“Start Enjoying Your Sundays” 2012

Deuteronomy 30:15-19 John 6:47-58

Deuteronomy 30:15-19

15See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.

John 6:47-58

47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

An email I received, had a most irresistible subject line,

that said, “Start enjoying your Sundays.”

I knew it was certainly junk mail or spam,

but what a compelling suggestion to send a pastor…

… who wouldn’t want to, “Start enjoying your Sundays.”

As it turns out, it was from a company selling a device

that is supposed to allow you to watch or record

movies taken off the premium cable channels.

The idea is that you can stay home on Sundays

and enjoy the day watching all those wonderful free movies.

But you know as compelling as that sounds,

I would miss some the things we experience in worship,

the music, prayers, silence, fellowship …

all those elements that draw me into God’s presence.

And I would miss being challenged and changed by Scripture,

that call to commit to the Lord in a more meaningful way…

… which is the point of both passages we read today.

Deuteronomy comes at the end of 40 years in the wilderness,

just before the people finally enter the Promised Land.

The question was,

would they respond to the grace of God’s promise and land?

So the final advice from Moses,

was a warning for them to choose well.

Other than Joshua and Caleb, everyone had been born and lived

and had lived their whole life along the way.

So they knew very little about the temptations they’d face.

They had always relied on God’s constant guidance and protection,

along manna from heaven to eat each day, all provided by God.

It was a relatively controlled, safe and secure existence,

so other than choosing whether to bake, boil or fry their manna,

they really hadn’t had to make very many tough decisions.

But things would be very different living in the Promised Land.

No more manna, they’d have to provide for themselves,

and face temptations from the Canaanites around them.

Moses wouldn’t be there to keep a watchful eye & hold them in line.

So, like a parent warnings a child leaving home for college,

Moses offered some warnings and advice: vs. 15~17, 19

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey … by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments … the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away … you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

I call heaven and earth to witness that I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.

… choose life so that you and your descendants may live.

choose to walk in the blessing and promises of the Lord,

choose today, to seek a deeper, more faithful,

and more authentic relationship with your God.

… choose life so that you and your descendants may live.

One time when I was teaching and preparing new elders to serve,

going over what Scripture says about leadership & commitment;

one of them objected that I was asking for too much of them,

and urged me to back off and ease up a little bit.

It was a new church development, I was a young pastor, and said,

I couldn’t, and went on to press ever harder, by adding,

that I doubted that God had much use for half an elder,

or even half a Christian, for that matter.

I don’t think that’s an option God ever intended to leave open.

And it seems to me,

that my most significant growth steps as a Christian

were when I choose, trusted & willingly submitted to God

releasing whatever I had been holding back…

… and when willing to accept difficult and demanding choices

the Lord opened up areas where God blessed me in response.

The John passage is also about the choices & commitments in life.

The chapter begins with the feeding of the 5000,

but then Jesus tried to get them to think more deeply

about issues other than just their next meal. vs. 51

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Like the daily manna in the wilderness described by Moses,

Jesus came from above and was God’s gracious gift of life.

Though we recognize the imagery of Communion in these verses,

Jesus spoke these words about 2 years before the Last Supper –

- which suggests that they meant for us to go a bit deeper

than just a reference about celebrating Communion.

If taken literally, the image of eating his flesh

was of course shocking & repugnant to his Jewish listeners,

and their reaction was more than a gentle dispute. vs. 51

“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” !!!!

In this passage, the Greek word, ‘to eat’,

is literally, to chew or gnaw on something. vs. 54, 56

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, …

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.

In John’s theology, the word of God become flesh in Jesus Christ,

and we are called to chew or gnaw on the word of God.

The key is that word, bread and flesh

all connect with the action of “abide”,

which literally means, ‘to set up a tent together’,

and dwell in an intentional continuing relationship.

Those who keep on chewing and gnawing on me, the word of God,

and those who continue to abide in me, I will abide in them…

which is not just a one-time thing and then you are done,

but, sharing a continuing relationship with someone.

In John’s gospel, the word ‘abide’ is also related to believe,

which is more than just intellectual assent or knowledge.

It is far more than a simple conversion to Christianity,

and requires

far more than just responding to an alter call.

To abide is a

life-transforming belief or faith that is active & alive.

It is a faith that progresses, grows and reproduces.

It’s not just being saved, but being saving in order to serve.

Abiding is an ever-deepening, active relationship with God.

To abide is to serve

usefully and purposefully in response to God’s call,

and commit our lives to bear fruit and make a difference

by reflecting God’s grace & truth out into our world.

It is more than just admiring Jesus, or knowing facts about Jesus,

but is to invite and allow Jesus to transform our whole being.

There words, abide and eat are closely related and connected,

and represent making a significant choice or commitment,

like tenaciously chewing on a tough piece of steak…

… in contrast to just playing at the edge of Christianity.

It’s a matter of deciding

to step out in faith and choosing to take God seriously…

… which for me began when I actually read the Bible for myself,

tried to study and understand it, as much as I could,

and over time that truth changed everything about me.

I started by trying to read at least a chapter each and every day,

and noticed how often the helpful insight I most needed

came from a Bible passage that I had most recently read…

… and I was drawn and compelled to feed more deeply.

Another big step that significantly changed my faith and life

was when the pastor at a church where I attended occasionally,

preached and pushed stewardship one Sunday, and insisted…

… that as Christians we should try to tithe, 10%⁺.

As a commissioned salesman and making decent money in those days,

I thought to myself, "you're crazy if you think

I'm going to give 10% of all that to the church!"

Then he challenged the congregation to tithe for just 3 months.

If we gave it a fair try and if it didn't work out as he said,

then at least we'd never have to squirm

or feel guilty during a stewardship ever again, and even just that was worth giving tithing a try.

What I found was that tithing did something to my faith,

and broke the strangle hold of materialism over me,

which gave me an incredible sense of freedom from greed,

and a security no longer tied to an amount of wealth…

… which seemed to make even more room and space

for God's Spirit to move and wiggle freely in my life.

It allowed for some wonderful and unexpected spiritual growth

that happened in response to surrender, to a choice I made.

And there have been many, many choices and decisions

that have taught me

about hope, trust and relying upon God's promises;

choices to step out in faith and even leap blindly,

trusting my Heavenly Father to catch me,

-- to bless and enrich this great adventure we call life.

Of course I have no idea what decisions and choices you’re facing,

or what challenges & urgings God is placing before you today:

- it could be

to commit to Jesus… in renewal or even for the first time,

to again or even finally say and strive to live out,

"yes, I do want to follow – truly be my Lord & Savior"

- it could be some task, a passion or ministry, or service

that God has been preparing in the background

and is now nudging you to leap and move on it.

- maybe it’s a relationship where God is as work,

a grudge or a scar still being held, that offends God.

Isn’t today the time to break down that obstacle, or whatever

is holding you back and restraining your spiritual growth.

It is a question of making choices

and truly committing to Christ and to serving his kingdom…

… or letting other things take up our time and energy.

Does TV or Internet preclude time enough for prayer?

Does your taste for luxury limit your generosity,

If fear of doubt your excuse for holding back?

Whatever the choice – whatever the decision,

it’s between you and God alone, but know this:

one will bring us closer to God, and the other option does not;

one makes more room for Jesus to move and work in our life,

and the other limits or even shuts the Holy Spirit down.

The question before us is this: what do you suppose might happen,

if each of us really gave our whole selves – whatever it took

whatever might move us toward a closer walk with Jesus?

Isn’t it time for each of us to trust and step out in faith,

to find out just what God might accomplish in us and through us ?

Are we ready and willing to break away from the bondage

of a spiritual strangulation that slowly starves our souls

and that prevents any real spiritual growth or development?

Rather than accepting the mediocre of just enough to get by,

how about running a test of excellence and all our effort,

and once and for all,

really see if your life doesn’t get any better.

Then at least you don't have to feel guilty or squirm anymore

--- and you can start to enjoy your Sundays.

Join me, and let’s do whatever is necessary to improve our serve,

and allow God's word, presence and Spirit to have their way:

by trying to be more loving, forgiving, generous, kind,

more compassionate, considerate, and tolerant …

and let God's ways reflect through our faith…

and seek a more satisfying and fulfilling walk with the Lord.

Is Jesus going to be just an ornament on your hood of life,

or the engine under the hood that give us power to move?

Today, consider marking off a 3 month period on your calendar,

during which you try to focus on seeking and obeying God's will

in an all-out commit to spiritual growth and exploration,

making whatever choices will enhance your walk with God.

Is spirituality just vapor and myth, meant for others but not me,

or it there more and something better that God intends for me?

There's really just one way to find out.

John 6:51, Deuteronomy 30:19

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

I have set before you, life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.