Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
For this day
We ask
Enough grace
To love those people
You place in our lives.

Accepting these meetings as
Sacred opportunities
To live out
The life you
Have given to us:
To love and to be loved

It is bold to ask
For enough grace
Because it implies
We will
Let go
Of our usual ploys
And engage others freely
As we are
And as they are
Just so.
Letting go of our
Judgments
Resentments
Our rules
Our fears
Our demands
Our expectations
Our shame
And all the other
Obstacles
We place in the way
So we may freely give
And freely receive

Grant us this grace Lord
And the boldness
To make use of it
When it comes.
Thank you
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Intro: Have you ever received an Amber Alert on cell your phone?

It’s so loud and annoying, there’s no way you can ignore it
– this is the sort of attention-getter Joel calls for in verse 1
“Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain”
• sentinels were posted on Jerusalem’s walls,
◦ and Joel tells them to sound the shofar and alert the people
◦ because a massive, hostile army was approaching the holy city
• after what we read last week, the danger Joel announces seems a little strange
◦ we expect him to warn of the “locust plague,” but instead he warns of , “the day of the LORD”
– now because of what we’ve been told in past decades, this needs a bit of explaining

Preachers and teachers who tell us we’re living in the “End Times,”
– have not always known the Bible that well–or else they have a funny way of interpreting it
• for instance, they have taken English words and phrases found in the Bible,
◦ strung them together, and constructed a scenario of the fulfillment of end times prophecies
◦ it is often case that in the Hebrew or Greek text, one word can have more than one meaning
• so some of these end time authorities have treated “the day of the LORD” as if it always referred to the same event
◦ the problem is, that kind of manipulation of scripture fails to be faithful to each of those references
– I will ask you a question, and I make no judgment based on your answer
How many times have you read the Old Testament prophets or carefully studied any one of them?
• the answers I usually hear include:
“never, really,” or “I started a study like that once, but then gave up,” or “I would say I’ve studied one or two in depth.”
• if we don’t know any better, it is easy for them to trick us

Growing up in Pentecostal churches I discovered something
– frequently, a preacher would take an obscure verse from the Old Testament,
• then develop an elaborate sermon around it that would frequently dazzle the audience
◦ but as I started reading through the Bible and studying various books,
◦ I realized their use of those texts did not line up with the prophets’ message or his intended meaning
• we’re not learning what God is saying through scripture,
◦ if we string verses together that don’t belong together
– when the prophets referred to “the day of the LORD,”
• they were not talking about the end of the world

If not the end of the world, what did “day of the LORD” mean to the prophets?

In general, it contains two ideas:
– first, a catastrophic event so big it is unlike other calamities
• it’s not something anyone (in right mind) would desire
“Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
Why would you have the day of the LORD?
It is darkness, and not light,
as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall
and a serpent bit him.
Is not the day of the LORD darkness and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18-20)
• the various prophets were referring to different events occurring our about to occur in their own historical setting
– second, it is judgment on the wicked and vindication of the righteous
• whether or not God caused the disasters, he used them
• for instance, God did not have to send Babylon to conquer Judah
◦ in fact, what he chose, was not to protect and defend Judah

Years ago, a woman in my church was in deep turmoil
– she referred to it as a “wilderness experience”
• frustrated because her marriage was not working,
struggling with a pervasive unhappiness, unable to connect with God
◦ she referred to herself as in a “spiritual wilderness”
• for a time, that was her, “day of the LORD”
– it isn’t always about judgment
• sometimes it is simply about God waking us up and turning us around
◦ the day of the LORD is a corrective so that we do not suffer something worse
• we may have our own day of the Lord
◦ when it feels like we’re falling apart or losing everything
◦ we need to receive those times as a warning and a call to run to God

Joel gives a new provides to the coming invasion
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain.
Let all the land’s dwellers shake,
for the day of the LORD comes, yes, nears.
A day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and dense fog.
Like dawn spread out on the mountains—
a vast and numerous people.
Its like has never been
and after it will be none like it
through years of generations without end Joel 2:1-4

Some scholars think Joel has moved from locusts a foreign army invasion
– but I’m convinced he is still describing a locust swarm
• we’ll see in verse 25 he is still referring to the locusts
• only he’s looking at the infestation through a different lens
◦ how does a person describe a disaster of this magnitude?
◦ one perspective hardly captures the effect it has on Joel
– Joel uses the gifts God has given him for “prophetic poetry”
• one of the purposes of poetry is to help us feel
◦ I mentioned last week the prophets use of hyperbole
◦ Joel does that here as he paints pictures using words

Robert Alter adds something to his translation
(It’s the word “like”)
Before it fire consumes
and behind it a flame burns hot.
Like the Garden of Eden was the land before it,
and behind it desolate desert,
nor does anything escape it.
Like the look of horses is its look,
like horsemen so they race.
Like the sound of chariots
on the mountaintops they bound.
Like the sound of fiery flame
consuming straw,
like a vast troop
arrayed for battle.
Before it peoples tremble,
all faces lose their luster.
Like warriors they race,
like men of war they scale the walls.
Each goes ahead on his way
and they do not bend their paths,
and each does not press against his fellow,
every man goes on his road,
and through the outer wall they pounce,
they do not suffer wounds.
In the town they raise a clamor,
they race upon the walls,
they go up in the houses,
through the windows they come like a thief Joel 2:3-9

He repeatedly begins several verses with the word “Like”
– he is not translating a Hebrew word–so why add it?
• each verse is a metaphor, but there’s a risk we won’t see it as metaphor,
but interpret the poetry literally
◦ metaphors and similes are figures of speech that do the same thing
▫ they describe something with an unrelated visual image
◦ the difference between metaphors and similes is that the later tell us that’s what they’re doing
(typically using either “like” or “as”)
• so Joel is describing this invasion and its destruction using word pictures
telling us what the devastation is “like”–e.g., a fire, vast troop, warriors
– the onward march of the locusts looks like horses, sounds like chariots or a crackling fire, marches like a regiment of soldiers
• in verse 6 Joel reveals the effect such an invasion has on victims
Before it peoples tremble,
all faces lose their luster.

I hate to do this to you, because this isn’t a classroom
– but there’s one more grammatical element in Joel’s writing: “anthropomorphism”
• describing something that is not human, but using human attributes and characteristics
• Joel anthropomorphizes the locust infestation
– in verses 7-9 we see how cities and homes are defenseless against these invaders

All of this devastation reaches a crescendo in verses 10-11
Before it the earth shudders,
the heavens shake,
sun and moon go dark
and stars their radiance withdraw.
And the LORD sends forth His voice
before His force,
for very great is His camp,
for vast are those who do His command.
For great is the day of the LORD,
and who can endure it?

I am going to try to be careful in what I say next
– it is a characteristic of the Old Testament to attribute every event to God
• I don’t believe that their thinking was unsophisticated,
• because many people still do the same thing today
◦ a death or other tragedy occurs and people ask, “Why did God let this happen?”
• in fact, this is the most difficulty philosophical challenge to Christianity
◦ God “could” prevent tragedies
– that God rarely intervenes doesn’t make him responsible for the tragedy
• we do a lot of terrible things to ourselves and each other
• and the universe functions according to natural laws
◦ there are many events that on the surface appear random
No one “willed” it – it wasn’t planned or intentional. God didn’t make it happen and neither did he prevent it.
▫ but what we can count on God to do is comes to us in our grief
▫ he consoles, comforts, and promises hope for the future

Joel concludes this stanza of his poem with a statement and question
“For great is the day of the LORD,
and who can endure it?”
– that is the question – and our answer makes or breaks us

To escape destruction, the people needed to find shelter
And now, too, said the LORD,
turn back to Me with all your heart,
in fasting and weeping and mourning,
and rend your heart, not your garments,
and turn back to the LORD your God,
for He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness
and relenting over evil.
Who knows? He may once more relent
and leave blessing after Him,
grain offering and libation to the LORD your God Joel 2:12-14

That is what God offers them through Joel’s message
– I came to this passage on Friday, and I’ll share part of my med.
Me: “God is constantly and forever calling me back to himself. I do not have to return to any place or moment in my life, but to the One who has always loved me and cared for me. Sadly, if I must turn ‘back’ to the Lord, that means I have turned away from him. In panic or anxiety, I looked elsewhere for help. Fortunately, I haven’t turned completely around, but enough to have veered off course. I am grateful now that God has turned me around this morning.”
• we want to notice that God reminds them of his self-revelation
◦ Moses begged for a huge favor – that God would reveal himself
◦ God’s answer was to cover Moses’ eyes, pass by him, proclaim his name, and announce his character:
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but will by no means clear the guilty . . . .(Ex. 34:5-7)

Conclusion: Joel leaves us with a question – “Who knows?”
Who knows? He may once more relent
and leave blessing after Him . . . .

In story of Jonah, the king of Nineveh asked this same question,
“Who knows? God may turn and relent . . . so we may not perish” (3:9)
We really do not know exactly what God will do for us
We don’t know what he is willing to do or wants to do
But we can take comfort in what he told his prophet Jeremiah,
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. . . . You will seek me and find me, when you seek for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13)

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
This world is not
Always
As we wish
Still
On hard days
We thank you
When trouble comes
We thank you
When disappointments mount
We thank you
When sorrow visits
We thank you

We thank you
Not because our world is so perfect
Not because you have checked off
Our every want and aspiration
But because you meet us
In the world as it is
Loving us
Caring for us
Transforming us
Into whole people
At peace
Able to love well
In the world
As it really is
For this we thank you
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Intro: Friday our nation observed the tragedies of “9/11″ and those we lost

Many of us remember the very moment when we first heart of it
– for several hours we could hardly breathe
• we watched endless reruns of two airliners, smashing into the iconic “Twin Towers” in New York City
◦ we didn’t want to see it, but we couldn’t look away
◦ we could not avoid the reality of it
• and each time we looked, we felt helpless, outrage, and extreme sadness
– every disaster of that magnitude, wounds a country’s soul
• we don’t just walk away and return to our usual routine
◦ it creates a fog of confusion that we feel we must sort out
◦ it stirs up insecurities that leave us groping for answers
• for sometime after, we remain alert, sensitive, aware
◦ for awhile, we’re ready to listen; we’re paying attention and eager to learn

This is the right time for us to approach the prophecies of Joel

Israel was experiencing a catastrophic trauma
– it was not localized, but spread across the entire nation
• at times in this first chapter, Joel sounds like a newscaster;
◦ reporting the wide range of destruction
◦ the food source of the entire country was running out
• Joel, however, was not merely delivering a report;
◦ he was delivering “The word of the LORD”

Joel is not overdoing the drama of the situation
The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
² Hear this, you elders;
    give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
    or in the days of your fathers?
³ Tell your children of it,
    and let your children tell their children,
    and their children to another generation.
⁴ What the cutting locust left,
    the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
    the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
    the destroying locust has eaten Joel 1:1-4

Joel wants his message to reach everyone:
– beginning with leaders then extending to all the native residents
• looking back, can they recall anything like this in their ancestors’ past?
• then, looking to the future, the crisis is so huge, the story of it will be told for generations to come
– after the build up, we learn the nature of the calamity: locusts
• locust invasions have always threatened that part of world
◦ from north eastern Africa extending to Saudi Arabia
◦ even in present time, nations in that area receive alerts and defend themselves against them
• there are dozens of locust species
◦ Joel identified only four – and they arrived one after another
◦ he paints a vivid picture of their swarms in chapter 2, where we read:
“Like the Garden of Eden was the land before it,
and behind it desolate desert,
nor does anything escape it” (v. 3, R. Alter’s translation)

To this point, and through the chapter,
– Joel doesn’t say anything about this invasion being a punishment
• so far it seems to be a natural disaster
• nevertheless, it has, or should have, a specific effect (as we’ll see)
– I don’t want to be someone who always jumps to judgment, thinking a person’s tragedy is punishment
• in Luke 13, someone mentioned to Jesus a tragic event
◦ Jesus’ response was something like:
“Do you assume they must have been terrible sinners to die like that?”
“Do your think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:1-5)
◦ “likewise” – that is, die unexpectedly without having taking the opportunity to repent
(i.e., change their lives by dedicating themselves to God and the teaching and person of Jesus)
• sometimes we may want to think a fatality is “judgment”
◦ but I think that’s an explanation scenario we invent,
◦ so we can tell ourselves, “That isn’t going to happen to me”

Joel begins to give initial counsel regarding an appropriate initial response
Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
    and wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine,
    for it is cut off from your mouth.
⁶ For a nation has come up against my land,
    powerful and beyond number;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
    and it has the fangs of a lioness.
⁷ It has laid waste my vine
    and splintered my fig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
    their branches are made white.
⁸ Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
    for the bridegroom of her youth Joel 1:5-8

“drunkards” is a strong term in English; it could more literally be translated “drinkers of wine”
– wine connoisseurs for whom it was a pleasurable pastime
• I’m going to go off topic for a moment

In the nineteenth and first half of twentieth centuries,
– alcoholics were a favorite target of fundamentalist preachers
• if you wanted to see what sin could do to a person’s life,
◦ just look at that “drunkard” lying in the gutter
◦ so if people leaving church spotted an alcoholic,
▫ they’d shake their heads and perhaps rebuke that person
• it’s not surprising that many alcoholics responded in kind
“You hate me, so I’m going to hate you right back”
◦ we successfully alienated them
◦ and not surprisingly, they wanted nothing to do with God
– eventually, it took former alcoholics to bring God to other alcoholics
• but we’ve done this with the “sins” of other people as well
◦ people whose sins are not the same as ours
◦ many preachers have their set lists of sinners
• I don’t believe we’re doing what God has called us to do,
◦ if we’re building barricades rather than bridges

Now, back to Joel’s concern
– our culture provides us with all sorts of intoxicants
• we can numb our minds with TV, social media, novels
• I think it’s normal to cherish our down time
◦ we need to give our bodies and brains some rest
◦ but when being oblivious becomes a way of life, we are in trouble
– I believe Joel is trying to stir up his readers to pay attention
• they were passing through a catastrophic event and they needed to hear from God

Joel uses the classic flourish of Old Testament writers, and especially prophets
– their poetry is picturesque, at times embellished with strong phrases
• they use lots of metaphors and hyperbole frequently
◦ it can take some time to get used to their non-literal style
◦ but even then, what their underlying message was meant to be taken literally
• so locusts do not have teeth like a lion
◦ but when you look at the barren landscape they leave, you would think they did
– in verse 8, Joel illustrates an expression of grief and despair
• it brings home how desperate everyone would feel
Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
    for the bridegroom of her youth

Joel has a few words for the priests (and farmers)
⁹ The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
    from the house of the Lord.
The priests mourn,
    the ministers of the Lord.
¹⁰ The fields are destroyed,
    the ground mourns,
because the grain is destroyed,
    the wine dries up,
    the oil languishes.
¹¹ Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
    wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
    because the harvest of the field has perished.
¹² The vine dries up;
    the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
    all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up
    from the children of man.
¹³ Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
    wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
    O ministers of my God!
Because grain offering and drink offering
    are withheld from the house of your God.
¹⁴ Consecrate a fast;
    call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
    and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out to the Lord Joel 1:9-14

Worship in Israel had been effectively terminated
– there was nothing to bring to the temple as an offering
• no animal sacrifices and no grain offerings
• the landscape is so ravaged that even “the soil mourns” (v. 10)
There’s a word Joel will use five times from here to end of chapter
– Yaw-bashe – “dried up” – it includes:
• new wine, the vine, new grain, and channels of water
◦ but here in v. 12, Joel says,
“for joy has dried up
for the sons of man”
• this is the coup de grace
◦ loss of everything has squeezed the last ounce of joy from them
◦ the time had come for a serious response: “Pronounce a fast”
▫ again, like at the beginning, the call is sent out to the leaders and all residents

This is Joel’s lament, his song of grief
¹⁵ Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
    and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
¹⁶ Is not the food cut off
    before our eyes,
joy and gladness
    from the house of our God?
¹⁷ The seed shrivels under the clods;
    the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
    because the grain has dried up.
¹⁸ How the beasts groan!
    The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
    even the flocks of sheep suffer.
¹⁹ To you, O Lord, I call.
For fire has devoured
    the pastures of the wilderness,
and flame has burned
    all the trees of the field.
²⁰ Even the beasts of the field pant for you
    because the water brooks are dried up,
and fire has devoured
    the pastures of the wilderness Joel 1:15-20

He sings about shortages, emptiness, and even livestock groan

In verses 19-20, he sings his prayer
– he calls on God, but does not make a specific request
• instead, he describes the desperate landscape,
◦ where everything “yearns” for God
• this is his recognition that God is their only hope
◦ but he is not so bold as to tell God how to fix the situation

Conclusion: To this point, Joel has not indicated this invasion was a punishment

Other than the plagues God brought on Egypt,
I don’t think God sends locusts to impoverish or starve people
But I do believe that he will use the natural disasters that occur to get our attention

God is always speaking to us
and much of the time, we are not listening
We’re usually distracted by other things – trivial things
So when we experience an unavoidable crisis
he takes advantage of the opportunity to get our attention,

“Listening” in troubled times is extremely important
If we try – if we make a real effort to hear and obey –
God makes use of our alertness, our concern,
and our need to “do something!”
I believe that is what Joel is telling us
When our world falls apart – listen to God
Better yet, have a regular practice of checking in and listening every day

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Bring us into your presence
Invite us into your thoughts
Into your work

Help us be willing
Help us be open
Help us to be ready
For the changes that will surely be coming
Turning indifference into love
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Intro: I’m not going to give a Labor Day talk, but that’s where we’ll start

Last year I felt it was important that I read Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations
– Smith is sometimes referred to as the Father of Capitalism
• he explored the principles of economics that caused some systems of flourish and others to flounder
– one concern was the ways that governments interfered with industries and commerce
• but something disturbed me as I read through his detailed research and conclusions
◦ Smith took for granted that there would always be a huge mass of poor people
◦ he saw this as the general pattern of civilizations from ancient history
• there were always masters and slaves, emperors and subjects, kings and paupers

Here are a few quotes I pulled from his work:
Smith, “All for ourselves and nothing for others, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind. . . . As soon, therefore, as they could find a method of consuming the whole value of their rents for themselves, they had no disposition to share then with any other persons.”
– “For one very rich man there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few [assumes] the indigence of the many.”
– When the economy of a nation is static rather than increasing, wages for the workers are barely enough to raise a family or even continue the “race of laborers.” “. . . there is no order that suffers so cruelly from [a nation’s economic decline as the poor].” However, the voices of the poor were rarely heard, except in when there were public demonstrations.
Another quote that is particularly relevant today:
“Our merchants and . . . manufacturers complain much of the bad effects of high wages in raising the price [of goods], and thereby lessening the sale of their goods both at home and abroad. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits. They are silent with regard to the pernicious effects of their own gains. They complain only of those of other people.”
– Smith observed that poor families were severely oppressed by a variety of taxes
• AND a mandatory tithe to the state church!
◦ but he concluded that those he referred to as the “sober and industrious poor”
◦ could manage the financial demands, by spending as little of their wages as possible
• this included being extremely frugal, not wasting even a penny
◦ those who had shoes could wear wooden shoes – leather was too expensive
◦ they could never treat themselves to a fine meal or wine (beer was cheap)
◦ they had to avoid any sort of frivolous purchase and could not miss a day of work
– so basically, even being “sober and industrious,” they would still be poor!
• born into poverty, there was no way out of it.

This was the basic belief and philosophy of the “founding fathers” of our nation

And it was preserved for a hundred years
– but something happened in 1894
• in 1893, our nation suffered an economic depression
◦ the railroad industry had been rapidly expanding
◦ the first east to west railways were completed a few years before
• but the depression caused widespread panic,
◦ and the Pullman Palace Car Company fired workers and reduced the wages who still had work by close to 25 percent
◦ union workers went on strike, affecting transportation, and creating financial crises for some states
– President Grover Cleveland sent troops to break the strikes and protect non-union workers
• this resulted in violent confrontations, property damage, and many deaths
• finally government leaders recognized the abuse the workforce suffered
◦ twelve-hour days, six and seven days a week
◦ in 1894, Labor Day was written into law to give workers a day off once a year

I’m almost certain that all of us would love to help make a better world

But the immediate question is how are we to live in the world as it is?
– Hebrews chapter 11 gives us an overview of thousands of years of history,
• naming specific people, and telling us how they managed life in a difficult and uncertain world
◦ the key words are “By faith”
◦ this is how every person in the chapter is introduced
• “By faith” is the brief biography of each life and why it was viewed as a success
Mariam Kamell asks, “What does . . . chap. 11 bring out with its repetition of ‘by faith’ ? Illustration after illustration verbally hammers home the point that these ‘heroes of the faith’ acted in a certain way as a result of their faith.”
– Able, Enoch, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Moses, and even “Rahab the prostitute” (v. 31)
• the list is introduced with a simple heading explains what faith does for us – or what faith is to us:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”
• in David Hart’s version of the New Testament, he translates the second line:
“the evidence of unseen realities”
◦ for me, these two words are the threshold to another dimension: unseen realities
◦ this is an invitation to spend a moment looking beyond our present world

The kind of faith this passage describes, affects our vision in a new way

Paul was very concerned that believers exercised a kind of spiritual sight
– and it was precisely so we could endure life in this world
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18)
• and in the next chapter he adds:
“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:6-7)
• faith connects us with an unseen universe
◦ this makes us aware of how approachable God is,
◦ everywhere and all the time
– we live in this world, with all its natural wonders, mysteries, and beauty
• as well as its labor, violence, corruption, and death
◦ we travel through all this in prayerful awareness that there’s always something more
• we go through the world as it is – and ourselves as we are
◦ we don’t pretend that everything is good, is right, or perfect
◦ we don’t need it to be perfect
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4)

Our faith-vision illuminates a beauty we may have missed

We find transcendence in the ordinary objects, things of minor importance
– perhaps things forgotten, or ignored, or abandoned
• we’re still normal human beings – we lose our way, become frustrated, get bored
◦ but faith tells us to present our boredom to Jesus
◦ and he sits there with us in it
• perhaps he does something for us – like maybe teaching us to bring curiosity to our boredom
◦ and then our boredom becomes an exercise in creativity
◦ or maybe not, but it doesn’t matter because we’re with Jesus
– the world of “unseen realities” is filled with God
• and that dimension is always here and always now

What kind of faith are we supposed to have?

Is it a faith that demands God to do our will?
– do we insist that God fix everything that’s broken
• or do we trust him with our brokenness?

One time I walked with a young couple through a terrible ordeal
– they had two small children – a girl and a boy
• the husband went to visit their doctor with physical complaints
◦ this eventually led to a diagnosis of cancer
• someone convinced them to attend a church that taught all ills could be healed by faith and prayer
◦ I was still visiting them, and when they talked about their church I nodded and smiled
◦ but I also felt very, very sad
– after awhile the wife became discouraged – she was thinking they needed to prepare for the worst
• but she also felt guilty, because she didn’t want to jinx his healing
◦ I was there to comfort and support
• after the husband died, the wife asked me to officiate his memorial
◦ she also asked the pastor of the faith-healing church to say something
◦ when he took the stage, he boldly proclaimed, “I believe in a God that works miracles!”

I felt like he was saying, “It’s not my fault that this man died. God could have healed him.”
– here’s my question:
If you believe that God will certainly heal everyone you pray to be healed,
then do you also believe that you can control your God and make him work a miracle?
Can you make him bow to your will?
Haven’t you pigeonholed God, boxed him in?
Is that still even the true God, or one you’ve made in your image?
Gustravo Guitierrez wrote, “In self-seeking religion there is no true encounter with God but rather the construction of an idol.”

Conclusion: The faith that can look into another dimension,

does not need life in this world to be perfect
We have a Father
We have a Savior
We have another Comforter
We’re not alone
We’re held in the everlasting arms of God
It is not mere belief that we have,
It is trust
Trust in the One whose voice we strain to hear,
and trust in the words that are spoken to us

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
This world is hard some days
And it takes tenderness to face it.
So we ask for tenderness this morning
For Gentleness
Patience
Kindness
And the affection
We will need
To meet the moments
Of our lives
And the lives of
Others

For surely
There will be
Days to come
That will test us fully
Break us
Drive us to our knees
And cry
So tenderness Lord
Grant us tenderness
Turning away from our
Pride and anger
Fears and resentments
Cynicism and despair
To love others
To even love ourselves
Like you love us
Just as you love us now
This day
This moment
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Isaiah 30:19-21

Intro: The Book of Isaiah begins with God’s frustration over Israel; for instance:

“Children have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me . . . .
Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of evil doers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the LORD,
they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly estranged” (Isa. 1:2-4)

Then in chapter 6, Isaiah tells the story of his call from God to be a prophet
– at first, he continues in the same stream as the opening
• but a little further on, he is given messages of hope
◦ God always provides a way back
◦ his radiant love always breaks through the dark clouds
• by chapter 30, his promises to Israel are fantastic
“For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”
– God promises his people he will always be speaking to them
• they will always hear him nearby, and he will guide them
• as long as they were willing to listen to him, and accept his direction,
◦ he was willing to constantly communicate with them

A couple weeks ago I thought we had spent enough time “Learning to Listen”
– but the more I have focused on listening for God to speak to me,
• the more discoveries I make in how he speaks to me
◦ but it’s more than that – it also has to do with how I pay attention
• at times, he whispers so quietly that I’m not sure he’s spoken
◦ so more than once, I first ignored what I thought I heard
◦ but later, even if I had not paid close attention, his word comes back – & it’s been important
– SO IMPORTANT that we’ll be developing these skills for the rest of our lives
• the more I accept that possibility, the more it excites me

Some of the ways God gets his message to us

You don’t need to write any of this down or remember it;
– just notice if something resonates with you

If you know me, you probably anticipated that I would put the Scriptures at the top of the list
– I wish this was always straight forward – but it isn’t
• if you’ve been a Christian for awhile, 
◦ you’ve memorized Bible verses you never intended to remember
◦ and the interpretation given for those verses is probably wrong
• many believers think they have biblical guarantees about:
◦ the perfect marriage; raising perfect children; becoming financially “blessed”
◦ that is not the way to read and use the Bible
– the Bible is not a road map, it’s not a handbook for life, 
• and it’s not a collection of random sayings you can use whenever you need one
• knowing the Bible for what it is, makes a difference in hearing how God speaks through it

If we’re hoping to hear God speak to us personally through the Scriptures,
– then I believe it’s important to be still for a moment before reading
• to have the state of mind that is ready to listen and hear well,
◦ I quiet my thoughts and bring my awareness to God present w/me in the here and now
– a personal story: Depression has never completely left me alone
• it’s usually the worst in the morning – not every morning, but frequently
◦ a couple weeks ago, after reading in Jeremiah, I wrote:
ME: “Poor sleep last night; discomfort and unrest. I did not want to read this morning. Cold heart, distant from God. I’ve been living in a collapsed future, not being able to imagine life after the end of this year. . . . Then God spoke to me through the prophet Jeremiah. God knows me, forgives me, accepts me, and has plans for me. I read it. I heard it. I felt it. 
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes . . . .”  (Jer. 29:11-14)
As Jeremiah says a couple of chapters later,
‘Then I knew that it was the word of the LORD.’” 

God speaks through the natural world
– it helps when we go into nature with the specific intention to listen
• it can happen during an activity–jogging, rock-climbing, surfing–,
◦ but it’s not the same as when our primary purpose for being there is to connect and listen

God speaks through other people
– not necessarily when someone is trying to speak on God’s behalf
• some people think they’re doing us a favor by being “preachy” or lecturing us
• but what I find is that when I’m having a casual conversation with a friend,
◦ something is said, and I hear God’s voice through it
◦ it wasn’t anything we tried to make happen, but there it was
– it may be an insight, a reminder, an answer to a question,
• or simply a short burst of inspiration

God speaks through the testimonies of other people
– this is especially true if I can relate to their story
• they describe a hardship like mine, and explain how God assisted them
– I hear this, and then realize, “I can trust God to do something like this for me”

God speaks through books
– I’m not going to suggest any, because I know he’s spoken through every genre
(novel, poetry, philosophy, neural anatomy! 
• I knew a lovely Christian woman, and God consistently spoke to her through movies
• I have to admit, I’ve received a couple of uncanny messages through movies
◦ one in particular when God revealed to me,
that I was right where he wanted me, doing what he wanted me to be doing

Conclusion: There’s no place, time, or activity where God cannot reach us

Sometimes he wakes us up or grabs our attention so we don’t miss it
– but I feel it is important – and I want to say “necessary” for us to develop our listening skills
• and to respond as soon as it’s clear that he has spoken
• I think that’s the best way to guarantee he will continue to speak,
◦ and our ability to hear him will improve

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
We thank you for a group
Of people
A little community
Of healing
Of hope
Of second chances
And trying again
And then again

We thank you
For the chance
To rebuild
To reframe
To reconsider
To calm down
To break free from shame
And self loathing
And to see ourselves
And those around us
In new ways
With your eyes
In love and generosity

We thank you for
Hearing your word fresh
Making it real
Giving it hands and feet
A heartbeat
Embodying it
with family and friends
Serving as we have been served

We thank you
That we have learned
To meet you
Spirit to spirt
Face to face
With open hearts
Open minds
Open hands
Eager to know you
And each other
And also
Eager to be known
By you
And each other
How hopeful this is
How healing
Thank you for the joy this brings
The hope
The peace
Amen

Morning Talk: Special Guest, Matt Wrock

This morning’s talk ran parallel to beautiful photos Matt has taken while swimming in the ocean of the last couple of years. His full presentation will be posted on Facebook for the next couple of months.

Our page there is: Reflexion, A Spiritual Community.

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Thank you for the gifts you bring
Well considered
Just in time

Sometimes we have only a little understanding of the changes that will be required when we pray
Sometimes these changes take a lifetime of care and grace and faithfulness
Sometime we resist the growth needed in us hoping instead all the change will be made elsewhere
Sometimes it feels like the change will never come, that your grace is insufficient

Still,
our hope
All we can muster
Is in you
And in time
Over time
You give us the grace
We need
Over and over
Quietly
Tenderly
Patiently
Repeatedly
Until we can
Incorporate it
In our lives
Allowing
it to transform us
Into the answer
Of the prayer
we prayed
So long ago.
Thank you for this
Thank you
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

For your name’s sake, O Lord,
    pardon my guilt, for it is great.
Who is the man who fears the Lord?
    Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
His soul shall abide in well-being,
    and his offspring shall inherit the land.
The friendship^[b] of the Lord is for those who fear him,
    and he makes known to them his covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
    for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you.

Redeem Israel, O God,
    out of all his troubles Psalm 25

Intro: This psalm does not track a central theme

What I mean, is that we cannot say, “This is a psalm of praise,”
– or “Psalm of confession,” or “thanksgiving psalm,” or “supplication psalm”
• this doesn’t mean the structure of the poem is random,
◦ only that it doesn’t tell a story or develop a specific point
• nevertheless, there is a pattern to the psalm,
◦ but we don’t find it arranged in an obvious pattern
– the first Hebrew letter in the first word of the first verse is alef
(like ‘A’ is the first letter of our alphabet)
• the first letter in the first word of the second verse is bet
(like ‘B’ is the second letter of our alphabet)
◦ alef and bet are the first two letters in the Hebrew alphabet
◦ that’s what the poet used for the outline of the entire psalm
• it’s like the nursery rhyme, “A is for apple; B is for ball . . . .”
◦ except that two letters from the Hebrew alphabet are missing

There are several psalms that use this acrostic device
– Psalm 119 is the most radical example, supplying eight verses (each beginning with the same letter) for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet

Psalm 25 jumps from one topic to another
– including requests, examples of God’s ways, confession of sin, and God’s mercy and faithfulness (chesed and emeth)
• still, we can sense a mood or feeling running through the
• what I sense in this psalm is devotion, even affection
◦ within the conversational tone, there is a feeling of intimacy
– my guess is that the translators also noticed the poem’s intimate nature
• which may be why they translated the Hebrew word sôd as “Friendship,”
◦ although sôd doesn’t mean friendship
• but if it’s true that intimacy is the mood of the psalm, then verse 14 is the key verse

To hear God speak implies nearness, closeness, intimacy

As I said the literal meaning of sôd is not friendship
– sôd is sometimes translated “council” – like a “city council”
• it can refer to a specific group in conference or a “closed meeting”
• it is also used of private conversations or secret plots
◦ sometimes it refers to God’s divine council; that is, the sphere in which his agents receive his orders
◦ Jeremiah provides a good representation of God’s council:
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with fain hopes. They speak vision s of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. . . .
For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?”
Then Jeremiah quotes God:
“I did not send the prophets
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from the evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds” (Jer. 23:16-22)

Now we can return to our verse in the Psalms:
“The council [or “private conversations” or “personal communication”] of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant” (v. 14)
• for “fear,” read “reverence”–a strongly felt respect or regard for God and all things sacred
• God communicates with these people
◦ he reveals his covenant relationship, commitment, and love to them
◦ Malachi describes the community of God’s followers in his day like this:
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. ‘They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him’” (Mal. 3:16-18)

How do we measure the value of a conversation?

Did you ever end a phone call and think, “Well, I just wasted fifteen minutes of my life”?
– suppose we use a scale from one to ten to grade our conversations:
1 is annoying and 10 is enjoyable
1 is unnecessary and 10 is crucial
1 is useless and 10 is worthwhile
1 is shallow or superficial and 10 is deep or meaningful
1 is nothing was learned or gained and 10 is much was learned and gained
1 is, “I had to” and 10 is, “I wanted to”
– I’ve had many calls the past two months from doctor’s offices and labs
• and I had as many calls that were spam or scam
• although some of those calls were important,
◦ they weren’t my favorite phone conversations

My most meaningful conversations are relational
– depending on the content of these talks,
• they are my favorite or my most unpleasant
– when we turn toward our conversations with God,
• some can be tough but all are blessed
◦ and even the tough ones work for our good
• I am re-reading a book by Gustavo Gutierrez, On Job
◦ it is the most profound, most insightful commentary on Job I’ve ever read
◦ at the end of Job’s confrontation with God,
▫ he is exhilarated, thrilled, rejoicing, but also exhausted
Guteirrez, “Yet the meeting has been a costly one. God had said at the end of the second speech, ‘Who will resist me and go away unscathed?’ Job has learned the truth of these words, for he goes away limping from this confrontation with God, as Jacob did after his struggle with the angel. Limping, but content, for he has seen his Lord, and the revelation given to him has opened up a new world to him.”

Our most meaningful conversations are relational
– and the conversations that are most likely to be life-changing
are those we have with God

Intimacy is established and deepened through communication

Learning the other’s communication style enhances what we receive and share
– would it be possible for anyone to know you better than God?
• on a scale from 1 to 10, what he has to tell us hits 10 in every category
• so we listen
◦ as we read the Scriptures
◦ as we sit in contemplative silence
◦ as we take quiet walks in nature
– in all of our life with God, we’re learning to become good listeners

I’m going to read something from John’s gospel
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth . . . . If anyone loves me, [they] will keep my word, and my Father will love [them], and we will come to [them] and make our home with [them]. . . . These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jn. 14:15-6, 21, 25-26

Conclusion: Years ago, I went with a team to Costa Rica

We were asked to be present at a conference for missionaries
– mostly to encourage and support them
• I was using as many Spanish phrases I could remember from high school
• one of the young women on our team had lived in Chile for a few years
◦ when she heard me fumbling through a short sentence, she laughed
She said, “You remind me of myself when I first arrived in Chile. My Chilean friends would hear my Spanish and tease me, saying, ‘You talk like a baby.’”

Prayer will always be like a new language for us
We’ll struggle to say everything that is on our hearts
We will struggle even more to hear everything God says to us
But that’s okay
It’s okay for us to take baby steps
Eventually we get better at it

For now, know this;
that when you’re not merely launching words into the sky,
when you’re not praying like you think you’re supposed to
(for instance, quoting a bunch of Bible verses to God!),
when you’re speaking your heart, your soul, your mind,
God knows exactly what you’re trying to say,
and he takes pleasure in you
He records your name in his “book of remembrance”
and holds you close

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
It seems hard to feel steady
Rooted
Settled
Some days
Maybe, we feel
The ambiguity
The upheaval
The topsy turvy
Dislocation of this world
As powers
And principalities
And self-absorbed people
Seek more
Control
More wealth
Willing to tear down
Anything and everything
In their quest
To rule the world

But the world has always been so
Even if today’s
Ways and means
Differ
So we turn our hearts to you
We turn our daily living
To you
Our hope
Our Rock
Our steady loving presence
Knowing all others
Who expect allegiance
Are ephemeral
All others are illusions
All others are mistaken

So Lord
Your kingdom come
Here
Among us
Through us
In this moment
In this day
Your kingdom come
That is our hope
Our desire
Our prayer
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:1-8

Intro: The last two weeks I’ve been encouraging you to listen for God’s voice

Now, today, using this spectacular episode of Isaiah’s life is neither practical nor fair
– he was chosen by God to be a prophet,
• and the prophet’s calling is in most instances very dramatic
◦ e.g., Moses and the mysterious flames; Ezekiel’s fantastic vision, impossible to imagine
• so if there’s a legitimate reason for us to consider Isaiah’s experience,
◦ it’s because in his vision he saw and heard God speak to him
◦ that is what defines the prophet
– even if we never have a dramatic or spectacular encounter like Isaiah,
• we can draw lessons from what he describes, because we want to hear God’s voice
◦ and Isaiah’s experience may help us navigate our own less dramatic experiences
• let’s see what we can find in this story that will be useful to us

We do not control the when or where God speaks to us
“In the year that King Uzziah died”

This would be more significant for Isaiah’s readers than for us
– we can learn about King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles – a unique and interesting royal history
• although many of Isaiah’s messages were political and delivered to kings,
◦ in this instance, in this instance God is not addressing politics
◦ the reason Isaiah mentions Uzziah is to locate his story in a specific time
▫ this is when he received his calling to be a prophet – and how it happened
• the “word of the LORD” this time concerned Israel’s broken spiritual condition
◦ Isaiah receives a commission to bring people to awareness of God and return to his ways
◦ specific time recurs as a theme once Isaiah receives his orders
“Then I said, ‘How long, O Lord?’
And he said:
‘Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
and the LORD removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land’” (vv. 11-12)
– right away, Isaiah is requesting more insight
• God trained his prophets to discern the visions and revelations he gave them
◦ this was part of Jeremiah’s preparation or qualification for prophetic ministry when starting out:
“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see an almond branch.’ Then the LORD said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it’” (Jer. 1:11-12)
◦ God also tested Ezekiel’s sight and discernment
after showing him dried bones strewed across a valley, he asked,
“‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.’” (Eze. 37:3)

One way that God speaks to his children is visually
“I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne” (v. 1)

What Isaiah describes next is a vivid scene of God’s court and heavenly attendants
– there are a couple of verses in the Book of Acts that I find intriguing
“. . . Peter went up on the housetop about [noon] to pray. . . . he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened . . . .” (Acts 10:9-10)
Paul, in the temple, “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him [Jesus] saying to me, ‘Make haste and get our of Jerusalem quickly . . . .’” (Acts 22:17-18)
• there are multiple instances in Acts of people seeing and being guided by visions,
◦ but these are the only two instances where the word “trance” is used
◦ it has specific reference to something that unfolds within their minds
• an “altered state of consciousness,” uniquely the work of God’s hand
– they did not put themselves into this state
• wasn’t intentional or something they tried to do – nor did it involve any manipulation
◦ Peter had been praying and Paul was in the middle of a prayer
• few Christians have discovered the depths to which God’s Spirit can take us in prayer
◦ and what he is willing to show us

Isaiah experiences a typically human response to his vision
“And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips’” (v. 5)

The first time Peter observed Jesus work a miracle, his immediate reaction was to say,
“‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished . . . .” (Lk. 5:8)
– sometimes we do not trust our experience – and it is always okay to test it
• some people are frightened by God’s nearness and speech
(Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai) “. . . the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die’” (Ex. 20:18-19)
• like Isaiah, Peter, and all the rest, we are not worthy of hearing from God
◦ but God qualifies us for whatever he wants to give us
– our fear serves a purpose – it humbles us by bringing our weaknesses and hidden sins to the surface
• like Isaiah and Peter, our tendency is to start backing away
• but what God’s speech does this serves another purpose that carries us forward

God intervenes in order to qualify us to receive what he has to tell us
“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for’” (v. 6)

Whenever Paul looked back over his life, he drew the same conclusion:
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:15-16)
– in the same place he confesses,
“. . . formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent [of Jesus]” (1 Tim. 1:13)
• also, he informed the Corinthians,
“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am . . . .” (1 Cor. 15:9-10)
– we can give God lots of reasons why he should not speak to us
• but his answer to every one of them is, “I can fix that”
• like Isaiah, God may use the refiner’s fire to purify us,
◦ in whatever way we need the Lord to do it, he will qualify us to receive what he has to give

We saw that God’s message is sometimes visual, other times it is audible
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” (v. 8)

I believe this is the most common way that people hear from God
– and I would add, that many times it happens when reading the Bible
• this may be a good time to remind ourselves,
◦ whenever and however we get the impression God has spoken to us,
◦ we need to exercise discernment to make as certain as possible it is God’s voice we hear
• I can think of three ways simple ways to exercise discernment:
◦ rationally: we can use logic and, if it involves the Scriptures, study aids
◦ spiritually: we may have a strong impression one way or the other
◦ wise counsel: a gifted Bible teacher, or spiritual director, or mentor

However and whenever God speaks to us, we need to respond as best we can
“Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me’” (v. 8)

I think the one person in all the Scriptures who fumbled his response the most was Moses
– he kept trying to convince the Lord that he had the wrong guy
• of course, God doesn’t speak to us only to send us on a mission
◦ sometimes his intention is to affirm his love for us
◦ frequently, he comforts us, encourages us, relieves our stress and anxiety
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Ro. 8:16)

There are two parts to Isaiah’s response:
– “Here I am” – with this statement, Isaiah presented himself to God
• okay, I say this over and over, but this is a key to becoming aware of God’s presence
We focus close attention to our environment–here
We focus close attention on the present moment–now
– “Send me” – the second part
• if God has a specific task for us to do, we make ourselves available
• I can be lazy when it comes to certain “chores,”
◦ but when I sense God wants me to reach out to someone, I do it
◦ and many of those times, the person I contact expresses gratitude or acknowledges God’s perfect timing

I’ve been trying to share what I’ve learned about hearing the voice of God’s Spirit

But the actual experience is more mystery than a program or accomplishment
– if you sometimes feel like you’re right on the threshold,
• then what I would encourage you to do is let go of trying
◦ do not try to think your way to the next step
◦ surrender yourself to God in the moment
• the actual experience of the Spirit is something that is “caught” rather than “taught”

Conclusion: I’m going to ask you to consider taking time to listen to God this week

To find a quiet time and place
Relax your body
Turn you attention to the invisible presence of God’s Spirit
Don’t expect anything specific
Don’t try to make something happen
Simply breathe and experience your breath
— inhale “here”
— exhale “now”
Know that God is near – and he takes you as you are

The Spirit of God knows how speak to us
What we must do, is learn how to listen

Podcast

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 1 Kings 19:9-16

Intro: About six years before my dad died,

For some reason, that I don’t remember,
– I got the idea that it was really important for him to tell his life’s story
• there were already a lot of fictional stories regarding his life,
◦ and how he came to be the founder of a new church movement
• I suppose, that as his son, it was important to me,
◦ that people learned how God worked in his life to make him the man he was
– however, I knew that though dad was a gifted storyteller,
• he was not a writer, and would never find the time to produce an autobiography
◦ so I volunteered to be his ghost-writer, and he agreed
• I’m telling you this, because there’s something in his book I’m going to read

Dad explained that from his earliest memories,
– my grandmother constantly poured the Bible into his young mind
• in fact, she used the Bible to teach him to read before he entered kindergarten
• so in the first chapter of his story, Dad says,
“Every night Mom read from the Bible for our bedtime stories. Those biblical characters became my heroes. More than heroes, they were friends—people I knew and among whom I lived. I fought the Philistines with Samson and trudged through the wilderness with Moses. But most of all I ran with David.”
– because my dad’s life had been profoundly influenced by the Scriptures,
• my childhood was also saturated with the Bible
◦ in fact, when Grandma babysat us at night, she read the same stories to us
• over time, Elijah became one of my favorite characters
◦ later on, as a pastor and Bible teacher, he also became a fascination,
◦ because, of all the prophets, he was the most supernaturally gifted
(his and Elisha’s giftedness included miraculous wonders that resemble the ministry of Jesus than any of the other prophets)

The story of the Jesus Movement has become a fixture in the history of revivals in the U.S.

But one important factor that has been overlooked,
– and that’s because it doesn’t fit the tight form of rational explanations regarding historical events
• the hippie subculture was greatly influenced by what can go under the heading of “mind expansion”
◦ i.e., the exploration of alternate realities than our scientific, materialistic western worldview
◦ this included the experimental use of mind-altering drugs and eastern religions
• the people who were instrumental in the Jesus were mostly Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians
◦ their worldview included a supernatural realm already a present reality
◦ there were no doubts about the possibility of spiritual giftedness, insights, miracles, and so on
– I was raised with both the typical western worldview and a Pentecostal, biblical worldview
• but the openness of a spiritual consciousness got me wondering about biblical characters
◦ for instance, Elijah and Elisha, who enjoyed direct contact with God and an awareness beyond normal consciousness
◦ e.g., they had knowledge of events going on in distant places at the time they were happening
• this raised a question for me: was the ability to hear from God directly
◦ always a miraculous event, uncaused and unexplainable rationally?
◦ or, is there a natural ability in the human brain or nervous system that can open to another realm?
▫ if so, does it operate according to a “use it or lose it” principle?
(if we have it early in life, can it atrophy by an overwhelming immersion in a naturalistic worldview?)
▫ Elijah’s story was at the heart of my specific interest
– others were asking these same questions – even scientific studies using brain-wave mapping
• some of the research findings were published in Robert Ornstein’s , The Nature of Human Consciousness
◦ which I discovered and read in the late 1070’s
• I wish I could sat there are neat, solid answers to the questions I had at that time
◦ but there are not, and regardless of whatever else we learn about direct contact with a high realm,
◦ it will always require a bold faith to venture into it

Even still, there is much we can learn about hearing God from Elijah’s story

Elijah was fleeing for his life after being threatened by Queen Jezebel
– he had traveled many miles, finally reaching the desert of Sinai
• he collapsed under a tree (shaped like an umbrella), and begged God to end his life
◦ but God sent an angel to feed and refresh him
◦ the angel also directed him to Mount Horeb, where Elijah found refuge in a cave
• in the Old Testament, “the word of the LORD” is a technical phrase – most often used regarding the prophets
◦ the word of the LORD came to Elijah when his story begins (1 Ki. 17:2)
◦ but now, at Mount Horeb, it comes as a question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
• that is, what is your intention here? or expectation? or purpose?
– Elijah’s answer makes him sound like a grumpy child
• God doesn’t immediately respond specifically to his answer
• instead, he tells Elijah to go look outside the cave
◦ doing so, he witnesses three impressive forces of nature

My first observation regarding improving our ability to hear God

What Elijah witnessed was first a wind so violent that like a tornado it tossed and smashed rocks
“but the LORD was not in the wind”
– that was not where Elijah was going to meet God or hear his voice
• next an earthquake, and then a firestorm, but the same thing, “the LORD was not in” either one
• any of these three phenomena would certainly get our attention
– if we imagine that hearing from God must be so forceful we could not miss it, we’re mistaken
(God’s word did not come to him through a powerful, natural force)
• if we think that God speaking to us will be something big, we may never hear him
◦ my friend, Fr. Romuald, once told me, “We have a saying, ‘Beware of the big!’”
◦ we’re likely to misuse it, or think we’re special, or use it to manipulate people, or to club them
• Jeremiah tells a short story that reveals something important about hearing from God

He begins, “The word of the LORD came to me,” and then tells a story about how God told him his cousin would would visit him with a request to use his right as the “kinsman redeemer” to purchase a property that was going to become available. Soon after receiving this word, Jeremiah’s cousin arrived and did exactly what Jeremiah had been told he would do. Immediately Jeremiah says, “Then I knew it was the word of the LORD.”

◦ we would never have guessed that a prophet needed a confirmation like this|
◦ the word of the LORD always seems to be so certain to them
– in this context, I’m going to say something that may sound odd and you may never have to deal with it,
• but don’t ever trust a prophetic voice merely because it speaks in King James English

God’s actual voice on this occasion was nothing more than “the sound of a low whisper”
(also translated: “the sound of a gentle blowing” and “a sound of a minute whisper”)

The sentence consists of three Hebrew words that could be translated “voice,” “gentle,” and “whisper”
– the obvious lesson, is even we hear God speak to us, we must use discernment
• but another important lesson is, if we’re going to hear God speak to us,
◦ we have to develop a sensitivity of hearing
◦ sometimes we will have to turn everything else off – shut out every other noise
– a key to tuning our brains to hear what God wants to tell us is focused attention
• exercising awareness in the moment – the here and now
◦ even if we can only quiet our minds and rest in awareness for a few seconds

There are other lessons in this story that may help us discern God’s voice

Elijah’s environment was far from comfortable
– it was desolate and foreign
• but rather than being a problem or difficulty, it eliminated many distractions

Sometimes fasting can be helpful
– a verse I quoted last week referred to a time when the Spirit spoke to spiritual leaders in Antioch
• but I didn’t quote the entire verse – what I left out was,
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said . . .” (Acts 13:2)
◦ food can be a distraction
◦ but so can an empty stomach
• Elijah had not been fasting, but eating provisions God had given him
◦ gorging ourselves or filling our stomachs with junk food could probably interfere with hearing him
◦ a decent and moderate diet might be ideal in most instances

The environment where we go to listen is not unimportant
– Elijah was on the same mountain where Moses met with God and received his covenant law
• Jacob first met God at Bethel, and years later God told him to return there
• but a holy space can also be desecrated, or secularized, or abandoned by God
◦ and there are some places that will drown out any “sound of a low whisper”
– nature usually offers us the richest inspiration – but so can a piece of art
• and I will add the possibility of a specific type of music
◦ for instance, see the story regarding Elisha in 2 Kings 3:15-16
“‘But now bring me a musician.’ And when the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, ‘Thus says the LORD . . . .’”

Intentionally opening our heart, mind, and body to God
– this may include classic biblical expressions such as:
• “seeking the Lord,” “waiting on or for the Lord,” and “watching’–noticing
• or closed eyes, lifting the hands, bowing or lying prostrate

Pay attention to what works for you
– but whatever is useful, make sure that you don’t get stuck in the doorway
• a threshold experience is something you move through
• the whole point is to get to the other side to hear, see, and experience what is there

Conclusion: There is definitely more here that could be useful to improve our listening skills

But we have enough for now
– there is only one more thing I want to point out, because I believe it’s important
God did respond immediately to what Elijah explains to him
Instead, he tells him, “Go” – and assigns him three tasks
Many times, when God speaks to us, a “Go” command will be included
“go, sell all that you have and give to the poor . . . and come, follow me” (Mk. 10:21)
“you go, and do likewise” (Lk. 10:37)”
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . .” (Mt. 28:19)
So whenever the Spirit speaks to us, we need to prepare ourselves to respond

Now I will leave you with this word, from the prophet Isaiah:
“For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when your turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:19-21)

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Sometimes
Often
Nearly always
We have the opportunity
To see your hand
In the moment
And give thanks
Even when that moment
Brings fear
Or hurt
Or sorrow

It is easiest to be
Thankful
In moments of ecstasy
Or quiet satisfaction
Of gentle pleasure
This we know
But there is the
Possibility of more

Grant us the knowing
That in your care
All shall be well
Not just symbolically
Or just superficially
But to know
In our depths
That we can
Greet you
With thanks
At all times
Because your great love
Is making us whole
Making us new
Making us all you ever created us to be
In every moment
By every means
To cure our pain
To repair our broken bits
And fill us with everlasting joy
And for this
We give our
Wholehearted
Unrestrained thanks
Thank you Lord
Amen

Morning Talk: chuck smith, jr.

Warning: My body is broken so I may be a little more open and personal than usual

“And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and wen to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.”‘ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
“And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant hears.’ Then the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.'” 1 Samuel 3:8-11

Intro: What are we witnessing in this archetypal story?

First, why do I refer to the story as “archetypal”?
– archetypes have to do with basic themes planted in the human mind
• familiar themes are revealed in the heroes, heroines, and villains of fables, myths, and fairytales
◦ these characters represent specific qualities that define human persons and their behavior
◦ including: virtuous, courageous, clever, creative, wise or foolish, industrious or lazy
• the plot of the stories, and the actors differ from culture to culture,
◦ but the qualities are universal, so we recognize when they’re pointed out to us
– in this story of Eli and Samuel, the archetypal theme is similar to the “the sorcerer’s apprentice”
• it doesn’t follow specific rules, because Eli was a priest and not a prophet
◦ but he was familiar with prophecy and could give Samuel basic instructions
• so first, after a delayed response, Eli discerns what is happening to Samuel
◦ he is able to explain to the boy that God is calling to him
◦ and, then he instructs him how to respond to receive God’s message

I am fascinated by some of the details of this story

For instance, Eli gives Samuel the exact words to say, “Speak, LORD [Yahweh], for your servant hears”
– Samuel, however, does not address God by name, but says only, “Speak, for your servant hears”
• it’s as if he cannot bring himself to address God so personally, because he doesn’t know him–yet
◦ but that doesn’t have any effect on what happens next
◦ Samuel can make this slight, personal modification, and God proceeds with his message
– then, the story of this encounter with God begins with a sad commentary regarding Israel’s spiritual life
• God’s communication with his people had practically died out
“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was” (vv. 1-3)
• these observations are both literal and metaphorical
◦ Eli’s poor eyesight is literal, but it also symbolizes the absence of divine visions given to seers and prophets
◦ the same idea is repeated regarding the lamp in the temple
▫ it had “not yet gone out,” which implies it was in danger of being extinguished
▫ it seems that Samuel’s job was to prevent the lamp from going out
• Samuel will soon become God’s solution to this dark period of Israel’s history
– one more observation:
“And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD” (v. 20)
(Dan was located at the northern boundary of Israel and Beersheba was located at its southern boundary)
• Samuel’s calling establishes the priority of prophetic ministry in Israel’s future
◦ Moses was referred to as a prophet, and prophets appeared in the Book of Judges,
◦ but a new contingent of ministers will be added to Israel’s spiritual resources
• during this period of history, groups of prophets begin to form and make their appearance
◦ at least once a community of prophets are seen gathered around Samuel
◦ not long after Samuel we begin to hear of a community known as “sons of the prophets” – 1 & 2 Kings

Why have I brought you to Samuel this morning?

As far as it is possible, I want help you as Eli helped Samuel
– I will immediately admit, I’m no better a teacher or guide that Eli
• but what I desire is for you to learn to hear God communicate with you directly
◦ if this sounds “spooky” to you, I assure you it’s a normal Christian experience
◦ it’s no weirder than watching sun set behind the ocean and feeling a rush of pleasure and gratitude
• if you are sincere in your devotion to God and love for Jesus,
◦ then I am certain God has already spoken directly to you
◦ maybe there’s even one specific time you can remember an experience like that
– but what most of us don’t realize, is that God communicates with us every day
• and it is through his Spirit he speaks to us – Spirit to spirit
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Ro. 8:16)
• we can get to know the Spirit, as we know God our Father and Jesus his Son
◦ Jesus made this promise several times in John 14-16
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 16:12-14)

We find a trail of bread crumbs beginning with Moses, that brings us to God’s Spirit

Moses had a longing – the connection he had with God, he wanted everyone to have
“Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Nu. 11:29)
– if not everyone at that time, then who were the ones anointed by God’s Spirit? prophets, priests, & kings
– time passed, Israel stumbled forward, then God raised up the prophet Joel–dropping more bread crumbs
• God gave Joel a prophecy, which sounds like it could be an answer to Moses’ prayer:
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on your male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29)
– the next bread crumbs are found in Acts 2, where the trail ends on the day the church was born
• the Spirit of God made a grand entrance into a humble meeting
“And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . . .”
• when Peter stood up to explain to the bystanders what was happening, he said:
“. . . this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams . . . .” (Acts 2:1-3, 16-18)

This is how it is that God chose for us the blessing of ongoing communication with him
– Paul realized what had happened in his life and realized it was every believer’s experience
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. . . . If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Ro. 8:9-11)
• that’s just for starters – he goes on,
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. . . . you have received the Spirit of adoption as children, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Ro. 8:14-16)
• this, then, is how God speaks directly to us, Spirit to spirit!
◦ we come across instances of this in the Book of Acts
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (Acts 13:2)
“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden . . . .” (Acts 15:28-29)
“And they went through the region of Phergia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6)
◦ my point is that it is up to us to listen to God’s Spirit, to “test” what we hear, and to respond
– what the Spirit tells us is not apart from scripture and never contradicts the Scriptures,
• but at the same time it is personal and immediate

I don’t imagine myself a person of great spiritual depth

When I should be walking in God’s ways, I am more often getting in his way
– but I know God speaks to every person who chooses to listen to him
• he doesn’t hold our inadequacies against us, but meets us where we are
◦ he gives us only as much as we can handle or we’re willing to receive
• the more we listen, the more we grow and the better off we are
◦ not materially, but in taking life as it comes and finding God’s presence at every turn

What I want to share with you is what has been helpful for me recently

I believe that the Spirit of God fills the universe – not like an energy field or physical object
– he fills the universe in a dimension beyond our human experience
• and I believe a mystery that has me totally baffled is this:
◦ that the Spirit of God is conscious of every living person at every moment of their existence
◦ he is engaged in conversation with you at the same time he is with me and everyone else who are willing to listen
I believe we can become more aware of the Spirit’s presence and more receptive to his voice

Conclusion: This is as far as I want to take you this morning

I’ll just wrap it up with a meditation I wrote back in June 25 while meditating on Romans 8:11
“But if the Spirit of the one who has raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised the Anointed One Jesus from the dead will also make your mortal bodies live through the indwelling of his Spirit in you.”
My meditation: “I am grateful to God that I came to this passage and specifically to this verse today. Especially because I am discouraged, depressed, and feel like a complete failure.
“In my healthier moments of late, I have not only realized how, but also what it is for the Spirit of God to be in me. Nothing about this makes me more than what I am. In fact, God’s grace works for me in spite of myself; so there’s that.
“My ‘experience’ is not a feeling, not a thought or effect of thinking, not physical or anything I ‘make happen.’ The Spirit of God is here–not because I invoke him or comprehend his presence. He is here because he exists, and he exists in ‘hereness.’ Somehow, apart from anything I do, I have awareness of God’s Spirit. It’s as if I just woke up and here he is. Then, I realize he is within me. My entire person, no doubt, but especially in my conscious awareness of him. It is not like he takes up residence in one of my physical organs–lungs, heart, spleen, etcetera– or one of my ‘systems’ like respiratory, circulatory, or endocrine. The Spirit is not ‘in’ my physical body, because he transcends the physical realm. Neither is he outside my body. All that is irrelevant! Here am I, this interior person invisible to everyone but God; and here is the Spirit of God who is present to ‘me.’ I’m aware of him as if we are sitting here looking at each other, or he is in front of me looking at me as I take my walk. I am aware of him knowing that he is here aware of me.
“This awareness registers in my brain, though I have no idea what areas of my brain or neural pathways are activated. But I am conscious of the experience, so I know my brain observes it even if the nature of it is hidden from me in out Spirit to spirit connection.
“Typically, when the Spirit speaks to me, he is not revealing some profound truth. He speaks encouragement mostly. He says, ‘You’re doing okay, Chuck. You don’t have to worry, because I am here. I am with you and for you. You are always okay, because I love you.’”

Podcast

Welcome and Prayer: Jim Calhoun

Come Lord, join us here today
Make us one
A body
A family
A community
That holds each other up
Carrying each other through
Pushing each other along
Protecting
Encouraging
Strengthening
Loving
Celebrating.
Thank you Lord for this community
Amen

Morning Talk: Jim Calhoun

Last time I spoke we talked about deep stories and how attending to them can help us address the rising conflict in our country
• We talked about how these deep stories are more emotional than rational
• That they feel true, and important, and essential
• My deep story, no matter how important, is no more accurate or rational than another person’s.
• It speaks of my need as much as it does of my values.
• Learning about deep stories is not an opportunity to pick apart another person
• It isn’t a tool so I can be “one up” or push another person down
• It is an opportunity to create more understanding and common ground
• Also it is a way that I can further examine my own faith and perspective.
• Ultimately, the question isn’t how well I live up to a particular political perspective.
• The question for me is “How well am I imagining the kingdom of heaven?”
“How well am I living in the kingdom of heaven?”
• This is the work we are doing together

I was so happy with Sean’s talk last week because we were able to watch someone thoughtfully examine their own deep story.
We saw something of how changes came for him and the thoughtful way he was working with his deep story

Let me introduce you to Martha Ann Lillard
• Martha was born in 1948 in Shawnee, Oklahoma
• fifteen years later Brad Pitt was born in that same town
• Jim Thorpe called Shawnee his home town
• On her fifth birthday Martha woke up with tremendous pain in her neck and she was unable to lift her head from the pillow
• She was rushed to doctors who determined that she had contracted polio
• that year in America, 35,000 other children were diagnosed with polio
• About half were paralyzed by it
• This was the great fear of parents at that time, and still two years before the polio vaccine was developed.
• Martha was paralyzed
• After six months in the hospital she was sent home with an iron lung
• Mostly children fought the iron lung, but Martha was so happy to breathe she welcomed it.
• At first she spent 23 hours a day in her iron lung and one hour each day was devoted to rehabilitating and building strength in her body.
• Eventually she taught herself to walk again
• Her right arm remained paralyzed through her life but in her healthiest years she only went inside the iron lung to sleep, about 9 hours a night
• Her grandfather fitted the iron lung with a motor that allowed Martha to open and seal the iron lung on her own.
• so from the time she was at teenager, Martha was able to get in and out of the iron lung on her
• She tried all sorts of more modern respirators but none were strong enough for her and her one working lung
• The iron lung was her home within her home
• During an ice storm one year, her emergency generator failed and she was trapped in the iron lung as temperatures dropped.
• She said it was like being buried alive and so cold
• Another time, in 2025 her emergency generator failed when a tornado was in the area.
• Her husband gave her mouth to mouth for forty-five minutes while waiting for help to arrive
• By that time, the iron lung was getting old.
• Parts were getting hard to find
• People who knew how to work on them were even more rare.
• This caused Martha and her family a lot of worry

• She was a good student though her high school wasn’t able to accommodate her needs well enough to graduate her
• Martha never went to the prom
• She never had children
• She never held a regular job
• She never left Shawnee
• She did fall in love, however — twice
• She was a member of her local Episcopal Church
• She wrote music
• She wrote poems
• She painted
• She helped rescue dogs (mostly beagles)
• She volunteered at her local humane society
• She volunteered at a local daycare center
• She coordinated the local crisis phone lines

• During COVID she isolated and only saw her family in the evenings
• Still, she caught COVID twice
• The second time was Long COVID
• She was also beginning to experience post polio syndrome which includes increased weakness in muscles and joints
• She returned to the iron lung full time
• She died of complications of Long COVID-19 on June 26, 2026, at the age of 78
• She was the last American in an iron lung

• I don’t know any more about Martha Ann Lillard
• But I think of her as a minor saint I guess
• She persevered
• She seemed full of gratitude
• She gave back, she contributed, she played her part.

Now we turn our attention to the New Testament letter of James
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” James 3:13-17

Do you remember that two weeks ago we touched on Romans 12 and the notion of renewing your mind?
“Don’t be conformed to this world,” Paul said, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
• In other words, don’t let the pressures of worldly standard operation of procedures, or conventional expectations, or old habits, or anything else force you into a conformity, a compliance, or any sort of subjugation to this world.
• There is a better path available to us
• It will take a new way of thinking
–imagining and thinking about the better way–
• And developing an ongoing practice that makes this possible.

When James asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” he is asking who has done the work?
• Who has imagined a better way in Christ?
• Who has practiced that better way!
• Who are those that, in body and soul, have offered themselves for this?
• Then he heads straight into the conditions for traveling the better path
• He doesn’t ask for a show of hands
• He doesn’t ask for a testimony
• He doesn’t ask for a speech
• Instead, he demonstrates how they will be known by their good works and avoidance of worldly standards
I think we have the hardest time with this in our current age.
• That is, to stop talking about the thing and become the thing.
• And to do that, we also need to know what is not the thing
“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth”
• Bitter here is just how we think of it
• Jealousy seems to me to be more like zeal or even energy
• There is, also, an element of envy involved.
• Imbedded in the phrase “selfish ambition” is the notion of factions, rivalries, party-making
• This is the “us versus them” perspective
• Seeking advantage over others, and building barriers as we do so
• So if you have bitter, negative energy or envy and you’re seeking power over others, in your heart, you aren’t yet “the thing” — as James understands it
• Your mind isn’t renewed
• You don’t have wisdom or understanding yet
• You still have work to do.
• This faction building, envy orientated perspective is a sort of wisdom to be sure.
• It is the wisdom of the everyday hustle and bustle.
• It is the way things get done, food is put on the plate,
• It is the way the world goes round, and we all know it.
• This wisdom is earthly, natural, and demonic — meaning that it is destructive
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice“
• There will be disorder, fighting
• Every vile practice
• Some translations say “evil”
• Petty might be a better word
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”
• Let me read that again and just let it soak in.
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”
Imagine it. How would that be?
• This is “the thing”
• The phrase in this sentence that catches me most is full of mercy
• Isn’t that the absolute opposite of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition?
• Isn’t it the absolute opposite of being petty?
“And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace“
• Last time at the end I was surprised that I got emotional. I teared up a little and my voice broke.
• But this is so deeply important to me and at the same time so profoundly needed
• And we get to take part
• Little old us
• We get to contribute to making the world whole, repairing lives, our own and the lives of those around us.
• In our given situation, we can help to harvest righteousness; that is, right relationships.
• But we have to become “the thing”
• We need to have transformed minds
• Moving away from bitter envy, driven energy, and wanting to exercise our power over others
• We need to become “the thing”
• We need to become full of mercy

(Jim concluded his talk this morning with a Loving Kindness Meditation that brought the essence of his message into a lived experience of Jesus’ interaction with someone we love, someone on the periphery of our lives, and then his interaction with ourselves. In this way we had the opportunity to allow the Lord to make tangible to us his love, kindness, and compassionate guidance of our lives.