Sunday, February 8, 2009Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany
Preacher: Pastor Gary Johnson
Readings:
Isaiah 40:21-31
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
Audio sermon file: http://fileresource.sitepro.com/filemanager/74/filecollections/742/34800BED-283C-77F5-5580-F762D094644A.mp3
In Isaiah, we run into the feeling of desperation, destinies & futures no longer in our control. Today, in a frantic world, you can also feel the desperation. You can taste it becaue it’s touched most doorsteps in one way or another. The message in Isaiah is still this:
No matter your current condition, God is SO beyond human understanding and He will deliver us … in His time.
Our relationship with God is not quid pro quo. It ALWAYS requires waiting. And not like the sign I saw two years ago in NY’s Penn Station “EXPRESS WAITING”. This waiting may actually “take some time”.
When you feel (and we all do at some point, usually “a low point”) like “Nothing ever changes!” …
In the waiting comes the strength. And in the strength comes the deliverance.
IF we don’t allow ourselves to be defined by the economic turndown, the diagnosis, the illness, we can wait for the that strength and deliverance. But when we “go it alone”, it’s too hard! When we’re surrounded by cynics, it’s almost impossible.
No matter your current condition, God is SO beyond human understanding and He will deliver us … in His time.
Our relationship with God is not quid pro quo. It ALWAYS requires waiting. And not like the sign I saw two years ago in NY’s Penn Station “EXPRESS WAITING”. This waiting may actually “take some time”.
When you feel (and we all do at some point, usually “a low point”) like “Nothing ever changes!” …
In the waiting comes the strength. And in the strength comes the deliverance.
IF we don’t allow ourselves to be defined by the economic turndown, the diagnosis, the illness, we can wait for the that strength and deliverance. But when we “go it alone”, it’s too hard! When we’re surrounded by cynics, it’s almost impossible.
Paul even says, “There’s 2 kinds of people … and I’m going to ‘hang with both’ “. He’ll be whatever he needs to be to get this message across. Scientific research indicates that abbies of many species are often born resembling the father somewhat enough in order to keep him around the nest longer. We may be vain, but we “like to hang with our own”. Paul, like the Leonard Zelig character played by Woody Allen, “has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people who surround him.”Paul will become lie the hungry if he has to in order to deliver the message. It’s too important. It’s time to win over those “on the other side”. The Good News is we ALL have the power to do that! The message is so big the whole town shows up for Jesus … and the message is too big for one town, so Jesus takes the show on the road.
The message is BIG … bigger than the squabbling we make over race, sexual orientation, sacrificial meats, religion, gender … WAY BIGGER … and the News today is you have the power to be the courier .
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