| No Matter What God Works Through Me |
“No Matter What: God Works Through Me”
1 Corinthians 12:27-31
October 14, 2007
This is the fourth sermon in a four-part series I call “No Matter What.”
What do I understand about God no matter what? No matter what occurs
in my life, if I can remember four basics, I am convinced my life will be full
and there will be nothing that will overwhelm me. Once again, here are
the basics as I understand them:
No Matter What: God Loves Me
No Matter What: God Seeks Me
No Matter What: God Gives Me Another Chance
No Matter What: God Works Through Me
About the time I understood that God was giving me another chance to
be a part of life... not long after I understood how God sought me out
because God loved me... not only in spite of my weaknesses but, at
times, because of my weaknesses... about that time, I finally began to
grasp that perhaps I had a place in the larger notion of God’s Kingdom.
About that time it dawned on me that, just as I needed God, I was
needed by God. I have come to realize that I have not one, but many gifts
to offer and that no matter what: God works through me. Along the way,
sometime in my faith journey, a door had been opened that introduced
me to a richness of life that I previously thought was only an illusion.
There is a story that comes from the archives of another church about a
newly married couple on the first night of their honeymoon. After a
ceremony involving just the right number of bridesmaids, groomsmen, a
cute flower girl and precocious ringbearer; after the appropriate vows
were exchanged, all the formal pictures taken, and congratulations
received; after a rather long day of being with family and friends,
celebrating the momentous transition in their lives, the couple finally
were escorted to their hotel's fancy and expensive bridal suite. As they
walked into the suite in the early hours of the morning, they saw a sofa,
chairs, and a table, but where was the bed?
With some bleary-eyed searching, they discovered that the sofa was a
hide a bed, with a lumpy mattress and sagging springs. They were far
too tired to try to find new accommodations at that moment so they
reluctantly went to bed. After spending a fitful night and waking up in the
morning with aches and pains, you can imagine their temperament.
Angry and frustrated that they had spent precious money and time to
stay in such an uncomfortable place they decided to do something about
it. The new husband stomped down stairs, went to the hotel desk and in
a rage, gave the management a tongue lashing.
"Did you open the door in the room?" quietly asked the clerk.
The groom went back to the room. He opened the door to what they had
thought was a closet. There, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates,
was a beautiful large bedroom!
There are those times when we approach life a lot like those newlyweds.
Tired and frustrated we get to point when we think we have reached all
that we are capable of; all that we have the ability to do. After doing
things the best way we know how, and often exactly the way we were
told too, an impasse is reached. And we are disappointed.
We are disappointed that we don’t see more for our investment of time
and energy. Some moments, we may even get angry and lash out at
God for the situation we find ourselves in. We look around and we see
the jobs others have and wonder... why not us? We look at those who
don’t have to work extra jobs to pay the bills and wonder... what it would
be like to have time to ourselves? We see those who are creative or
caring or athletic or popular and we wonder... what happened to us
along the way? We buy into an assumption that because we don’t have
the gifts that someone else has, in some way we are less... less
valuable... less useful... less loved... and so we stop looking for the
potential in our selves. We don’t bother to open anymore doors,
assuming they lead nowhere... and the frustration builds.
I happen to believe that life can be different for us. I also happen to
believe that is what Paul was writing about. Those in the church at
Corinth were struggling with the frustration of comparison. They were so
used to comparing themselves to others that they had begun to lose
sight of their own giftedness... they began to lose sight of the ways that
God was calling them to use their gifts... they began to lose sight of their
spiritual selves. And… they were losing their ability to recognize their
potential in Christ. Paul was writing to them to share a truth that could
help them break out of the frustration of comparison. Paul was writing to
them, suggesting that they could break out of the bitterness of feeling
like failures.... suggesting that when they grasped the reality of who they
were are a part of, they would understand that they had gifts to share
and that no matter what: God would use those gifts. God would work
through them.
Paul could have been writing those words directly to us.
You see, we are all part of the body of Christ and because of that we are
constantly being offered the chance to open new doors, to explore new
and greater gifts. Paul invites us to “eagerly desire” the greater gifts.
Don’t give up hope! Don’t stop looking behind those closed doors,
because there is potential behind them.
Oh... I can hear those finally oiled cogs of doubt turning in your minds.
Not me... God can’t use my gifts... wouldn’t want to use my gifts. I’ve
messed up my life and others lives too much as it is. So... lest you think I
am in another one of my overly optimistic phases I want to share with
you a few of the people whose gifts God has used.
I might start with Abram. You can read about him in Genesis. Here was
a guy that was so weak he was willing to pretend his wife, Sarai, was his
sister so that the Pharaoh would not kill him. God had to intervene to
keep the Pharaoh from adding Sarai to his harem. And what did God
eventually do with Abram? Changed his name to Abraham and Sarai’s
name to Sarah and use them as the beginning of the people Israel.
I might then go on to the book of Exodus to explore an extraordinary
leader of the Israelites. Of course, he argued with God over his
perceived lack of abilities, but God still used the one-time murderer
Moses to lead millions to their freedom.
And of course, the “Who’s Who” of the faith also includes the rock
slinging David who became King and had another man killed so he
could sleep with his wife... but God used David’s gifts and we
experience them in the Psalms. There is Elijah who ran away from God
and yet God brought him back and used his gifts. There is even an
orphan, Esther, who became queen.
Those are just a glimpse of the people in the Old Testament who gifts
God used... no matter what their past was. And the list goes on in the
New Testament.
Look at Jesus interaction with tax collectors like Matthew and
Zaccheaus; look at the women who were disenfranchised like Mary
Magdalene, and the woman at the well; witness the turn around stories
of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The Bible is rife with stories of
perceived less-thans. Less-thans becoming more... becoming whole...
becoming integral parts of the body.
In each story of success coming out of failure... in each cry of “I can’t”
transforming to a praise of thanks saying, “I was able”... In each no that
becomes yes... there is God. No matter what: God works through those
who open their hearts to God. No matter what: God uses your gifts.
Stop for a moment to reflect upon those times when it seemed as if you
had nothing to offer; times when you or someone around you counted
yourself as worthless. Did the fear of inadequacy cause you to want to
give up in exhausted frustration? I believe that is what Paul was writing
about to the church at Corinth. They had begun to lose sight of who and
whose they were. They had started to stop opening doors and to settle
for the mediocrity of the world.
Perhaps you are at that point of frustration right now. If so, I repeat what
Paul said: “Eagerly desire the greater gift.” The love of God is that
greater gift. When you desire God you will discover that God will use
your gifts to transform your failures into success. As a part of the Body,
God will use your gifts and together we will rejoice.
So there you have it. Four basics from the faith, that I am convinced if we
can grasp, will lead to a full life... the kind of life God intends for us. Four
basics that if we can truly embrace will not only keep us from being
overwhelmed... they will lead us to a victorious life.
No Matter What: God Loves Me
No Matter What: God Seeks Me
No Matter What: God Gives Me Another Chance
No Matter What: God Works Through Me
AMEN
1 Corinthians 12:27-31
October 14, 2007
This is the fourth sermon in a four-part series I call “No Matter What.”
What do I understand about God no matter what? No matter what occurs
in my life, if I can remember four basics, I am convinced my life will be full
and there will be nothing that will overwhelm me. Once again, here are
the basics as I understand them:
No Matter What: God Loves Me
No Matter What: God Seeks Me
No Matter What: God Gives Me Another Chance
No Matter What: God Works Through Me
About the time I understood that God was giving me another chance to
be a part of life... not long after I understood how God sought me out
because God loved me... not only in spite of my weaknesses but, at
times, because of my weaknesses... about that time, I finally began to
grasp that perhaps I had a place in the larger notion of God’s Kingdom.
About that time it dawned on me that, just as I needed God, I was
needed by God. I have come to realize that I have not one, but many gifts
to offer and that no matter what: God works through me. Along the way,
sometime in my faith journey, a door had been opened that introduced
me to a richness of life that I previously thought was only an illusion.
There is a story that comes from the archives of another church about a
newly married couple on the first night of their honeymoon. After a
ceremony involving just the right number of bridesmaids, groomsmen, a
cute flower girl and precocious ringbearer; after the appropriate vows
were exchanged, all the formal pictures taken, and congratulations
received; after a rather long day of being with family and friends,
celebrating the momentous transition in their lives, the couple finally
were escorted to their hotel's fancy and expensive bridal suite. As they
walked into the suite in the early hours of the morning, they saw a sofa,
chairs, and a table, but where was the bed?
With some bleary-eyed searching, they discovered that the sofa was a
hide a bed, with a lumpy mattress and sagging springs. They were far
too tired to try to find new accommodations at that moment so they
reluctantly went to bed. After spending a fitful night and waking up in the
morning with aches and pains, you can imagine their temperament.
Angry and frustrated that they had spent precious money and time to
stay in such an uncomfortable place they decided to do something about
it. The new husband stomped down stairs, went to the hotel desk and in
a rage, gave the management a tongue lashing.
"Did you open the door in the room?" quietly asked the clerk.
The groom went back to the room. He opened the door to what they had
thought was a closet. There, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates,
was a beautiful large bedroom!
There are those times when we approach life a lot like those newlyweds.
Tired and frustrated we get to point when we think we have reached all
that we are capable of; all that we have the ability to do. After doing
things the best way we know how, and often exactly the way we were
told too, an impasse is reached. And we are disappointed.
We are disappointed that we don’t see more for our investment of time
and energy. Some moments, we may even get angry and lash out at
God for the situation we find ourselves in. We look around and we see
the jobs others have and wonder... why not us? We look at those who
don’t have to work extra jobs to pay the bills and wonder... what it would
be like to have time to ourselves? We see those who are creative or
caring or athletic or popular and we wonder... what happened to us
along the way? We buy into an assumption that because we don’t have
the gifts that someone else has, in some way we are less... less
valuable... less useful... less loved... and so we stop looking for the
potential in our selves. We don’t bother to open anymore doors,
assuming they lead nowhere... and the frustration builds.
I happen to believe that life can be different for us. I also happen to
believe that is what Paul was writing about. Those in the church at
Corinth were struggling with the frustration of comparison. They were so
used to comparing themselves to others that they had begun to lose
sight of their own giftedness... they began to lose sight of the ways that
God was calling them to use their gifts... they began to lose sight of their
spiritual selves. And… they were losing their ability to recognize their
potential in Christ. Paul was writing to them to share a truth that could
help them break out of the frustration of comparison. Paul was writing to
them, suggesting that they could break out of the bitterness of feeling
like failures.... suggesting that when they grasped the reality of who they
were are a part of, they would understand that they had gifts to share
and that no matter what: God would use those gifts. God would work
through them.
Paul could have been writing those words directly to us.
You see, we are all part of the body of Christ and because of that we are
constantly being offered the chance to open new doors, to explore new
and greater gifts. Paul invites us to “eagerly desire” the greater gifts.
Don’t give up hope! Don’t stop looking behind those closed doors,
because there is potential behind them.
Oh... I can hear those finally oiled cogs of doubt turning in your minds.
Not me... God can’t use my gifts... wouldn’t want to use my gifts. I’ve
messed up my life and others lives too much as it is. So... lest you think I
am in another one of my overly optimistic phases I want to share with
you a few of the people whose gifts God has used.
I might start with Abram. You can read about him in Genesis. Here was
a guy that was so weak he was willing to pretend his wife, Sarai, was his
sister so that the Pharaoh would not kill him. God had to intervene to
keep the Pharaoh from adding Sarai to his harem. And what did God
eventually do with Abram? Changed his name to Abraham and Sarai’s
name to Sarah and use them as the beginning of the people Israel.
I might then go on to the book of Exodus to explore an extraordinary
leader of the Israelites. Of course, he argued with God over his
perceived lack of abilities, but God still used the one-time murderer
Moses to lead millions to their freedom.
And of course, the “Who’s Who” of the faith also includes the rock
slinging David who became King and had another man killed so he
could sleep with his wife... but God used David’s gifts and we
experience them in the Psalms. There is Elijah who ran away from God
and yet God brought him back and used his gifts. There is even an
orphan, Esther, who became queen.
Those are just a glimpse of the people in the Old Testament who gifts
God used... no matter what their past was. And the list goes on in the
New Testament.
Look at Jesus interaction with tax collectors like Matthew and
Zaccheaus; look at the women who were disenfranchised like Mary
Magdalene, and the woman at the well; witness the turn around stories
of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The Bible is rife with stories of
perceived less-thans. Less-thans becoming more... becoming whole...
becoming integral parts of the body.
In each story of success coming out of failure... in each cry of “I can’t”
transforming to a praise of thanks saying, “I was able”... In each no that
becomes yes... there is God. No matter what: God works through those
who open their hearts to God. No matter what: God uses your gifts.
Stop for a moment to reflect upon those times when it seemed as if you
had nothing to offer; times when you or someone around you counted
yourself as worthless. Did the fear of inadequacy cause you to want to
give up in exhausted frustration? I believe that is what Paul was writing
about to the church at Corinth. They had begun to lose sight of who and
whose they were. They had started to stop opening doors and to settle
for the mediocrity of the world.
Perhaps you are at that point of frustration right now. If so, I repeat what
Paul said: “Eagerly desire the greater gift.” The love of God is that
greater gift. When you desire God you will discover that God will use
your gifts to transform your failures into success. As a part of the Body,
God will use your gifts and together we will rejoice.
So there you have it. Four basics from the faith, that I am convinced if we
can grasp, will lead to a full life... the kind of life God intends for us. Four
basics that if we can truly embrace will not only keep us from being
overwhelmed... they will lead us to a victorious life.
No Matter What: God Loves Me
No Matter What: God Seeks Me
No Matter What: God Gives Me Another Chance
No Matter What: God Works Through Me
AMEN
DeWitt United Methodist Church
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