and guiding lights.[slide # 15 lighthouse ]

For God’s sake and for those who need a savior, let us look up today.       [ slide #16 looking up  ]Amen.