May 27, Pentecost, Memorial Sunday

Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:7d

Sermon Title: Endures all Things (What's the Prize)

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. These days, endurance is a word that is seldom heard

    1. Endurance is vital for the health and well-being of the Christian.

    2. It is well-worth exploring.

    3. What is needed is an example of endurance so that we may have a clearer concept of what we are talking about.

MAIN BODY:

  1. Years ago I meet Desmond Doss.

    1. It may not be a name with which you are familiar.

    2. He was a genuine war hero (Tell the story, don't read it!).

DESMOND DOSS: A War Hero Without a Gun by MATTHEW C SOPER with contributions by MARK REIMAN (1)

23-year-old Desmond Doss entered service as a medic for the 77th Infantry Division. From the beginning, the other men in his company made fun of Doss for his beliefs. Even though he worked long, hard hours to make up for not working on Saturday, the men cursed, ridiculed, and taunted him. Each night as he knelt beside his bunk to pray, the men swore at him and threw their boots at him. When Doss quietly read his small Bible, as he often did, the men cursed him even more. One man even went so far as to tell him that he would personally kill Doss when they got into combat.

In July of 1944 on the island of Guam Doss began to prove his courage and compassion for the very men who had taunted, belittled, and even threatened him. Next came combat at Leyte in the Philippines during October of 1944. Here Doss braved enemy gunfire to go to the wounded and remove them to safety. Doss proved his courage over and over. Without regard for his own life he would help the wounded to safety. Some of his company looked on in horror as they saw a Japanese sniper take aim at Doss as he helped a wounded soldier. They could do nothing to stop the sniper because other soldiers were in their line of fire.

However on May 5th the tide turned against the Americans as the Japanese launched a huge counterattack. Enemy fire raked Company B and almost immediately 75 men fell wounded. The remaining troops who were able to flee, retreated back down to the base of the escarpment. Left at the top of the cliff were the wounded, the Japanese, and Desmond T. Doss.

For the next five hours, while his wounded comrades fought back their attackers, Doss began to lower man after man to safety down the face of the cliff using little more than a tree stump and a rope. Doss said that he just kept praying that the Lord would let him rescue one more man. No one knows for sure how many men Doss lowered to safety that day. The Army determined that this medic, whom no one had wanted in the Army, had personally saved 100 lives. Doss humbly said it couldn't have been more than 50. Because of Doss humble estimate, when the citation for his Medal of Honor was written, they split the difference and he was credited with saving the lives of 75 of his fellow soldiers.

On May 21st, the Americans again were under fire while Doss remained in the open to help a wounded soldier. He and three other soldiers had crawled into a hole to wait for the cover of darkness to escape when a grenade was thrown into their hole. The other three men jumped out to safety but the grenade blew up just as Doss stepped on it. Somehow he miraculously did not lose his leg but he sustained many wounds. He didn't want to endanger anyone else so he bandaged his own wounds and waited the five hours until daylight for help to arrive.

As he was being carried off the field they passed another critically wounded soldier. Doss rolled off the litter and told the medics to take the other man. He joined another wounded soldier and together they started to hobble off while supporting each other. Doss had his arm across the other mans neck when he felt a bullet slam into his arm. It shattered Doss upper arm, which in turn, saved the other mans life.

On October 12, 1945, Desmond Doss, was invited to the White House to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman for his brave service on May 5, 1945 - the first noncombatant to ever receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

      1. In so many ways, he was an example of endurance.

      2. He died on March 27, 2006.

    1. We realize that this is Memorial Sunday.

      1. All those who served and gave their lives in the service of their country are genuine heros.

      2. We honor and remember them.

      3. In the words of an old song attributed to Irving Berlin

BLESS 'EM ALL

Bless 'em all, bless 'em all
The long and the short and the tall
Bless all the sergeants and W.O. Ones
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinking sons
For we're saying good-bye to them all
As back to the barracks we crawl
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean
So cheer up my lads Bless 'em all,

      1. Bless 'em all.

      2. Bless all those who gave their lives in the service of their country.

    1. Bless all the Christians who are determined to endure.

This may or may not be appropriate here.

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. The seven-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Alex."

"Good morning pastor" replied the young man, focused on the plaque. "Pastor McGhee, what is this?" Alex asked.

"Well son, these are all the people who have died in the service," replied the pastor.

Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Little Alex's voice barely broke the silence when he asked quietly, "Which one, the 9:00 or the 10:30 service?"

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  1. Endurance is not for the faint-hearted.

In a Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy and Woodstock are sitting on top of Snoopy's doghouse. Snoopy says, What are you doing here? You're supposed to be out somewhere sitting on a branch chirping. That's your job. People expect to hear birds chirping when they wake up in the morning.

With that, Woodstock flies off to a nearby branch and belts out a single chirp. Then he flies back to the doghouse. Snoopy says, You chirped only once. You can't brighten someone's day with one chirp. So Woodstock flies back to the branch and belts out eight more chirps. And when the bird returns to the doghouse, Snoopy smiles and says, There now! Didn't that give you a real feeling of satisfaction? The bad news is you're supposed to do that every morning, for the rest of your life.

Whereupon Woodstock faints dead away off the doghouse roof.

    1. The call can be intimidating.

An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.

"Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something."

The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money."

    1. In Luke 9, Jesus is dealing with those who would be his followers.

      1. You listen to the conversation and this is what you hear.

57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God," (Luke 9:57-62, NRSVA).

      1. These are the faint-hearted.

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  1. Endurance is not for the easily bored.

    1. Here is Anthony Trollope in his Victorian novel Barchester Towers (New York: Everyman's Library, 1992) writing about preachers and sermons:

There is, perhaps, no greater hardship at present inflicted on mankind in civilized and free countries than the necessity of listening to sermons. No one but a preaching clergyman has, in these realms, the power of compelling an audience to sit silently and be tormented. No one but a preaching clergyman can revel in platitudes, truisms and untruisms, and yet receive, as his undisputed privilege, the same respectful demeanor as though words of impassioned eloquence, or persuasive logic, fell from his lips ... No one can rid himself of the preaching clergyman. He is the bore of the age, the old man whom we Sinbads cannot shake off, the nightmare that disturbs our Sunday's rest, the incubus that overloads our religion and makes God's service distasteful. We are not forced into church! No, but we desire more than that. We desire not to be forced to stay away. We desire, nay, we are resolute, to enjoy the comfort of public worship, but we desire also that we may do so without an amount of tedium which ordinary human nature cannot endure with patience; that we may be able to leave the house of God without that anxious longing for escape, which is the common consequence of common sermons (Trollope, 1:51-52).

    1. What is true for children is true for adults?

      1. Sermons can be boring.

        1. What is the purpose of sermons, anyway?

        2. Sermons are designed to challenge one's thinking.

        3. What do you believe and why?

        4. What impact does your belief structure have on your life?

      2. Worship can be boring.

        1. What's the purpose of worship?

        2. Worship is praise and adoration.

      3. Bible study can be boring.

        1. What's the purpose of Bible study?

        2. It is not to discover proof texts that you may use to his someone over the head with.

        3. Bible study is to learn about God.

As Peter writes:

22Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. 23You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For

"All flesh is like grass
    and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
    and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever."

That word is the good news that was announced to you, (1 Peter 1:22-25, NRSVA).

      1. Prayer can be boring.

        1. What's the purpose of prayer?

        2. Prayer is conversation with God.

        3. We listen and speak.

      2. Life can be boring.

      3. What's it all about?

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  1. Endurance is for those who keep their heart and mind on the prize.

    1. In Chop Wood, Carry Water by Rick Fields et al (2) there is this illustration:

[There was] a man who died and found himself in a beautiful place, surrounded by every conceivable comfort. A white-jacketed man came to him and said, You may have anything you choose -- any food -- any pleasure -- any kind of entertainment.

The man was delighted, and for days he sampled all the delicacies and experiences of which he had dreamed on Earth. But one day he grew bored with all of it, and calling the attendant to him, he said, I'm tired of all this. I need something to do. What kind of work can you give me?

The attendant sadly shook his head and replied, I'm sorry, sir. That's the one thing we can't do for you. There is no work here for you.

To which the man answered, That's a fine thing. I might as well be in hell.

The attendant said softly, Where do you think you are?

      1. What is prized is not the prize.

      2. This is more the surprise for those who have their eye on the wrong prize.

    1. Paul describes the prize this way.

24Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 25Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. 26So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; 27but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified, (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, NRSVA).

      1. He is speaking of the crown of life.

      2. The prize is also described using similar metaphors.

        1. A Crown of Righteousness, (2 Timothy 4:8, NRSVA).

        2. The Crown of life, (James 1:12, NRSVA).

        3. The Crown of glory that never fades away, (1 Peter 5:4, NRSVA).

    1. It is the power of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost that provides the means to endure.

      1. The disciples endured.

      2. So may we.

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CONCLUSION

  1. Mike Yaconelli, in an interview with Becky Garrison, observes: (3)

Once you taste the adventure of the Christian faith, once you taste what it's like to follow Christ, you can never go back to the boring, dull, predictable life that you used to have. Therefore, you're ruined. You will never be able to be comfortable around boring people. You'll never be able to be comfortable around dull situations. You will be considered by many of those people to be dangerous...

The reality is that all these people I hear say so glibly, Oh Lord Jesus, come into the room. Oh Holy Spirit, please show up, they have no idea what they're asking. The moment you ask that and Jesus shows up, every one of us is gonna be shaking in our boots wondering if we're gonna die or if we're gonna survive. Now to me, that wild part of Jesus, that frightening, terrifying aspect of Jesus, has been forgotten and lost. So we have become so comfortable with Jesus that it wouldn't occur to us that following him would cause everyone around us to be nervous.

    1. Have we become so comfortable?

    2. There is comfort in endurance.

      1. This is because we keep our eyes, hearts, mind, and spirits on the prize.

      2. Here's to endurance!

  1. May it never end.

Amen

1. © 1996-2005 Americans.net. Retrieved from: http://www.medalofhonor.com/DesmondDoss1.htm

2. Rick Fields et al, Chop Wood, Carry Water New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1984), 105.

3. Mike Yaconelli, quoted by Becky Garrison, Mike Yaconelli interview, The Door, March-April 2000, 9.

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