June 28, 2020 Mathew 10.40-42 “What
Disciples Do with Cups of Cold Water?” Pastor Jacqueline Hines
It’s been 13 weeks since we have been
quarantined. By now, we want to trash those masks and forget about washing our
hands. We want to throw caution to the wind and visit our family and friends
and laugh out loud and sing and hug as we have done countless times through the
years.
We are not there yet. But, be of good
cheer! God is still on the throne. We are still beloved. God has not forsaken
us nor forgotten us. No matter what we are going through, God will provide. We
will not be left empty-handed. We can say with confidence, “Hallelujah anyhow.
Never gonna let my troubles get me down. When those troubles come my way, I’ll
put my head up high and say, “Hallelujah anyhow!”
In the gospel of Matthew chapter 10
verses 40-42 we find these words:
Matthew 10.40-42
40“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one who sent me.
41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive
a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a
righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;
42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these
little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose
their reward.”
Jesus
tells the disciples that he will give a reward to those who give even a cup of
cold water to his little ones, his dear ones, his precious ones. How wonderful
it is that we are all precious in his sight. Every one of us!
We all enjoy receiving a reward? As parents and teachers and
leaders know, giving rewards not only puts a smile on the faces of those who do
good work, but rewards are an incentive and an encouragement to keep on keeping
on in a good work.
There is no greater reward that comes from serving Jesus. There’s
not a friend like our Jesus. As the song reminds us, No, not one! No, not one!
None else could heal all our soul's diseases, No, not one! No,
not one!
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done; there’s not a friend like
the lowly Jesus. No, not one! No, not one!
We can sing all day and pray every which way that Jesus is the
best thing that ever happened to us, but we still struggle to love him and follow
him. A father’s tells a story that we can all relate to.
I took my son three years old son
outside while I was doing some yardwork. I was planning on trimming the hedges,
so I held his hands, knelt down in the grass beside him, looked into his eyes
and made sure he was listening and I slowly and carefully said, "Now,
Kevin, ... you can play here in our front yard.
You can go next door ... and play in
your friend's front yard.
You can ride your Big Wheel ... up
and down the driveway.
You can go in the back yard ... and
play with the dog ... or play on your swing.
You can go back inside ... and watch
television.
Or ... You can stay here .... and
watch me trim the hedges.
These are all the things you have my
permission to do.
But you can NOT go ... out into the
street.
It is very dangerous there.
You cannot play in the street.
Do you understand what I'm
saying?"
And 3-year-old Kevin nodded his
head... and said "Yes, Daddy".
I let go of his hand ... and he ran
straight to the curb, ... put one foot in the street; And then turned his head
toward me and smiled,
Like all of us from time to time, we
deliberately defy the one that loves us. We do what we are asked not to do.
Our heavenly father, who also mothers
us, has carefully instructed us, again and again to love one another, to serve
one another, to share the good news that there is a God, a king, who promised
to be with us always, especially when there is no one in this world particular assigned
to take care of us, as in when we lose a spouse, or our parents are no longer
there for us when we are underage, or we have had for one reason or another to
leave the comfort and safety of our own home and become strangers in a strange
land, having to live with new laws and build new relationships.
God, being the big God that God is,
has high standards for our love for one another. God’s priorities in the bible
are the toughest cases of all, to take care of us when we need it the most, to
love the one who is most vulnerable and likely temporarily least able to love
us back.
To whom much is given, much is required. What a mighty God we serve who
can take care of us when we are taking care of those who for a season, cannot
take care of themselves! We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to our
families and anyone God guides us to bless.
God loves us with an everlasting
love. We live in a kin-dom overflowing with blessing.
We live in a castle community with people who put
smiles on our faces, encouragement in our hearts, and peace in our minds. God
commands us to love with the same royal love that we receive. Yet, we struggle
because we are human and because love is a supernatural act and every day we
must submit to the supernatural and amazing work that the Holy Spirit wants to
do in us. We all struggle to let go and let God. That struggle is real for all
of us so none of us can think we are better than any of us. Most of all, that
struggle reminds us that we depend on God for everything, all the time. We
cannot live a holy, repentant life without submitting and surrendering and
allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. Still, “submitting” and “surrendering”
are fighting words.
The coronavirus has brought the world
to its knees, and we have all been reminded that we are not in charge. Even
when we are experts, we do not know it all. Even when we have succeeded in the
past, we cannot guarantee future success in the same way we have always enjoyed
it. God may use an unlikely person or
situation to meet a need. God can even take something meant for evil and turn
it into something very good.
We need one another, no matter what
we think about one another, no matter what emotions storm about in our hearts toward
one another. We are designed to work together for the common good, convincing
one another that we truly care.
John Wesley the founder of Methodism was convinced that he was
supposed to be a preacher like his father, even before he gave his heart to
Jesus. He did his level best to make money and never, ever be in debt like his
father Samuel. When John was only three, his father was arrested on his way out
of the church and taken to the Lincoln prison because of his indebtedness. His
feet and hands were put in chains. A few feet away, there was a woman detained
with her children. The only other sights were the cold stone walls and the
rats. It would be months before the debt was paid off.
If being poor wasn’t hard enough, when Samuel preached a certain
political viewpoint, folks would terrorize the Wesley family, set fire to their
property and mutilate their animals. (Deacon Charlie Baber)
I wonder if terrorism was the cause of the 1709 parsonage fire
that occurred when John Wesley was only five years old. Despite the fact that
the economy was different in the 1700’s and poverty has many faces, it is hard
to think of the Wesley’s as dirt poor since at the time of the parsonage fire,
the Wesley’s had a child in boarding school, father Samuel had opportunities to
make more money if he were not spending so much time with his head in the
books, and they had several servants to help raise their 10 children. It was
those servants and neighbors who helped get all the children safely out of the
house that night.
Seconds before the roof caved in, a couple men, having no time
to find a ladder, climbed on each other’s shoulders and saved John Wesley who
was 5 years old by now, while his parents were in the yard praying for his soul
to be saved because they believed he wasn’t going to live through the fire. It
was a miracle. Believers got down on their knees and gave thanks to God who
made the impossible happen. His mother Susanna who suffered burns on her legs, spread
the word: This boy is destined to be somebody special. God had to have a very
important purpose and a plan to save his life in the very nick of time.
By the time John grew up and became a preacher, he was no longer
poor but had moved up into the higher societies of England. He had enough money
to do everything he wanted to do - play cards, buy tobacco, and brandy as well
as meet his basic needs. He seemed to be part of a culture of consumerism and
perhaps a bit preoccupied with his will and his way and less with God’s will
and God’s way, not to mention having any thought about a world of hurting
people struggling to meet their basic needs.
One day his eyes were opened. He had
a sort of conversion experience. He was decorating his home and had just put up
several beautiful picture frames when a poor cleaning woman came to his door.
It was wintertime. She had no coat, her dress was thin. He went into his pocket
to give her money to buy a coat, but found he had spent all his money on his
needs as well as many luxuries.
Immediately the thought struck him
that the Lord was not pleased with the way he had spent his money. From that
day in 1731 until the day of his death 60 years later he lived simply so that
others could simply live.
It is that inspiring, Godly legacy
that the Holy Spirit has guided the United Methodist and so many other churches
to serve by building schools and universities to train and educate people to live
life more fully for God’s sake, for their own sake, for the sake of the world
around them. We spend millions of dollars to feed and clothe others and bring
good news to the poor, to teach and study in order to live lives that compel
others to want to love like Christians love and to be loved like Christians are
loved. We serve obediently to equip churches to be satellites and saving
stations that are ready to fulfill God’s priorities to anyone in need, to
overcome evil with good.
We say to the world, “Come. You are
welcome here. I will hold you in my heart.” Or we say, “I will go, Lord. Send
me. I will go and do whatever it takes to love and cherish everybody,
everywhere you send me. No matter who they are and where they come from and
where they are headed. If you lead me, I will go. I will be ready to give a cup
of cold water, especially to those who are living in a moment with no clean
water or clean hearts around, or whose water is exposed to the blistering heat
of abuse and neglect, or who have to come to the well all alone because no one
wants to be with them, or who have no bucket and no rope to get water because
they have been stolen. I will welcome and refresh them, if you help me, Lord.”
Are you ready to welcome everybody
God sends your way? Are you ready to go to those God sends you? Keep in mind, after all this that God does not
lead everybody everywhere. There is a saying we used to say at Eastern University.
“Some were sent and some just went.” Whatever the case, whatever the mission,
we depend on the Holy Spirit working in our lives, in our churches and
everywhere else that God is pleased to work.
We still struggle because we are
human. Though we are not all that we need to be. Thank God we are not what we
used to be.
So as we stop for a moment of
silence, let’s open our hearts and invite the Holy Spirit to do a work in
us.
Let
us pray: Oh God, we have no power to help anybody or fix anything unless you
work wonders in us through your amazing love. We surrender to your love and
care, the greatest love of all. We submit to your word and your will. We seek
to trust and obey. We pray for the sick and distressed to find sweet relief,
for preachers, teachers, leaders, and missionaries everywhere to do your will.
We
pray as you taught the disciples. Our father who art in
heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.
Benediction – Go forth and listen, for God is speaking.
During June we have
talked about disciples. Next week begins July we turn to Matthew 11 to
hear about “Leaders: Gentle and Humble”
If you would like to make your contribution to the ministry and
mission of Bethel, the website is Bethelumchurch.com
Or you can send to 952 Bethel Church Road, Spring City, Pa.
19475. God bless you!
