A SAVIOR (LUKE 2: 8-11)

Well, are you in the Christmas spirit yet? 

Some people put up Christmas decorations early.  It seems that this year Halloween wasn’t over until the Christmas decorations were out.

At the Collum house we put our decorations out on the day after Thanksgiving, not a day before. We refuse to listen to Christmas music (even though magic 96 has been playing them since Nov 1).

Well, today is the first Sunday in December; we have the Christmas decorations up in the sanctuary.  And so I want to bring you a few words of encouragement from the very familiar Christmas story found in Luke 2: 8-20. Let’s read it together.

Verse 8:  I want you to look at the Shepherds in this story.  I want you not only to look at the shepherds but I want you to compare YOURSELF to these men.

You can hear a good story. You can read it, watch it on TV, see it in a movie or listen as it is told to you but you really don’t CONNECT with the story until you CONNECT with the characters of the story.  So this morning I want you to CONNECT with the shepherds. See how much you are like them.

I. SHEPHERDS:    (NOT IMPORTANT) This profession although a necessary profession, was not a very prestigious profession.  It was not a very impressive profession.  It was not a very well regarded profession. 

Shepherds were around sheep all the time.  Sheep smell.  Which tends to make those around them smell.  In Chilton County terms: Shepherds stink. 

I don’t care who you are and how much you say you don’t care about what people think of you; we all want to be well regarded by our peers.  Oh, I’ve said “I don’t care what people think about me”, you might have said that as well. But deep inside, I really do care what you think about me. I want you to like me.  I want you to think I am important.  I want to have prestige in my life.  AND YOU DO TOO.

If you didn’t care about what people thought about you, you would have gotten up this morning and come to church in you PJ’s or housecoat.  You would have left on your old ragged pants or shirt. You wouldn’t have taken a bath, brushed your teeth, or fixed your hair.  “Who cares what I look like, what I wear?  I don’t care what those people think”…BUT YOU DO.

Can I just be honest?  Some mornings I wake up and I don’t feel very prestigious.  Do you?  Or maybe you get up every morning and just feel like you have the world by the tail and you are large and in charge? 

In this story, the Shepherds were not in that position. How do I know this?  Let’s look closer.

 II. ABIDING:  (BORING) Not only were they SHEPHERDS but they were ABIDING.  Staying.  They were in an everyday, not so exciting, not so rewarding, same ole sheep, same ole co-shepherds, same ole grass, same ole fields, same ole hills.  They were just ABIDING. 

 There used to be a commercial that showed a woman in the “daily-ness” of her life and she suddenly looked up and said “Calgon, take me away”.

The ABIDING, the STAYING, the day to day was pressing down on her.  Are you associating with this?  Am I talking to anyone who is relating to this aspect of the shepherds?

III. IN THE FIELDS: (NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE) Not in town with everyone else.  Not in their house like most people.  Not with their families.  Not in their bed but IN THE FIELDS. 

There is something about “fitting in”.  And again, we often say, “I don’t care what other people do.  I am my own person”.  And you may be different from most people.  But I just bet that you may just desire to be “like everyone else” sometimes.

Don’t you imagine that those shepherds would have liked to have had a home and family and nice warm bed to sleep in?  Don’t you think they might have liked to have a 9-5 job? 

I read the other day that one reason people get distressed by FACEBOOK is that they read the stuff that others do (go on vacation, have the family over for lunch, go on a date with their husband /wife), and they realize that they don’t do those things.  And it makes them depressed.  “Why can’t I have that kind of life?”

We don’t like to be SHEPHERDS and we don’t like BEING IN THE FIELDS.

IV. KEEPING WATCH:  (No credit) That sounds exciting doesn’t it?  Keeping watch.  Doing what is necessary, but JUST doing what is necessary.  And again, It’s not exciting. Keeping watch requires faithfulness, steadfast-ness (is that a word?), being there when you are supposed to be there.  Doing the job no one else wants to do. (and getting little or no credit). 

V. BY NIGHT:  (Lonely) I have spent a very large portion of my life’s work in the dark.

In the Coast Guard our rescue missions were not always on a bright sunny day.  Much of the time it was in the middle of the night. 

Working on the ambulance, I worked the midnight shift initially.  ALL of our calls were in the dark. As a fire/medic with the fire department, many of our calls came in the dead of the night.

Even if you don’t have that emergency kind of job, even if you work at a factory or in a store and it’s at night….it is kind of depressing. 

A line from a poem says “creatures of the nighttime watch as creatures of the daytime sleep”.  We don’t like to be in that position.   

 QUESTION:  Are you relating yet?  Are you feeling like a shepherd?

I told you initially that I wanted to bring you words of encouragement.  I don’t think I’ve done that thus far. Let me try harder.

QUESTION:  Why did the angles come with “good news of great joy” to the shepherds and not to the guy that ran the grocery story?  Why did the angles come to the shepherds and not to the business man?  Why did they come to the shepherds and not to the king? 

Because God knew the shepherds needed encouragement.

And if you are relating to the shepherds this morning, God knows you need encouragement.

Let’s see what He did for the shepherds.

VI: V10:  FEAR NOT: “I ain’t afraid of nothing.  I’m a grown man/ woman.  I’m an adult.  I’ve seen it all or most of it.  Why should I be afraid?”

Shepherds weren’t wimps.  They lived in the fields.  They were used to hard work. They were used to danger. Remember David having to fight a lion and bear?  You couldn’t be a shepherd and be a sissy. But these guys were afraid.  NO, more than that, they were sore afraid.  In Chilton County words again, “They were scared to death”.

I don’t know what you are afraid of this morning.  Sickness, bad health, financial problems, family issues, problems with your spouse, issues at the church, issues at work, the future of our world, death, eternity?  If I didn’t hit on yours you feel free to go ahead and add it to the list.

I don’t know what it is but I know this, you and I are afraid just like those shepherds were afraid.  Scared to death, AND GOD KNOWS IT.  And the SAME all-knowing, ever-loving God who sent a band of angles out on that grassy, dark hill that night to send a message of encouragement to those shepherds, is sending you the same message this morning.  Oh, you may not see the heavenly host this morning but don’t doubt it, God wants you to hear this message. DON’T BE AFRAID!

VIL. GOOD NEWS, JOYFUL NEWS, TO EVERYONE:  I didn’t come this morning to bring you a fancy message.  I didn’t come with angles and lights and a choir of heavenly host.  But I came bringing you Good news.  It’s not sad news. It’s not depressing news.  It’s not fearful news.  It’s GOOD NEWS.  And it should bring you GREAT JOY. 

The angles came to announce that a SAVIOR had come.

Let me make this statement.  If you have related in the slightest way this morning to the shepherds, if something I have said has made you realize that in some ways you and the shepherds kind of felt the same way.  Then you need a savior.

I’m not saying that you are lost and unsaved or not a Christian.  Sure, Jesus came to save those in that condition but do you realize that He also came to deliver you, save you from the conditions that we talked about. 

You need a savior to save you from your feeling of being “UNIMPORTANT”.

 You need a savior to save you from being bored.

You need a savior to save you from not feeling a part of the rest of the civilized world.

You need a savior to save you from being faithful but getting no credit or recognition.

You need a savior to save you from being lonely and depressed.

You need a savior to save you from fear.

The encouragement, the good news of great joy, the gospel I came to share with you this morning is simply this:

UNTO YOU IS BORN A SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD!!!  And if that don’t fill you bucket, you need to check it out because it’s got a really big hole in it.

CONCLUSION:

The holiday season can be one of the most depressing, dismal, sad, lonely times of the entire year.  In EMS we saw more suicides and self-inflicted wounds during the holiday season than any other time of the year. 

You will hear these little verses quoted many times over the next few weeks.  Will you remember what I’ve said this morning?  Will you simply take these 4 verses and sticky note them to your brain. 

Just remember, You are the shepherd, Jesus is the Savior, and THAT’S GOOD NEWS

DAD'S OLD STUFF

I don’t think we realized it really, until after Daddy died.  It’s kind of a funny story in itself.  Dad was always collecting stuff, accumulating stuff and buying stuff.   Stuff from Publishers Clearing House or any place else he could find it. The clearing house stuff, I guess, was his way of playing the lottery.  Maybe, just maybe, if he bought some of their “not seen in store” items, he may have a better chance of winning all that money.  So he bought their “stuff”. 

At the Bill and Keva Collum house we use to have “Christmas in August”.  It was a time when we bought items at the Dollar store, wrapped them in newspaper and gave them to each other in August on a designated "Christmas in August" day.  We put up a “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree, hung the lights and just got together with the family to have a good time.  Well, the year maybe two years after Dad died, instead of buying stuff, we just gave each other the stuff out of Dad’s boxes. 

You see we started going through his belongings and cleaning out some of the boxes he had accumulated and found box after box of what Dad thought was useful “stuff”.  To us it was junk but in Dad’s eyes it just might be useful to someone someday. And it was, it was useful for us to laugh at and have a good time with and it helped us remember Dad for a little while longer. Dad saw the good in things that most of us would just ignore and think was junk.

But back to what I  started to say, I can distinctly remember one year a gift that Dad gave me.  He was still in business at the old cab company in Alabaster.  I visited him one day and as I started to leave he stopped me and wanted to give me something.  He always did that.  He would reach in his desk, or in his old cab and find something he thought I might use. This day he pulled out an old calendar.  It was a kind of calendar / journal thing.  It had the month laid out on one side and on the other were pages to be used for notes. 

Well, even though the calendar was last year’s calendar, the little book was nicely bound and no one had written in it so Dad, knowing that I was one to write down lots of stuff, gave me the little book.  In the inside cover he wrote, “To Bill, to use not just save”. (In spite of what Dad said, I still have that little book saved away somewhere.)

I guess Dad knew that I was a packrat too.  Because that little book was his, I would just save it and not write in it. So he had made the distinction that I was to “use it” and not “just save it”. 

You know without me telling you this that I do the same stuff Daddy did.  When my children and now grandchildren come to visit, I may not always do it, but I always think of it.  I try to find something just lying around the house that I think you would “use”.  Heck, you will probably see it in the gifts I give.  The old ragged pallet furniture, the “hand-made” bowls and such are all examples of stuff that you are probably embarrassed by but will take and thank me and then it will end up collecting dust somewhere.

As I was thinking about these crazy traits that I have inherited from my Dad I suddenly realized that perhaps Dad and I had inherited this trait from our Heavenly Father.  You see, Father God looked down and saw some really ragged stuff.  In the eyes of others it was nothing more than junk.  But He loved that junk and saw the usefulness in that junk and so He sent His Son (what an enormous sum to pay for junk) to buy it and save it.  That which was ruined by neglect, and selfishness and misuse, He saw as salvageable and “useful”, He bought the junk and with the pen of the writers of the New Testament, across the pages of that junk He wrote “To use, not just save”. 

I am so thankful that the Almighty God of Heaven looked at Dad and me and saw that even though we were broken, ruined, and in the eyes of men, useless, chose to save us.  But even more this morning, I am thankful that He didn’t just “save” us but He put a little note on our hearts.  I think it might have been the same note that Dad put in that little book; “To use, not just to save”.

Lord, my prayer this morning is that you will use me.

                                               

 

RAMBLING RABBIS

I have taught a lot over the years.  That doesn't necessarily mean that I am good at it, it just means I've done it a lot. When I retired, Birmingham Regional EMS systems stated that I had taught over 1000 student in EMS.  That was just through them.  I also taught through Gadsden State, Wallace State and the Fire College. For a kid that hated school and was adamant about not going to college I guess that's kind of ironic.

I started teaching when I was a young teen.  The pastor gave me a class of unruly boys and I thought I could teach them.  Heck, I needed teaching. I wonder who learned the most. 

I love it when I stand before a class and suddenly see the light come on over someone's head and realize "they got it". 

I learn much more than my students, whether in EMS, Fire, Haz-mat, safety or Bible study.  I learn by the study and time I put into the lesson. 

I say all of that to give you this quote this morning.  God gave it to me last week and I think it is important enough to pass along.  Here it is:

" We must all be teachers.  It matters not how wise you become or how much knowledge you retain; if you do not pass it on to those who walk behind you, your knowledge and wisdom will die with you".

I wonder how much knowledge has been lost because someone thought they were not wise enough to share something with someone else.  I wonder who could have been helped this week if you would have just shared with them something, a scripture, a thought, a word that God gave you.

I'm not sure I ever have an original thought.  I'm not sure any of us do. But God keeps giving us the thoughts, the lessons, the wisdom and eventually someone will decide to put it down for others to see.

II Peter 1: 13-14 says: "I think it meet (proper) as long as I am in this tabernacle (body) to stir you up, by putting you in remembrance"....To teach you something new or remind you of something you already know.

As unworthy as we might be, our thoughts, ideas, and knowledge come from God, treasures in jars of clay.  Don't discount the words He gives you.  Share them, spread them, teach them.

WORSHIP

I do it almost every morning.  Some mornings I enjoy it a little more than others.  Let me tell you about our morning routine. 

When my beautiful wife, Keva gets ready to go to work, my little dog, Gracie and I and sometimes the old cat, Sissy, walk out and sit on the steps leading to the car port.  We sit on the steps and wave to her as she drives up the driveway. Loaded down with briefcase, boxes, envelopes and her lunch, she comes out and puts her stuff in the car.  Then she comes over to the steps puts her arm around my shoulders and prays for our day.  She mentions our kids and grandkids, she mentions some of you from time to time, she prays for God’s blessings and safe-keeping then gets in her car and goes to work.

As I write this, it is the last week in June 2017.  One day this week the humidity was very low making the morning feel more like fall than summer.  I sat there on the steps, and enjoyed the comfortable climate.  I sipped on my hot cup of coffee.  I looked out across the yard, with the big ole oak trees and the grass that had actually been cut this week.  I contemplated the work that I had ahead of me for that day and in the quietness of the morning I just felt God slip up on the steps and sit down beside me.

I worshiped.

For several years now I have been trying to get a handle on this thing called worship.  We say we do it all the time.  We sing praise and worship courses.  We have worship services and yet I’m not sure that I know how to worship.  But as I sat there on the steps I realized that I was indeed worshiping.

I want you to notice what I didn’t do.

1. I did not raise my hands toward heaven

2. I did not shout out loud to the Lord

3. I did not run joyfully around the house

4. I did not sing

5. I did not cry

6. I did not take up an offering

I simply sat there on the steps but I worshiped.  

Let me share with you what I did and I believe it will give us an insight into some of the components of worship. 

1.  I RECOGNIZED.  Many people who say they have nothing to “worship” God about simply do not recognize all that God has given them.  Perhaps they are looking for the big stuff.  Perhaps they think they need a new house in order to worship God.  Perhaps the money to purchase a new car would do it. Maybe, if someone gave them an expense paid vacation to some exotic place they could worship.

But worshiping God for the simple, little daily things just does not cross their mind.  They don’t RECOGNIZE the blessings that God gives them. 

I believe the first step in actually worshiping God is to come to a conscious recognition of what it is that God has given you.  I don’t care who you are or what kind of “stuff” you have. The list is long.  And it is not just “stuff”.  It’s family, friends, acquaintances; it’s the grace of God that provides you with     freedom from the quilt of sin and freedom from the chains of sin.  It’s the promises that God gives you.  It’s the future that has been planned for you.  If you take the time, if you make the time, you will have a very extensive list.

There is an old song that says “Count your blessings, name them one by one”.  Take time to RECOGNIZE what God has given you.   

 2. I RECEIVED. If I were so inclined to give you something, if I were able and was of the notion to bestow upon you some elaborate gift. If I spent the money to purchase it, wrapped it, got in my car and delivered it to your house. If I walked up to your door and with loving and unselfish arms reached out and handed it to you, it would not be YOURS until you take possession of it.  You would have to RECEIVE it.

It is amazing to me that God lays things right in our laps and we fail to take possession of them.   

Let’s go back to the grace of God for a moment.  The unspeakable gift of salvation was made so evident to me this week. My brother-in-law Bo’s father was in the hospital dying.  He had lived 89 years and as Bo said he had believed in God but never accepted Him as his Lord and Savior.  But once Bo asked presented him with the gift from God and explained what it means to accept Jesus into your heart, Mr. Winslett received that gift  and was adopted into the family of God.  And when he died, no matter what he had done in his life and how many times he had rejected God and ignored His blessings and His grace, he was ushered into the presence of God and the blessings of heaven a few days later when he passed. 

But I am sure there were others in that hospital that week, there were others, in that town who faced  death just as Mr. Winslett did and they did not RECEIVE the gift.  

The pastor can stand at the pulpit and proclaim salvation and sanctification to you and you can nod your head and say amen but until you RECEIVE it, it is not yours and you cannot worship God because of it. 

3.  I REPEATED IT. What does that mean?  I shared it. I told someone about my blessings and what God had done for me.  I mentioned it in conversation.  I acknowledged it. 

God can bless you britches off and you can recognize it and receive it and bask in the blessing of it but if you AND I are so selfish and self-centered, and are so intent on how I want to feel and what I want to do that we do not share those blessing with other, we do not tell others what God has done for us we cannot truly worship God. 

Let me give you a couple of examples.   

God has blessed us with, what I think is a beautiful place to live and raise our kids and grandkids.  When I was young my dad bought a 60 acre farm up on the Shelby/Chilton county line.  I often heard him say, “This is the prettiest place in the state of Alabama”. He felt that way.  I guess lots of people feel that way about their house and land.  

I do.  I clearly remember seeing the place where we live now as I drove by it many times as a medic on ambulance calls.  I would admire it and see the smoke coming from the chimney in the winter and the apple and pear trees blooming in the spring and thought (and prayed) “Lord, I sure would like to have a place like that someday”. (Mom and Dad had always told us not to say, “I want THAT” but to say “I want one like that”).

And over the years God has allowed us the jobs, the pay, and the opportunity to purchase that exact house and land.  Just last month someone stood in my yard and said “What a beautiful place you have here”.  I was able to tell them, “Thank you, God gave this to us”.  And in doing so I REPEATED the blessings that God had given us.  

My friend Lee Davis and I were talking not long ago.  In mentioning how health he was,  He said, “God has always blessed me with good health”.  He could have talked about how he developed good eating habits or how fine of a doctor he has or how much he exercises but instead he chose to REPEAT the blessing that God had given him of good health.  

I am convinced that we don’t REPEAT, we don’t mention, we don’t tell people about the blessings that we receive.  We need worship God by doing that.   

4.  I REJOICED IN IT.  I understand that all of us are different.  I understand that how I REJOICE or worship is different from how you rejoice or worship. But I doubt that there is anyone that does not somehow and in some way REJOICE.   

HOW COULD YOU RECOGNIZE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU, RECEIVE IT AS A GIFT FROM HIM, REPEAT IT TO SOMEONE-IF IT’S NO ONE BUT GOD HIMSELF…HOW COULD YOU DO THAT AND NOT REJOICE?!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT AND NOT WORSHIP?!!! 

Let’s look at some synonyms of the word rejoice.  Celebrate, cheer, exalt, delight, express joy, be pleased, be glad 

When you look up the word WORSHIP it says “the ACT of showing respect and love to God" 

And when you look up the word “act” it says, “Something that is DONE”. 

When your favorite football team wins an important game, some jump up and down and wave their hands in the air.  Some jump up on the couch and cheer, some call their neighbors or family and gloat, some just say “good game” and go about their business.  We are all different and to expect you to rejoice OR WORSHIP the same as I do is foolish. To think that just because they don’t worship or rejoice as I do does not mean that either of us are doing it wrong or are not doing it at all.   

 So as Keva drove away, and Gracie hunted squirrels in the front yard and I drained the last drop from my coffee cup and the cool morning air drifted through the yard, I worshiped.  

I RECOGNIZED, RECEIVED, REPEATED, AND REJOICED and that’s worship.   

Maybe that’s what we need to do in our church services.  

I’m not advocating this exact way of doing it but here is one way to put this into play.  

1.  We take a few minutes to focus on our blessings with quite time and soft music

2.  We pray, either led by someone or pray privately. We tell God that we gratefully receive what He has provided for us.

3.  We repeat.  We stand and  we share.   

4.  We rejoice, sing together, join each other around the alter for praise prayers,  

 Could it work here?  Maybe

Could per chance we learn to actually worship God?  Perhaps.

Could you put it into action in your daily devotions?  (It would take time, it would take effort, but if you did, it may just spill over into our corporate worship as well.   

And you know what just might happen?  It may be that we don’t sing three songs; it may be that we don’t take up offering; it may be that the preacher doesn’t preach.  It may be that we can simply WORSHIP. 

REVELATIONS

The Father gave His Son some bullet points.  Bullet points that would help reveal the Son’s character. A messenger was sent from the Son to a little Jewish man exiled on an island in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece.  That messenger faithfully delivered the message to the man and the man wrote it down.  He wrote it down and sent it as letters to seven churches in that region. 

Over the years that message has been read and re-read.  It has been studied, dissected and expounded upon.  Wise men, learned men, men with vast amounts of education and knowledge have tried to understand and explain the contents of these words.  But I’m not sure we’ve got it yet.

Can I add my take on it to the mix? Let’s consider these words as messages, bullet points to our “churches”.  Find the message that speaks to you.  I did.  Allow it to do exactly what God the Father intended it to do both then and now. 

Which church do you attend?

1. EPHESUS:  “I see how you have worked.  I know you have waited patiently.  I know that you will not put up with evil.  You have carried the church.  You have worked and not quit.” 

But I have something to point out to you. You have left your first love. You have left the things behind that you were once doing successfully.  You have forgotten why you were serving. Remember where you came from.  Remember what you did that was working.  If you don’t, I will remove your church from its place in the community.  Turn around.

2. SMYRNA: Satan will do his best to chain you down. He will hold you in a prison; a prison of guilt, a prison of habits, a prison of selfishness. 

Hold on.  Keep on until you can’t keep on any longer.  Do what you can; God will do what you can’t. He will never ask you to do something that you cannot do with His help. Be faithful.

3. PERGAMOS: You live in an evil world but so far you have been faithful.  However, gradually you have allowed those who promote false ideas, beliefs and teachings to lead others astray.  You have allowed them to cause others to stumble.

Successfully deal with this problem.  Gain control over it.  Conquer it or it will be the ruin of you and your church.

4.  THYATIRA: I see and know your work, love, service and faith.  But don’t allow beliefs that are untrue to seduce you, to confuse you and to lead you to evil.  You have become like the world and have not influenced the world to become like you. Remember what you have been taught. Hold on to what you believe, stay strong.

5.  SARDIS: People think of you as a strong Christian church but in all actuality you are dead. You must reinforce whatever it is that is good in you. Your works, your service is not perfect in God’s eyes.

Turn around, repent or else I will come upon you as a thief in the night. You will never see it coming. 

6.  PHILADELPHIA: These words are from a Holy God, an all-powerful God. I know the work that you have done.  I have given you a great opportunity that no one can take away from you. I realize that you are weak and your strength is fading.  But I also know that you have kept my words and have not denied my name. 

Because of this, I will honor you so that those who do wrong will see how much I love you.  I will hold you.

7. LAODICEA: I have seen what you are doing.   You are satisfied.  You are not on fire for me. Oh, you are not against me but you are simply content.  That makes me sick!  You think you have it all when in fact you have nothing. Riches, health and honor only come from me.  I am standing here waiting on you to respond to me.  Anyone who will listen and respond will have fellowship and a relationship with me.

I want you to understand that I correct and admonish those that I love.

************

As I read and pondered over these words each message spoke to me.  I hope that you will take time and find the message that God has sent to you.  Study them to receive God’s approval.  To be successful on this ride you can’t always coast, sometimes you have to peddle. 

HISTORY

You don’t know who or what to believe anymore.  As a child, my parents were required to send me to school, (at my adamant objections).  There the capable and learned teachers shared with me and my class mates the important facts that were supposed to shape our future.  That portion of our learning experience was called “History”.  There were various parts of history.  There was World history, American history and since I lived in the Great State of Alabama, there was Alabama history.  During those classes we were taught about our national heroes.  Men like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee and many others.  I learned about the wars we fought in order to keep our nation powerful and free. 

We were not only taught about those things but it was impressed upon us to memorize those facts.  There were test given so that we would be sure to study these important realities.  Hours of reading, memorizing and by rote we cemented these historical details into our little minds so that we would not forget.    I remember a quote that was often shared by those who taught history.  It was by a man named Edmund Burke.  Mr. Burke was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, political theorist and philosopher who served for many years in the British House of Commons.  Mr. Burke’s statement went like this: “Those who don’t know the past are doomed to repeat it”. 

There have been other variations of that statement throughout the years.  “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it” and “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  All lending their support of the concept that knowing about our past and knowing about those people who shaped our past (whether their actions were right or wrong) was an important aspect of learning and growing and developing into the people God wants us to be and that society wants us to be.  It sounded good. It sounded reasonable.  It sounded like sound advice and guidance.  But that was then…

This morning as an old man, I woke up, dressed myself (without any help thank you) and poured my coffee.  I stepped into the living room and pushed the button on my remote.  The morning news flashed on the television screen.  There in high definition were scenes from the news that the television producers felt was important for me to know about today. It happened in New Orleans, Louisiana.  It occurred about 3 a.m., according to the reporter.  The video showed city workers taking down the Confederate monuments from all over the city of New Orleans.  The city was riding itself of any “offensive” items that might place blight on our generations to follow.  Purge the remembrance of the history and the events will have never happened.

The news reporters seemed to be in one hundred percent agreement with this philosophy (and you know if you see it on T.V. or on the internet it is truthful and correct).  This is the politically correct thing to do so as not to insult or affront anyone with any past happenings that might have been difficult or objectionable.  

This is not the first time this has happened.  I remember as a pre-teen, our teachers took us on a “field-trip” to Montgomery, Alabama, the state capital. We visited the capital building, walked through those shining white hallways.  Stood (almost in reverence) in the large rooms where men of old voted on actions that formed our history.  Later, we walked across the tree-lined streets and visited the “White house of the Confederacy”.  We were shown the beautiful antique furnishings and old pictures of the great men who led that rebellion, if you will, called the Civil War.  We were told the stories of events that had happened there by charming old ladies dressed in antebellum attire. 

But just a short time ago in the State of Alabama, the Heart of the Confederacy, the governor decided that this history was too offensive and had the Confederate flag removed from the Capital.  Funding for the up-keep of the Confederate White house has been drastically reduced and the old building is in danger of rotting away.  Other governors and other states have taken similar actions. “Get rid of the memory and the events will go away”.

I wonder if by the time my grandchildren start to school there will even be a course or class called “history”.  I wonder if there is, will the things they teach be so skewed and vetted by the authorities that those of us who lived that history will even recognize it. 

I feel sure that the chivalrous statesmen and the gallant civilian solders who spilled their blood for the cause of the Confederacy, the cause they reasoned as right, will even be mentioned.  I’m certain that if anyone remembers Edmund Burke his words regarding history will not be allowed. 

How much longer will the monument for the USS Arizona be allowed to stand?  We certainly would not want to offend any Japanese who might feel ostracized by the events that happened in Hawaii on December the 7^th, 1941.  Erasing the memory of the holocaust will not obliterate the suffering of the men, women and children who experienced it. However, we certainly do not want to be rude to any German’s who might feel put off by that recollection.  Perhaps the Spanish-American war should be renamed the “Other vs Americans war” so as not to offend any Hispanic people. 

To be polite and politically correct I should end my little rant this morning with an apology, in case I might have offend someone who doesn’t see things as I do.  But I’m not sure who to apologize to.  There are always two sides to an argument.  Each of the opposing factions believe the things they stand for is righteous.  If I apologize to one side I offend the other.  Like I said at the onset, I’m just not sure what to believe anymore. 

So, being old and set in my ways I will not apologize to anyone.  I will stand here as straight and tall as I can on my worn out legs.  I will hold my old gray head high and with my crackling old voice screech out “You are wrong!!! 

Take down the flags.  Break up the monuments.  Burn the old documents and photos. Teach only the “facts” that you perceive as fair.  Refuse to teach history but if you do, if you forget all that has gone before, remember this, you, your off-springs and those who come behind you will be doomed to repeat it. 

PARADIGM SHIFT

PARADIGM:  The prevailing view of things, a pattern or model of something, a typical example

I collected baseball cards as a kid.  I would get them out of bubble gum packs.  I kept them in shoe boxes.  I hardly knew any of the players, but that didn’t stop me from “collecting” them.  After a while the thrill wore off and I placed them in the closet and forgot about them.  Later on in life a friend told me how valuable some of those cards could be.  I dug them out of the closet and once again became obsessed with buying and collecting them.  But that was many years back.

I loved basketball.  I played in high school (not very well, but I played).  I played while in the military.  I played up until way after 40 years old.  Anywhere I found a hoop and a ball, I played.  My friends and I would gather in the apartment complex parking lot where there was a basketball goal and a light and play till late in the evening.  We would get the key to the gym and stay there playing ball until we couldn’t walk another step.  But that was years ago. 

My little granddaughter, Kinsley, loved to swing on the big front porch swing at our house.  She and I called it the “bus”.  She would pretend to put gas in the “bus” and make sure it had a good “battery”.  Then she would say “Bump, make it go fast”.  I would swing the “bus” while she sat back and enjoyed the ride.  But that was 3 months ago.   

John tells us a story about a fisherman named Peter.  Jesus found him doing what he knew best, fishing.  He followed Jesus, he walked with Him and learned from Him and followed His examples.  He learned to “fish” for men.  But I guess the love for the kind of fishing he was raised to do never left his heart because when Jesus was crucified on a cross outside of Jerusalem and buried in a tomb, Peter reverted back to what he knew and loved.  In John 21:3 Peter says “I’m going fishing”.  He got in the boat, loaded the nets and pushed off.  Little did he know that this was going to be his last trip to the “fishing hole”. 

The next morning the risen Jesus called Peter aside and as he walked with He walked along the shore, the waters licking at their feet like a big wet dog, Jesus asked him three times, “Peter, do you love me”?  Some say the three times reflect on the completeness of the number three.  Some say it was because Peter had denied Jesus three times.  I don’t know why Jesus asked him three times but I believe that this point and time in Peter’s life stands a a paradigm shift for the big fisherman. 

Up until now Peter loved to fish.  It was what he did.  He fished for fish. They were his livelihood. It was the way he made his living and fed his family.  It was probably the most important thing in his life.  But there on the sands of the sea shore that morning Peter had a paradigm shift and it changed his occupation and his life.

Peter would no longer be a fisherman, he would be a shepherd.  We have no record of Peter ever going fishing again.  After receiving his marching orders from Jesus that day, Peter hung up his nets and fishing equipment and took on the occupation of a shepherd.  Instead of netting fish, he fed lambs. 

There are a lot of things that are important to us throughout our lives but when we encounter Jesus and understand from Him what is really essential, the prevailing view of things, the pattern and model and example of our lives will never again be the same.  Have you “shifted” since you met the Savior? 

FOUR RIDDLES FOR THE RIGHTOUS

 My sweet wife has been working at the same job for over 30 years now.  She makes the company lots of money and enjoys what she does.  From time to time the company gives the people in the sales department books to read.  They are supposed to make them better at their job.  Recently, they gave my wife a book called “The Go-Givers” by Bob Burg and John David Mann. It was a national bestseller and proclaims itself to be “A little story about a powerful business idea”. It presents “secrets” to better enhance a business persons ability to succeed.

I read the book and it was an enjoyable read.  I thought, “Good move by the company.  If I were a sales person and read this book and applied it to my sales efforts, it would make a difference”.  But then I thought, “Why can’t we have something like this to present to Christians, something that will help them be better at what they do.  So that became the inspiration for this lesson. 

So with apologies to Mr. Burg and Mr. Mann I want to use their book's premise, change it around a bit and present it to you as “4 Riddles for the Righteous”.  

Many years ago there was a Quaker lady named Hannah Whitall Smith who wrote a book entitled “The Christians Secret To A Happy Life”.  A dear pastor friend and his wife gave me a copy of that book over 45 years ago. I have read and re-read that book many times.  Other than the Bible, that book has made a greater impact on my life than any other that I have ever read.  As I sit at the desk this morning and attempt to write this lesson, that same old book sits on the shelf above me, in arms reach.  Often I take it down and re-read portions and am reminded of her treasured insight.   Ms Smith presented solid Biblical truths in the form of “secrets”. 

But Ms. Smith’s secrets and I trust, the information I share with you here are not meant to be a riddle held in confidence.  If you learn from them and they help you, share them, spread them around.  Let’s get started.

I believe every person who is a Christian strives to be successful, effective, priceless and a part of the body who are about the task of being “Like Christ”.

Although we can’t “make” ourselves like Jesus, because it takes His sacrifice on the cross and the work of The Holy Spirit in us, to accomplish that. Still it is incumbent upon us to “make every effort” to walk in the light that He gives us. Any “skills”, any “helps” any “tricks” that we can use to further that effort should be appreciated and used.

RIDDLE NUMBER ONE: Giving is gainful

As a young man and I guess as a “not so young man”, I thought that I should get as much out of this thing of being a Christian as I possibly could. I mean, sure, God gives me the gift of Salvation and the gift of Sanctification and an eternal home in Heaven with Him but surely there is MORE that I can gain from the Christian relationship. (That sounds ludicrous even as I write it.)  Shouldn’t I be blessed with good health, sound finances, stress free living, happiness, (feel free to add other things you think you deserve)?  Isn't that what I pray for all the time? Isn’t that all part of being a Christian?

Well actually, no it isn’t.  You see in our Christian walk, it is not what you get that makes you successful and effective it is what you give.  Contrary to popular belief and the preaching and teaching of some other folks, Jesus did not tell you that if you follow Him you will have health, money, and lots of “stuff”.  It is not our job to accumulate possessions while here.  Actually, He said, “In this world you will have problems (John 16:33). He said that we “should not” try to accumulate “stuff” here. (Matt 6:19)

Throughout my life it has not been the wealthy, prominent, and affluent people who have made an impact on me but those with meager earthly possessions and humble means.  Those people have enriched my life and gave me more than any rich person, or well-off person ever did. 

Did you catch that?  They GAVE me more.  Their earthly possessions were paltry but from their “want” they GAVE.  

 The effective Christians GAVE. 

Do you want to know a riddle?  If you are to be effective as a Christian and gain treasures in heaven, give as much as you can. 

RIDDLE NUMBER TWO:  Servants are successful.   

Do you remember when you were a kid?  People would ask you, “What do you want to be when you grow up”?  I don’t know you that well and was not around to hear your answer but I just bet that none of you ever said, “I want to be someone’s servant”.  Being a servant, being someone who takes care of the needs and desires of others is usually not a position that is highly regarded. 

It may come from the stigma of the olden days when the rich and influential had servants.  Even those who were not considered wealthy had servants. Servants were low on the totem pole to say the least.  But that is the world’s view of someone who serves, not God’s view.

Evan Jesus, the Son of God did not come to be served but came to serve others. (Mark 10:45)  Does it not stand to reason then that if we are to be “like” Jesus, we too should offer ourselves up as servants?  Our goals, our desires and our efforts should be not to have people do things for us but to do things for them, to serve them. 

Jesus said that if we want to be successful, (honored) by God Himself that we should serve Jesus.  We should do the things that Jesus would do.  We should be servants just like Jesus was.  (John 12:26)

So, do you want to become a successful Christian?  Then find ways to serve others.  Do you want to become an even more successful Christian?  Find more people, find more opportunities to serve. 

RIDDLE NUMBER THREE:  Priceless gifts are personal.

In the third chapter of Acts this story is shared with us.  Peter and John were walking to the temple to worship. On their way there they were hailed by a man, who the Bible says was “lame from his mother’s womb”.  All of his life this man would have to be carried from place to place.  He sat every day at the temple gate and asked for money from those who were entering there. 

Peter turned and looked at this man and spoke these words to him, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee”. 

We could stay here for a while.  We could discuss exactly what you “do possess”.  God asked Moses out there on the back side of the desert “What is that in your hand”?  Moses had a stick.  A young boy on the mountain one day with Jesus only had “five loaves and two small fish”.  The unidentified man from Jerusalem had a donkey and “the Lord had need of him”.  Joseph of Arimathaea had an unused tomb. All of these things were things that God could use.  But do you want to know what I think was the greatest gift ever given to Jesus?  It was the gift from a man named Simon from Cyrene.  As Jesus struggled under the weight of the cross beam while He was being led away to be crucified, Simon was summoned to bear the load.

Jesus didn’t need Simon’s money.  He didn’t need his influence or clout, if he had any.  At that time in His life what Jesus needed was Simon.  It was personal.  Simon gave himself.  He, personally carried the cross for Jesus.

What do you have?  You have you.  Plain and simple what people need most from you, the most valuable gift that you can give them (With the exception of sharing the gospel with them) is you.  “I don’t have money.  I don’t have wealth.  I don’t have anything to offer”?  That’s ok, because the most priceless gift you can give is to give someone you.  Not the persons you pretend to be, not the made-up you, not the person you want everyone to think you are, but the real, genuine, honest you.  That’s personal and that’s priceless.

RIDDLE NUMBER FOUR:  Be available to accept.

Thus far we have stressed points about what we as Christians can give or do.  But there is a twist in this riddle.  In order for us to be able to give we must also be willing to receive. To be honest, this is sometimes harder for us than the giving.

I was brought up believing that I could do almost anything.  One of my Dad’s favorite sayings was “If someone can do a lot of it, I ought to be able to do at least a little of it”.  He felt that he should be able to do just about anything anyone else could do. It may have been by osmosis but he passed that line of thinking on to me.

Being involved in emergency services for 45 years I learned that in many cases and on many emergency scenes a responder will not have the exact equipment and items that he needs.  He needs to be resourceful.  He needs to make things happen. 

“Just do it”.  You don’t need anyone or anything “you are the man”.  But can I tell you that even the strongest man; the most successful man must learn that he cannot give all the time.  In order to give you must learn to be available to accept. 

An illustration from the aforementioned book will help you to catch this riddle.  When a human breaths, he inhales oxygen, uses some of it and as a by-product exhales carbon dioxide.  That carbon dioxide is received or accepted by the plants around him and is used and the by-product of that use is oxygen.

Do you see that?  Giving and receiving is a process.  It is as simple as breathing in and breathing out.  If you just breathe out, if you spend all of your time giving, you won’t last long.  Givers must put themselves in the position to accept.  Givers must allow others to do things for them.  If I want to be a blessing I must be willing to be blessed by others. 

That is not easy for old hard heads like me.  I feel like it makes me indebted to someone, and it does.  We are all part of this thing called humanity.  In the 1600’s a man named John Donne wrote in one of his poems, "No man is an island”…. “Any man’s death diminishes me”. 

I would add, any man’s needs are my needs and my needs are the needs of all others.  So I must not only be willing and ready to give but also be available to accept what is offered me. 

As you continue on your travels down the road to righteousness remember these four riddles.

Giving is gainful

Servants are successful

Priceless gifts are personal

Be available to accept

I think they will be beneficial to you.