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HOPE
GRADUATION 2001
JUST ANOTHER PENTECOST DAY
EASTER 2003
ANGELS AMONG US
ANGELS AMONG USCHRISTMAS EVE SERMON 2001
CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON 2001DEAR FRED AND MARY
DEAR FRED AND MARYINVITED TO THE WEDDING
INVITED TO THE WEDDINGMARCH 17, 2002
THROUGH DEATH TO LIFEMOUNTAINTOPS AND VALLEYS
MOUNTAINTOPS AND VALLEYSSATAN SPEAKS
SATAN SPEAKS|
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| MOUNTAINTOPS AND VALLEYS |
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| MOUNTAINTOPS AND VALLEYS... THIS MORNING I WOULD LIKE TO PREACH FROM MY HEART…AND I’M NOT SAYING THAT I HAVEN’T MEANT WHAT I SAID IN THE PAST, NOR AM I SAYING THAT I HAVEN’T PREACHED FROM MY HEART BEFORE…I DO EACH WEEK! BUT TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO STOP AND TO PREACH STRAIGHT FROM MY HEART. I GUESS I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT LIFE…AND WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE…AND WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THE PAST MONTH AND A HALF…AND THE TEXT FOR TODAY JUST SEEMS TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER. AS YOU KNOW…I HAVE SPENT THE BETTER PART OF THIS PAST MONTH IN THE HOSPITAL…GOING TO 3 DIFFERENT DOCTORS…AND BLOOD WORK EVERY TUESDAY MORNING AT 7:30!!! AND I KNOW THAT MANY OF YOU HERE AS WELL HAVE GONE THROUGH SOME PRETTY ROUGH TIMES…AS IF GOD HAS TAKEN A VACATION AND LEFT SOMEONE ELSE IN CHARGE FOR AWHILE. AND OUR GOSPEL TEXT REALLY SPEAKS TO US AND TO THESE SITUATIONS. OUR GOSPEL TEXT HELPS US…NOT SO MUCH TO ACCEPT, BUT REALLY HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND. YOU SEE LIFE IS MADE UP OF MOUNTAINTOPS AND VALLEYS DOWN BELOW. AND SO OFTEN, WHEN WE HIT A MOUNTAINTOP WE WANT TO KEEP IT. MAYBE IT IS PART OF OUR HUMAN SURVIVAL SKILLS…BUT WE WANT TO HANG ON TO OUR PEAK EXPERIENCES IN LIFE…WE DON’T WANT TO LET GO BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IF AND WHEN WE DO, WE MIGHT FALL BACK INTO OUR VALLEYS AGAIN. SO WHAT DO WE DO? GOOD QUESTION. WE TRY TO KEEP THOSE EXPERIENCES. WE TRY TO KEEP THEM WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEO TAPES, OR TRINKETS THAT WE BUY AS SOUVENIRS WHILE ON VACATIONS. WE KEEP THE BULLETINS FROM GRADUATIONS AND CONFIRMATION…WE KEEP BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PUT THEM ALL IN CREATIVE MEMORIES SCRAP BOOKS. WE CLING TO THEM…NOT WANTING THEM TO PASS ON TO BECOME ONLY WARN-OUT AND FADED MEMORIES. THESE MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES IN OUR LIVES ARE THE PRECIOUS MINUTES WHEN WE FEEL AS IF WE ARE SAVORING LIFE AS IT REALLY SHOULD BE. THESE MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES ARE THE DEAR MOMENTS THAT GIVE LIFE ITS SWEETNESS IN CONTRAST WITH THE DAILY ROUTINE OF OUR LIVES. PERHAPS WE THINK THAT THOSE HIGH MOMENTS OF OUR LIVES, THOSE MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES ARE SO RARE THAT WE DARE NOT LET THEM PASS WITHOUT TRYING TO CLING TO THEM…TRYING EVERY SO HARD TO PRESERVE THEM. IN OUR GOSPEL, PETER DID NOT WANT TO LOSE THAT MOMENT EITHER. JESUS TOOK 3 OF HIS DISCIPLES…PETER, JAMES AND JOHN…WITH HIM TO A HIGH MOUNTAIN. AND SUDDENLY BEFORE THEIR VERY EYES HE TURNED INTO DAZZLING WHITE. AND ON TOP OF THAT…ELIJAH AND MOSES NOT ONLY APPEARED BUT SPOKE WITH JESUS. PETER, JAMES AND JOHN WERE TERRIFIED AND DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY. BUT THEN PETER FINALLY ATTEMPTED TO SAY SOMETHING…AND WHAT DOES HE SAY…RABBI, IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE, LET US MAKE 3 DWELLINGS…ONE FOR YOU, ONE FOR MOSES AND AND FOR ELIJAH. WELL, BEFORE WE GET TOO HARD ON PETER, LET’S LOOK AT OURSELVES! WHAT WOULD WE HAVE SAID AND DONE IF WE HAD SEEN JESUS TRANSFIGURED BEFORE OUR VERY EYES…AND HIS CLOTHING BECOME DAZZLING WHITE? PETER’S ONLY DESIRE WAS TO BUILD 3 PERMANENT DWELLINGS SO THAT HE COULD HANG ON TO THAT MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCE…HE DID NOT WANT TO ALLOW THIS GRAND EVENT IN HIS LIFE TO PASS AWAY INTO A DISTANT MEMORY. JESUS INSISTED THAT HIS DISCIPLES NOT SPEAK OF THIS EXPERIENCE UNTIL AFTER THE RESURRECTION. WHY? THE SUGGESTION IS THAT THE DISCIPLES WILL NOT UNDERSTAND THE MOMENT OF GLORY UNTIL THEY EXPERIENCED THE PASSION OF JESUS’ DEATH. THE TRANSFIGURATION IS UNDERSTANDABLE ONLY IN THE CONTEXT OF JESUS’ SUFFERING AND DEATH. YOU SEE, THE MEANING OF JESUS’ TRANSFIGURATION IS CLEAR ONLY IN THE SOBER LIGHT OF THE CRUCIFIXION. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US? OUR MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES IN LIFE ARE ALWAYS SET IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR VALLEYS DOWN BELOW. OF COURSE WE WANT TO LIVE HIGH ON THE MOUNTAIN. WE ALL WANT TO LIVE LIFE AS IT SHOULD BE…JOYFUL AND SUCCESSFUL…ALWAYS AND ONLY JOY AND SUCCESS! AND WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE VALLEYS BELOW, WE TEND TO CLINCH OUR FISTS AND GRIT OUR TEETH AND GET ANGRY AT GOD…AND CRY OUT…WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN? WHY, AM I ALWAYS IN THE VALLEYS? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCE? LORD I WANT TO MAKE A DWELLING FOR YOU AND ME ON TOP OF THAT MOUNTAIN! WHY CAN’T LIFE BE JOYFUL ALL THE TIME…WHY CAN’T IT BE A THRILLING HOLIDAY ALL THE TIME? BUT LIFE IS NOT LIKE THAT. IN SPITE OF OUR WISHES, THERE ARE VALLEYS IN OUR LIVES. IN SPITE OF OUR WISHES WE CANNOT LIVE AND DWELL ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. INSTEAD, OUR MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES ARE SET WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF OUR VALLEYS DOWN BELOW. THAT IS WHAT PETER AND THE OTHERS HAD TO LEARN ABOUT JESUS’ LIFE. IT WAS NOT ALL THE EXPERIENCES OF TRANSFIGURATION. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR JESUS ALSO INVOLVED THE AGONY OF THE CROSS. MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES OFTEN OCCUR ONLY IN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE VALLEYS OF LIFE BELOW. AND AS A MATTER OF FACT…IT IS IN LIFE’S VALLEYS THAT MOST OF US GROW. LETS BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES…WE DO NOT GROW ON THE MOUNTAINTOP, BUT IN FACT WE GROW IN THE VALLEYS BELOW. WE GROW AS A RESULT OF HAVING TO STRUGGLE WITH WRONG AND EVIL. WE GROW AS A RESULT OF HAVING TO CLAW AND FIGHT OUR WAY OUT OF LIFE’S VALLEYS. WE GROW AS A RESULT OF HAVING TO GROW WITH THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM THAT VALLEY BACK TO THE MOUNTAINTOP. ISN’T IT TRUE THAT MOST OF US, IF NOT ALL OF US, MATURE AS A RESULT OF WRESTLING WITH THOSE THINGS WE DID NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE? THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE…A PHYSICAL ILLNESS OR INJURY…A FAILURE OF SOME KIND. YOU SEE, WE DO NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH THESE REALITIES OF LIFE…BUT IF WE FACE THEM, AND WE STRUGGLE WITH THEM, AND WE WRESTLE WITH THEM…WE WILL GROW! YES, THERE ARE DIFFICULT PERIODS IN OUR LIVES LIVING DOWN IN THE VALLEYS, BUT IT IS IN THESE DIFFICULT PERIODS WHERE WE LEARN TO GROW THE MOST. IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO GO TO ONE OF THOSE MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES WE HAVE TO LIVE IN THE VALLEYS BELOW. BECAUSE IT IS THERE, IN THE VALLEYS, THAT WE FIND THE STRENGTH TO CRAWL OUT OF THE VALLEYS TO THE MOUNTAINTOP. SOME OF YOU HERE TODAY MAY BE SAD..DEPRESSED..LOST..HURTING DEEP DOWN INSIDE. SOME OF YOU ARE LIVING IN THE VALLEYS RIGHT NOW. THERE MIGHT BE SOME OF YOU WHO ARE EXPERIENCING MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES. THERE MAY BE SOME OF YOU WHO MAY WANT TO HANG ON TO YOUR MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES OF THE PAST…AND THAT’S OKAY. BUT WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND FROM THE BIBLE IS THAT, WHEN WE LIVE IN THE VALLEYS WE NEED TO GRIEVE. YES, WE NEED TO GRIEVE. AND THEN WE NEED TO THINK, AND THEN WE NEED TO TALK. TO TALK ABOUT OUR BAD TIMES. BUT WE ALSO NEED TO MOVE ON…TO CONTINUE THE JOURNEY. AND THAT’S THE HARDEST PART…TO PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER…AND MOVE ON. BUT WE HAVE TO CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY…JUST AS JESUS DID. BUT AS WE DO, WE HEAR GOD. AND WE LISTEN. WHEN WE STRUGGLE IN THE VALLEYS WE NEED TO LISTEN TO GOD…TO LISTEN TO WHAT HE HAS TO SAY TO US. BECAUSE WHEN WE LISTEN TO GOD WE HEAR OF THE HIGHEST EXPERIENCE OF LIFE. IN HIM IS THE EXPERIENCE OF ONE WHO LIVED THROUGH BOTH THE MOUNTAIN OF TRANSFIGURATION AND THE VALLEY OF GOLGOTHA. AS WE STRUGGLE WITH THE VALLEYS IN WHICH WE LIVE, WE LISTEN TO THE WORD OF JESUS…AND AS WE LISTEN WE HEAR JESUS TELLING US…I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH. KING DAVID WRITES SO BEAUTIFULLY…THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL….WHY? FOR THOU ART WITH ME. TODAY, IF YOU ARE WALKING THROUGH A VALLEY THAT WORD IS FOR YOU…THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL. LISTEN. LISTEN WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR VALLEY. LISTEN….AND YOU WILL HEAR GOD. HE IS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU…HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU. AMEN! |
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