SPECIAL DAYS: Second Sunday in Lent

LESSON(S):Philippians 3.17-4.1; Luke 13.31-35

SERMON TITLE: Joy and Sadness

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. There is a "Peanuts" comic strip featuring Charlie Brown. (1)


    2. In the first frame Charlie swings his bat and misses the ball for strike two.

    With grim determination he faces the pitcher, takes another swing, and, as usual, strikes out.

    Dejectedly he trudges out of the batter's box dragging his bat behind him.

    He walks up to Lucy, throws down his bat, and says,

    "Rats! I'll never be a big-league player! I just don't have it.

    All my life I've dreamed of playing in the big leagues. But now I know I'll never make it!"

    "You're thinking too far ahead, Charlie Brown," Lucy says. "What you need is to set some immediate goals."

    Charlie's face looks puzzled. "Immediate goals?" he asks.

    "Yes, immediate goals," Lucy says. "For instance, start with this next inning when you go out to pitch. See if you can walk out to the mound without falling down."

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    1. Charlie Brown's life is full of gloomy experiences and a sense of frustration.
      1. He pitches a ball during a game.
        1. The batter hits a line drive.
        2. Charlie Brown flips through the air and loses most of his clothes.
      2. He flies a kite.
        1. He ends up hanging upside down from a tree hopelessly tangled in the kite string.
      3. Lucy urges (eggs him on) to kick the football she is holding.
        1. He is skeptical of her intentions.
        2. Convinced that she is going to cooperate he runs and gives the ball a mighty kick.
        3. She pulls the ball out of the way.
        4. He falls flat on his back.
    2. He is representative of every person.
    3. He needs more than short term goals.
    4. He needs a philosophy of life that will allow himself to become adjusted to his situation.

MAIN BODY:

  1. Our philosophy of life is so very important to our sense of self worth and the achievement of being.
    1. Some attempt to achieve through the process of accommodation


      2. BORN LOSER visits the fortune teller who says, "I see you being poor and discontented until the age of 55."

      He: "You mean when I'll find financial security?"

      She: "No, but by then you'll get used to being poor."

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    2. Some attempt to achieve through validation.


      3. Consider the case of "Tom," a cigarette smoking, overweight, highly stressed, middle-aged male.

      When Tom went for his annual physical, his slim, teetotaling, smoke-free doctor let him have it.

      Unless Tom cut out cigarettes, cut down on calories, got some exercise and learned to relax, he was headed for a massive heart attack.

      In fact, the doctor said he was a "cardiac arrest looking for a place to happen."

      Finished with his lecture, the physician challenged Tom with, "Now, how are you going to start dealing with all this?

      Tom looked him right in the eye and said, "Well, the first thing I'm going to do is get a fat doctor who smokes!"

    3. Some attempt to achieve through the process of accumulation.


      4. Bob Olmstead of Reno, Nevada cites a cartoon. (2)

      A little boy sitting under a tree with his dog.

      The boy is reading the Bible.

      He reads, "And then a voice came to Moses from above ..."

      He turns to his dog and asks, "Have you ever heard a voice from above?"

      You can see the dog's thoughts in a bubble above its head:

      "Attention K-Mart shoppers..."

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    4. We may find that these methods are incomplete and inadequate leaving one with a feeling of gloom and a sense of frustration
  2. Life is constantly attempting to reach a goal or objective.
    1. We do need short term goals, as well as long term ones.
    2. Who is going to help us?
    3. How are we going to cope with the unexpected?
    4. We make provisions for every eventuality, but are surprised by the unexpected.
  3. If we desire above all else to be secure in God we must first understand what kind of God we seek.
    1. I was a struggling minister in in Toledo, Ohio.
      1. I went to the senior pastor a said that I had a problem.
      2. He told me, I have my problems, you have yours. I'll take care of mine and you take care of yours. I will never forget the frustration of the experience.
      3. However I was not without help.
    2. Attending an international meeting in Windsor, Ontario, Canada
    3. Listening to A Graham Maxwell.
      1. He was discussing one's relationship with God.
      2. The relationship he said could be defined as one of faith.
      3. His definition of faith touched me deeply.


        4. Faith is a word we use to describe a relationship with God as with a person well-known. The better we know him the better the relationship may be. Faith implies an attitude of trust in God that allows us to believe what God says, accept what God offers and do what God asks without reservation. Anyone who has such faith is perfectly safe to save. This is why faith is the only requirement for heaven. -A Graham Maxwell, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA

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    4. I realized that I knew a great deal about God
    5. I did not know God
  4. There are gods and there is God.
    1. How does one tell the difference?
    2. Paul writes about those who are accommodating, validating and accumulating.


      3. Philippians.3:19, Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

      Philippians 3.18, These are enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.

      1. Are his tears for the enemies of the cross of Christ.
      2. Are his tears for the believer.
      3. Probably both.
    3. This is why he exhorts his readers to:


      4. 17bjoin in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.

    4. Because as he continues


      5. 20But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

      21He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
       

    5. Paul looked at God through the eyes of Jesus.
      1. I can only look to God through the eyes of Jesus.
      2. Jesus one day was standing on the slope of the mountain overlooking Jerusalem.
      3. He is overwhelmed with the thoughts of the future of his people.
      4. This is why he cries out:


        5. 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,'" (Luke 13:31-35, NRSVA)

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      5. Jesus would gather.
        1. There is a deep desire in Christ.
        2. There is sufficiency with Christ.
      6. We are not willing.
      7. If we are willing, What a difference that will make in our productivity towards the development of the joy that is to be had in Christ.
    6. This is what Paul learned, shared and encouraged.
    7. This is why he writes:


      8. 4:1Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved Philippians 3:17-4:1, (NRSVA).

CONCLUSION:

    H. M. Boettinger, in Moving Mountains (3) tells the story of strolling down a side street in Greenwich Village one Saturday afternoon before Christmas.

    In those days, a number of shops devoted to fine, hand-crafted products were concentrated along two quiet blocks.

    Visiting the neighborhood was a way of stepping back into a more leisured time--especially on a lightly snowing day.

    This time, though, there was a great deal of crowding about one of the bowed windows, and curiosity compelled me to see the cause of disturbance.

    I threaded my way through the good-humored swarm until I could see the front of the shop.

    Sitting in the window, cross-legged, totally oblivious to the fascinated throng outside, were two eight-year-old boys.

    They were dressed in well-worn Tyrolean clothes. Embroidered shirts, leather shorts, thick wool stockings, heavy mountaineers' shoes, and yellow hair were all covered by wood chips.

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    These flew from the razor-sharp carving tools in their hands almost as fast as the snowflakes outside.

    At the front of the window were rows of carved bears, elves, and dogs.

    The quality of these was remarkable, but the speed of the little sculptors was miraculous.

    They never seemed to make an error, never hesitated, and always put their full strength into every cut.

    I watched them closely, for my grandfather was a fine woodcarver, and I had never seen him go at that pace.

    I noticed that, while the lads chattered constantly, they never took their eyes off the wood blocks in front of them until each small statue was finished.

    I entered the shop to purchase one of the bears and overheard the proprietor explain to an elderly customer what this was all about.

    "They are Austrian twins, and have been carving as long as they can remember.

    "Their uncle taught them and they work with him in his shop in the mountains."

    The old man asked how they worked at such speed, for they did not use templates, outlines, or any mechanical aid to guide the work.

    "That's what so impressed me," said the shopkeeper. "I asked them to explain their methods.

    They tell me that their uncle showed them how every block of wood has an animal or person inside it waiting to be set free by the tools.

    To let them out, they say that you must keep seeing the animal or person right there in the wood all the time.

    Then all you do it cut the other wood away from around them.

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    When you've cut away every chip holding them in, then the statue is free!

    I know it sounds like some kind of fairy tale, but that's what they say, and you can see for yourself that it works."

    The old man nodded, but was shaking his head as he waved good-bye.

  1. During this Lenten Season we speak of our need and Jesus' provisions to fulfill it.
    1. In each of us is the image of God.
    2. Jesus is seeking to help us release it.
    3. He cannot do it alone.
    4. Help him.


      5. 1. Don Baker, RESTORING BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1989)

      2. As cited by Bob Olmstead, 15 March 1992, Reno, Nevada., Copyright c 1999 by Communication Resources, Inc., Used with Permission.

      3. H. M. Boettinger, MOVING MOUNTAINS (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1969.

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