Sermon Notes and A Conversation With a Stranger

A kind of an "On Golden Pond" moment...last evening's reflections from the golden sun shining on the trees, reflecting the golden hue upon the water. What I didn't see when I took the picture was the two deer on the other side of the pond...one looking at me...the other eating his dinner. You just never know who may be watching you!

This could be said about our life in general...and our conversations online as well... read on...

The following are excerpts from a conversation on social media with a person I do not know personally, who is a "friend of a friend", in response to the friend's cry out to God, "Jehovah Shalom", our God of Peace...wondering where He is in the midst of all this sorrow and chaos in the world...and wondering what her next steps should be in the aftermath of the Sabbath Day Synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh, PA... read on...

Me: "Pray, Pray, Pray. Then let God lead you. That is what we all need to do. Get on our knees and pray. God will give us answers as we listen to His voice."

Friend of friend: "I realize that prayer helps people, but really, if that’s all we did, well, it all seems futile. Wouldn’t a benevolent, loving god want to fix this horrendous stuff with or without prayer? We must think deeply about this and be prepared to back up our beliefs with action. We must continue to speak out about this and make sure our voices are heard."


Me: "Prayer is just the beginning. Listening to God's voice and not all the voices of the world is the next step. Tune in to Christ, and tune out all the "noise" of the media and chatterboxes out here in social media telling us how to think and what to do. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I know Who does, and praying helps me to hear what He has to say on these matters. Then I am better prepared for appropriate action. I like the saying "What would Jesus do?" and prayerfully seek His direction before acting and/or speaking out."

Friend of Friend: "But to recommend prayer and faith, even as a starting point, is to assume that anyone who reads your message has the same beliefs that you do. I respect your right to belief what you will, but do remember that there are those of us who carry different beliefs, and that we are not all starting from the same place."

 Me: "I appreciate and respect your response. And I certainly respect the fact that many do not share the same faith and beliefs. Perhaps it should be better said that we all need to take a deep breath, and give serious contemplation to what is truly best for all. I realize that many will come up with totally opposite responses, but we can at least agree to talk rationally and calmly and peacefully to come up with some reasonable solutions. "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me". That is a good starting place."

Friend of Friend: "Thank you. Yes, we can agree on that. There's so much going on, so much agony, and I just feel absolutely lost. I've walked in demonstrations, I've called my Congresspeople, I vote in every single election. I rant and rave on Facebook! And yet none of it seems to matter. It's all so dismal."

Me: "There is a lot of sorrow in our world/nation these days, about many things. And sadly, we are often not given all of the information about all of the positive things that are also happening in our country. There are good things happening, and many many good people working hard to restore our nation to peace and a place of promise and hope for our children's future. When all we listen to or hear are the negative voices we miss out on the positive news. This has been a very sad and disturbing week for our country. Mental illness and people with evil hearts do so much hurt and damage. But these people are not the norm. They are the disturbed exceptions. Our nation is filled with so many really wonderful, good, hard working, loving people. Let us unite together to overcome the forces of evil that are trying to dismantle and destroy our nation."

No further response.

What I wish I could have said: The reason people feel so lost and like nothing seems to matter and "it's all so dismal" is because you are correct. When people do not have faith in God and do not have the hope that faith in Jesus Christ gives us, everything must look dismal.  Without Christ in our world and hearts, there is no hope. Those of us who have faith in Christ can get down on our knees and pray and know that God does hear our prayers, and He WILL give us answers and appropriate ways to help those in need and respond to the crisis around us. I have hope in my heart because I know that God is with us. He is in the midst of all suffering and trials and sorrows, and He is giving comfort to those who grieve.  Without faith in God we can never combat the evil presence that is in the world. Sadly, so many have become a part of that greater evil because they are fighting for the wrong cause...they have allied themselves with the forces of darkness when they continue to fight against all forms of godliness and righteousness.

I have shared all of this conversation as a prelude to my sermon notes for this week. 

Our message on Sunday was taken from the book of Matthew, chapter 9:35 - chapter 10:8

35.  "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

36.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

37.  Then He said to His disciples,:

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

38.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Skipping down to chapter 10:7-8~

"And as you go, preach, saying, 

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, 

raise the dead, cast out demons. 

Freely you have received, freely give."

• We have great news! I am a part of the church that knows The Shepherd...where people's lives are being transformed!  (We do have the answer to all that is wrong with the world!)
• I want to bring them in so they can hear the Good News of Jesus Christ!
• Who do we belong to? 
• We become harassed by the world (social media especially these days)...and sometimes we give up, lay down, play dead.
• Jesus said seek out those who are without a shepherd...
• Without Jesus in my heart: pills won't help take away the anxiety and fear...(neither will Marching, ranting, calling our congressmen),
• People are powerless to change their own lives...
• Are we reaching out to our "cranky neighbors" (wherever they may be...not necessarily next door)...perhaps they are family members...Who are the harassed and hopeless in our own community?
• Jesus' response is compassion...
• When He sees our world...it through His eyes of compassion.  
• Compassion is the complete opposite of indifference
• Our life as a Christian is more important than football games or other social event...
• Jesus is the only One who can solve the problems of our world today...
• Jesus is the only answer.
• We need to prepare ourselves to live as a follower of Christ...we are called to reach out, step up and step out to His people...
• But we get greedy...we have been given a gift and we want to hold onto it and not share it...the knowledge of Jesus Christ as our Savior and healer and redeemer...Our only hope in this  world...
• If Jesus is calling you...and you just sit back...then who will go?
• Our activities at our churches need to be rooted in the gospel...shared with others... we should share the gospel with others as we share food, clothing, or whatever we give to the needy.
• If not you, then who?
• We may say, "that's not my calling..."
• Then, what is your calling?
• Your calling is not to sit back and watch...
• Compassion is not a spectator sport...it requires action.
• If not you, who then?

As we closed our service, we sang the following song:  Freely, Freely

"God forgave my sin in Jesus' name. 
I've been born again in Jesus' name 
And in Jesus' name I come to you 
To share his love as he told me to. 

He said 'Freely, freely you have received;, freely, freely give. 
Go in my name, and because you believe others will know that I live. 

All pow'r is giv'n in Jesus' name 
in earth and heav'n in jesus name 
And in Jesus' name I come to you 
To share his pow'r as he told me to. 

He said 'Freely, freely you have received;, freely, freely give. 
Go in my name, and because you believe others will know that I live. 

God gives us life in Jesus' name 
he lives in us in Jesus' name 
And in Jesus' name I come to you 
To share his peace as he told me to."

So I ask you and myself:

If not you, who then?

Go and share the hope you have within you with those who are lost  and feeling so dismal and hopeless. Perhaps they will not listen because they do not have the faith we have, but we can plant the seeds...and perhaps another will come and water...and someday they will be a part of that great harvest.

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given.  I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously.  Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said.  Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear...  That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts.  So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.

Sermon Notes from FUMC, Interlachen, FL. Pastor A.C. Meyers, 10/28/2018