Enough (Easter Sermon April 24, 2011)

Enough!
John 14:8; 2 Chron. 31:8-10; Prov. 13:25
EASTER – April 24, 2011
First Baptist Church
Dr. Steven E. Fitzgerald

John 14:8 – Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
2 Chron. 31:8-10 – 8 When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and his people Israel. 9 Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. 10 The chief priest Azariah, who was of the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty to spare; for the LORD has blessed his people, so that we have this great supply left over.”
My extended family would spend a week at the beach July 4th week every year when I was growing up. I can remember by greatest desire during beach week, to grow tall enough to have my head reach the line that would allow me to drive the big boy go-carts! It seemed to take forever for me to become tall enough! By the time I finally reached the proper height to be able to drive the big-boy go carts, my sister had her learners permit and was getting to drive a real car. So then I became jealous that I just wasn’t old enough! I guess now I’m just not young enough? Haa haa!

Enough is a bad word within this world. It highlights the great void in life! We are just NOT:
• smart enough
• tall enough
• pretty enough
• skinny enough
• rich enough
• healthy enough
• strong enough; or
• we don’t have enough hair, or
• we cannot sleep enough, play enough, or vacation long enough!
Or my spouse, or our children, or our parents are just not:
• Loving enough
• Responsive enough
• Caring enough
• Giving enough
• Or they just don’t give me enough space, enough freedom!

We just cannot get enough! When we’re consumed with the cares and concerns of the world, there just never seems to be enough. This life is just a great void, like the days between Good Friday and Easter Sunday for those who had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the consolation of Israel, the hope of humanity! What Jesus did during his lifetime just wasn’t enough!

Easter is a day of surprises though! On Easter, God reinterprets the word ENOUGH for us!

1. Easter is about the fact that God had had enough!
a. Enough of our crying out and then ignoring him
b. Enough of our inability to perceive his presence
c. Enough of evil and death apparently having the upper hand and final word in the world
d. Enough of signs and markers that were misread and misinterpreted

2. Indeed, God had always had Enough – with a upper case “E” – and I want to challenge you today, on this Easter of 2011, that Enough is the nickname of his only Son, Jesus!



This Jesus – “Enough” – was with humanity even in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had Enough, but the liar lured them into focusing their attention on the need to have everything. Satan’s lie is to lure us into a life pursuing everything, to never be satisfied with Just Enough. The serpent said, “It’s not enough to know God, to be in loving and living relationship with God! You need to be like God and know everything like God does! Then you will be special! That’s more than enough!”

Satan’s alternate way it to try to reside in the house of Everything. Too often humans are duped into believing that they can have everything they want. All they need to do is to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So they spend time, money, energy and attention on what new tricks will enable them to acquire “everything.” Everything is a residence that appears to be at the quiet end of a cul-de-sac. Satan sends you a free set of keys to this house in the mail, unsolicited I might add, and for free! If they fit, this house of everything is yours! The main problem is that as you approach the house at the end of the street, it mysteriously moves further away. It is like walking the wrong way on an escalator! You just go nowhere! It’s like paddling up creek in a swift river! Such is the search and labor to “reside with everything.” It is impossible. You can never have everything. You can never know everything. You can never be everything.

Humanity’s desire to have everything has led to incredible violence. Those who seek to have everything think that they can do so through gaining power and control over the masses. However, God rescued His chosen ones from the violence and influence of pagans in their midst over and over again.

Finally, God sent himself into the world, Enough, Jesus, to show us clearly how to live with Enough! Jesus never had much, but he always had enough, because He was Enough! Relationship with God above and within in order to bless those without was Enough of a job for Jesus’ life.

Just a brief touch of Enough gave new life and healing to people who had been starving and sick and lame. Just think, they were made whole without having to have everything, like the hemorrhaging woman who had spent everything trying to be healed, but was ultimately healed by just touching Enough of Jesus, through faith, to be totally healed, just the fringe of his cloak.

But those who had to have everything said that they were enough, so they had to eliminate Jesus and his description of Enough so that they could control something that they said was everything. Jesus said enough to let us know that their father was the father of lies, the very same one that had been in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve!

Easter reveals the futile attempt of the world to persuade us that secular leaders and religious dictators definition of something that appears to be everything is better than Enough from God! They couldn’t get rid of Enough to maintain power and control and they cannot do so now! God’s resurrection of Jesus is Just Enough, not everything, but Enough for those who don’t believe they have to have everything. Look at the lives of Jesus’ disciples after their resurrection encounter and empowerment with the Holy Spirit to see what happens when we become satisfied with Just Enough! Followers of Jesus have learned that God’s Son gives us enough to love, have joy, peace, patience, kindness and the other fruit of the Spirit.

Jesus is Enough!

1. Jesus’ life gives me enough provision to feed my deepest needs on a daily basis (see Matt. 4:4) I can stop playing the acquisition game and find that I have an excess, excess that is to be shared with others in need. (see 2 Chron. 31:8-10)

2. Jesus’ death gives me enough forgiveness, by God’s grace and mercy, to rid me of living in unresolved guilt! I don’t need to spend my life trying to make up for my past mistakes (mortification). (John 4)

3. Jesus’ resurrection gives me enough hope that I can live my life without fear, thus enabling me to be more present for God and neighbor! I can begin focusing on what is best to bring lost sheep into the house of God rather than what keeps me comfortable. (John 21 – Peter)

The Good news of Easter is that Jesus’ life, death and now his resurrection is Just Enough for me!
• I don’t need to know everything, only enough (Jesus’ nickname).
• I don’t need to have everything, only enough (Jesus)
• I don’t need to be everything, only enough (Jesus) – know that “I am” is in me and with me!

Have you had enough… enough of the world?

Do you have Enough to be satisfied? (John 14:9-10)

If you have Jesus, you will have Enough for this life and beyond. Easter is the truth of God’s gift of Enough to promise us that!

Amen

Recharging my Droid Phone...

I really love the features of my HTC Droid Incredible. It's like having a little computer with me at all times. I can check my email, surf the internet, access my personal and church calendar, have an HD digital camera and video recorder with me at all times and receive and send text messages by voice activation, not to mention Pandora Radio when I'm driving and the Google Maps Navigation feature that far outstrips my expensive GPS which never had updated roads! The main problem I have with this phone is that it runs applications in the background and I'm constantly utilizing an app killer to save my battery life. No matter what I do, the battery life is miniscule when compared to old phones that you only used occassionally for phone calls. The solution to much of this dilemma is that I have seperate power cords at home, in my office and one in my car that runs through the old cigarette lighter spot.

I have also realized that as I have gotten older and as our church has grown larger, I am running more and more applications of God's calling in my life throughout each day and week. Not only do I have to teach twice on Wednesdays, but also the big attempt to spend great amounts of time with God, pen and computer trying to fashion a sermon that will be truthful to God and relevant to those who listen hoping to have a living encounter with God and his grace, love and mercy. In the midst of these teaching and preaching events, I have more and more individuals, within the church and friends of the church, who desire spiritual direction or counselling, and then there are the many visitors that we have comeing to church now that I really want to visit with (meetings scattered on various evenings inbetween).

All of this is wonderful because this is my calling. However, like my cell phone battery, if I do not regularly recharge my battery, through Scripture focus and quiet devotional prayer many times a day, then I will burn out, just like Sharon, Barry and others. Perhaps the most emotionally exhausting calling is spending time with those who are hurting and afraid, those whose lives are falling apart. After time with them listening and learning, after trying to assist them to hear of God's presence in the midst of their difficult journey, I usually must have time to recharge immediately.

John Wesley said one time that he had gotten so busy that he was having to move his prayer time up to four hours per day. Why is it that we're the opposite? Too many times when we get "busy," we spend less time in prayer and at the feet of Jesus Christ. The story of Mary and Martha reminds us of the better way. It is to spend copius time at the feet of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is the charge of life, the love of life, the gift of life, the sustainer of life as the manifestation of God's very Word made alive.

Recharge frequently or you'll burn out! God's needs you to be running the applications of his presence to the world around you in the unique and specific ways in which he has called you!

Weaning

I am studying for Feb. 13th sermon on the text from Paul's letter to the church in Corinth: 1 Cor. 3:1-9. Paul indicates his great frustration at the fact that he still has to nurse these believers like little babies. There comes a time for us to wean out children, a time to comfort them by removing them from our breast. This is always a time of anxiety and includes some painful withdrawal symptoms, but it is necessary for growth. Ps. 131:2 puts it like this, "I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." The psalmist has in mind that there is a comfort after the pain. Eugene Peterson puts it this way, "The transition from a sucking infant to a weaned child, from squalling baby to quiet son or daughter, is not smooth. It is stormy and noisy. It is a pitched battle. But, to the weaned child his mother is his comfort though she has denied him comfort. It is a blessed mark of growth out of spiritual infancy."1
How hard was it for you to grow up beyond your parents support? How hard is it for you with children who are older, to let go of them and allow them to grow up? I am writing this mostly to me as I am wrestling with this having 26, 21 and 20 year old children of my own. I ask for your prayers as I try to work this out. I pray for the church as we work this out with God. There is a time to grow up, and it is NOW! Let's move beyond our jealousy's and our division making. We may not be able to change others, but we are responsible for ourselves! Let's start there!
Dr. Fitz

1. Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2000), pp. 155-156.

Losing your mind?

Philippians 2:5 records, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus," and then goes on to describe that state of emptying self and taking the form of a slave, or servant for God. God does the exalting when we are willing to empty ourselves into Christ. Martin Luther put it this way, "God made the world out of nothing, and it is only when we become nothing that God can make anything out of us." When Peter declared Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus told him that flesh and blood did not reveal this, but my Father in heaven (Matt. 16:16-17). Paul puts it this way in 1 Cor. 2:16, ""For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ."

Do we? Surely if we have the mind of Christ we are not living according to the cultural ways of self-preservation, or self-glorification. Yet that still seems to be the way that many in the church live! Why? Surely if we have the mind of Christ, according to the way Jesus lived and is described in Philipp. 2:5-11, then what are we doing acting with such arrogance and using manipulation as means to "our" ends?

During prayer in the spring of 1997, I sat alone in my den with the windows open going into a time of Scripture reading, meditation and deep prayer. I could hear the spring birds singing, feel a warm gentle breeze blowing into the room, smell the fresh azaleas and dogwoods, and it was in an instant that I was taken out of my mind. I literally left all my own conscious thoughts and soared out of the house and into the sky. I have subsequently come to fully believe that our minds and our own thoughts are prisons. To take the mind of Christ is to enter a different culture, a different world. I need to move beyond my own limited finite world and agenda. The wonderful experience that morning is not significant in and of itself, but the outcome is what matters. Due tot he peace and presence of God that I experienced then, and subsequent to that time, I have been given a deeper and more lasting peace. This stayed with me throughout that day, and can continue. Only then can I be truly available to serve God and neighbor without trying to use them for my own needs and agenda. I can more fully listen (which has always been a challenge to one who likes to talk so much).
The world of Christ is not one that we can create or recreate. It is one that we are invited to participate in, if we will become nothing, if we will relax and rest in the power, presence and love of God in Jesus Christ. There is no alternative that the world has to offer that compares to this experience. This is what God calls all of us to embrace: sincere worship and obedient service -- as Christ did and does! Through humility, grace and love!
Amen

There's No Time Like the Present

There’s No Time like the Present!
Eph. 5:16

As we begin the New Year, the year of 2011, do so with a renewed focus on time. Start the year with celebration and worship. We hope to help you do that through our Sunday night focus that is designed this year to assist you in growing deeper in your intimacy with God so that your witness to neighbor will be more positive and Christlike. We will have four Sunday nights focusing on devotion time, time dedicated specifically and wholly to our personal relationship with God.
I had a unique lesson on time during the Christmas season when I visited my aunt and uncle (Barbara and Wint Wilks), who live in Madeira Beach, Florida. Aunt Barbara wasn’t shy to let me know how much she would love to have Debbie and me stay with them at their condo when Debbie went down for her winter on-campus master’s class at University of South Florida. We traveled down on a Thursday and Friday, spent Friday and Saturday nights with them, and then drove home the whole way on Sunday December 13th.
Each discussion with them was a learning experience related to time. You see, my uncle is at the point where he knows that he has Alzheimer’s disease and spends some days just crying for up to five hours. Therefore, Barbara quickly taught Debbie and me on Friday night, when she was able to speak a few seconds when Uncle Wint wasn’t looking or listening, that we don’t use the word remember, because he doesn’t remember. That word makes him anxious. We also don’t talk about the future, because they know what their future holds, and it isn’t good. I tried to listen, learn and link/respond according to her guidance. Therefore, for roughly 38 hours, we talked and lived ONLY IN THE PRESENT (as much as possible).
Aunt Barbara would be behind Uncle Wint making motions to me and moving her lips, “We don’t say that!” or “We don’t do that!” Debbie’s car wouldn’t start Saturday morning and she was already running behind in order to be on the campus in Tampa by 9 am. Barbara quickly let me know that any experience that has a “stressor” in it can drive him over the edge. Therefore, we calmly and quietly tried to get her car started (I had jumper cables, but their Cadillac doesn’t have a black battery terminal that is visible, or for me finable. Fortunately, Jack the maintenance man knew how to ground it elsewhere). My guess is that additional anxiety or new stress could cause him to cry or even, at some stage become violent. Did you know that anxiety and stress can immediately cause someone else near you to go over the edge? Hmmm!
“Look at those beautiful waves lapping on the white sand!” I said as we looked out of their second floor window onto the beach and gulf only 40 feet away. “Do you see any dolphins out there?” “Wave at the people! They are waving at us!” I never knew how hard it was to constantly and consistently live ONLY in the present! I made lots of mistakes and left feeling like a bit of a failure. It was like learning a new language for me! Debbie’s and my presence was not a waste, however, according to Aunt Barbara. On Saturday afternoon, I was able to stay with Uncle Wint long enough for her to go for a one hour walk on the beach. During that one hour Uncle Wint looked for her out the window, walked outside the condo door to make sure their car was there. He would ask where she was. He literally cannot be away from her without completely drifting into a state of fear. But for her, she received one hour of peace and respite! Just one hour evidently can make a world of difference!
What does all this have to do with us? We have some church members who are battling Alzheimer’s Disease. Many of us also have extended family who have to deal with this horrible disease. I am going to challenge us, during our four Sunday nights of January (9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th), to become much more committed and consistent with regular private devotional time with God – spiritual formation is another term for that. Brother Lawrence called it “Practicing the Presence of God.” This is similar to my feeble attempts with my aunt and uncle. We cannot do this with others if we don’t do it first and foremost with God in our own lives.
We will begin each Sunday at 5:30 in the Family Life Center with a meal and then gather in the sanctuary from 6 – 7 pm for focused time on learning to deepen the intimacy that we have with our living and loving God. Just 5 or 10 minutes alone with God makes a world of difference! When we do that, we will be more immersed in the presence of God in the present, the here and now, and then we will be a present of God’s presence to those around us, some of whom are living on the edge! We do make a difference! May our difference ever grow more in tune with the Spirit of Christ who offers peace to those who follow and know him!

Dr. Fitzgerald

Can you get a pulse?

Countless times I have been witness to nurses checking a person’s pulse to determine their health condition, not to mention my own every time I visit the Urgent Care for some illness. Blood pressure, pulse and temperature are always checked to determine basic health conditions.

Recently I was listening to a science documentary on television when they discussed the Big Bang theory and the perfect place of our universe in the midst of expansion and contraction. This is life! This is God! There was a pulse from something or someone outside of what we know as our three dimensional universe and life came into being. The pulse is like a heartbeat, expansion and contraction. The heart shoots out life giving blood and brings it back to reenergize it, to run it back through the power mill of oxygen in the lungs in order to feed the rest of the body – brain, organs, limbs, etc. During the season of Christmas, will your pulse rate change? Based on what you feed your body, mind and soul? Keep Christ at the center of your life, your heart. Don’t get trapped with the pulse sent out by consumerism and the superficial stimulation of all that glitters, since you know the rest of that cliché (all that glitters is not gold).

The sound of the heartbeat is the basic rhythm used in all Native American drumming. Did you know that? I would challenge you that it is the basic rhythm that makes a tune pulse right or else it drives us crazy. If the beat is off, the rhythm doesn’t make sense, it sends our nervous system into some kind of shock! We cannot stand to hear a musical piece left incomplete, without the final note, the final pulse. Christmas music has a pulse of life, light and love! Do you feel it?

In the incarnation, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, out in an expansion of himself to energize and offer life to humanity and creation. Then God drew Him back again. God then sent his Holy Spirit to empower our breath with His breath, our spirits with His Spirit, our minds with the mind of Christ, our hearts with the very pulse of life that enables perfect rhythm. God is at the origin and the apex of breathing in and breathing out, expansion and contraction.

Where there is no pulse, there is no life. Life is not experienced in a healthy way without going out and coming back in. Jesus is clearly described as life in John 1:3, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” Jesus also puts it this way, as recorded in John 15:4a,9b, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Abide in my love.” Stay in Jesus during Christmas. Stay in His love. As we have a pulse, as we have life in us, we have the thread of life in us that is Christ wanting to not only give life to our bodies, but also to our minds and our souls. To “know” this, is to know the love of God made available in Jesus Christ.

So we go out into the world with life, with the love of God in Christ Jesus. We go out to share the good news and to give energy and sustenance to those who are starving for air, for breath, for a stronger pulse, for balance. We come back again into worship, into meditation and reflection on the living and written Word of God. Out and back in again. Breathing out and breathing in. The heartbeat! The pulse of life. Christmas music that pulsates with something indescribable! Life!

How’s your pulse rate? Put your finger on your wrist and feel. Do you feel the presence of God? Do you feel life pulsing through you? Do you feel the love of God manifest in your wrist, in your finger, in your mind, heart and soul? Joy to the World if so. If not, you’re dead!

Getting the Wind Back in our Sails!

Do you ever feel like Elijah felt after God had been with him in loving, intimate and miraculous ways, and then all of a sudden on person sucks the wind out of his sails! I've felt like that numerous times in my life, including recently. What do you do? Seriously! Is it enough for us just to offer God little blurps of our time in the midst of other seemingly more important daily responsibilities? I am reminded often of what John Wesley said, "I am so busy now that I am finding it necessary to pray up to four hours per day!" We work just the opposite. We get busy and cut down on our "alone" time with God. Wesley had it right. The busier we get, the harder life gets, the more we get attacked from the left, the right, from up above and from down below, from the front and the rear... the more we need specifically time alone with nobody and nothing but God! We need to give carved out absolutely dedicated time, though, energy, mind, body and soul to God, to God's work, to God's breath/wind/Spirit. That's how we can get the wind back in our sails. It's is God's wind/breath/Spirit that moves us along the way!