“A Perfect Pill”
October 21, 2012
Psalm 63
I am an expert on pill taking. I have been taking a bunch of them for over 20 years now. In 1990 I had a massive heart attack that changed my life. I was in the hospital for 10 days and at the beginning it was touch and go. I made it and have not taken a day for granted since. “Every day is a gift from God. That’s why they call it the Present!” There is a lot of truth to that saying.
God blessed me and I regained my strength to the extent that I went on to pass the physical for and to become a correctional officer – which I was for a short period of time. I watched my health and exercised and even held the record for lifting weights for my age group at the local gym.
But one of the traumatic things about my health issues was that I had to take pills for the rest of my life. That was depressing. One doctor, when we moved here, convinced me they weren’t necessary and recommended I stop taking them. In a short while I had heart issues. I went on to have four stints put in my heart and had to have triple by-pass surgery. I learned the hard way you better take your pills!
So we do what we have to do and each day I begin with a handful of pills and at the end of each day I take another handful. Most of them are vitamins – but a number of them have to do with my heart.
I have found that pills are good things. They may have a negative meaning for you; you may associate them with unpleasant experiences – but taking pills may prolong and enrich your life. Most of us take them regularly.
I want to talk to you about another pill we need to take more of. Actually, it is an acrostic. P. I. L. L. You know I like them! Acrostics make it easier for me to remember things.
I was sitting in a back room at church this week waiting for people to arrive for a board meeting, thinking about our church; praying for our church; trying to figure out what we could do differently or maybe do more of that would help us as a church and as individuals. Then I had a moment of inspiration. The Holy Spirit gave me a pill – and it is not a bitter pill! The Scripture says,
“In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3
God’s ways are not bitter – they are better. God’s pills are not bitter – they are sweet. Here’s the first letter in pill – 1. P. Pray more. That seems simple. That seems obvious. But it is so hard for us to do. Satan works so hard to prevent this from happening. We need to pray more – certainly for ourselves and our needs – but especially for our church. We need to become a praying church. We need to become a praying people. The Bible says,
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer...” 1 Peter 3:12
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:13-16
Folks, there is POWER in prayer. We know that. Prayer moves the hand of God. So why is it so hard for us to pray? Are we too busy? Do we lack faith? Why do we struggle with such a powerful thing? I’m not sure – but I know we need to disciple our selves and pray. Lack of pray is one of the reasons our country is in the mess it is. Lack of prayer is the reason we are so spiritually weak. Lack of prayer holds us back as a church. I wonder what would happen if every person in our church family prayed for our church every day for 5 minutes. Do you think it would make a difference? I do. We need to pray more.
The disciples caught a glimpse of the power of prayer in observing Jesus’ prayer life. He was always going to a quiet spot to pray. One time it impressed the disciples. Listen.
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one’” Luke 11:1-4
Jesus taught we ought to pray daily; we need to worship daily; we ought to seek His provision daily; we ought to seek forgiveness and forgive daily; we ought to pray for protection from evil daily. In one of the Gospels He tells us to pray for the Kingdom daily.
In our lives – that means our church. The church is the Body of Christ. We need to pray for our needs – daily.
Secondly, “I” in our PILL acrostic stands for ‘involve more’. Do you realize that we each ought to be involved in some way in the body of Christ? Listen to the Word, again.
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:4-8
Do you realize that you are not your own? Of course you belong to the Lord. He purchased you for a price – the price of His blood. But beyond that you belong to each other. Each member belongs to all the others. We have been given different kinds of gifts – and we are to use them for each other.
That’s kind of hard for us to swallow – because we are sooooo busy. Working; raising kids; going to school; doing our own thing and setting our personal priorities. It is so hard to be involved more. But we must find the time. This is God’s will for each of us. You were created for a purpose and a part of that purpose is to build up others with your gifts.
That Scripture we just read is preceded by this one:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice...” Romans 12:1a
Do you understand that to be Christian is to be sacrificial? Do you understand to follow Christ is to be surrendered? Jesus said,
“...those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Luke 14:33
“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” Luke 9:23-25
That’s a good question. What good will it do if we get everything we want; do everything we want; have everything we want – but don’t have Jesus? What good is ANYTHING if we lose our soul? Not much! Jesus told a story about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. The rich man had a pretty good life but in the end it was the poor man who was rejoicing.
There is a cross you are asked to bear. There is a sacrifice you are asked to make. A part of that is to be involved more in Kingdom building. I encourage you to pray about it and get involved more. It may seem like a bitter pill to swallow – but I promise you – it WILL be worth it.
The first ‘L’ in our acrostic stands for “Learn More”. A lot of politicians are talking about the ‘dumbing down of America’. But there is also a ‘dumbing down of the Christian’. So few have that hunger and thirst for more of Christ. So few make it a priority to read and learn – and I’m not just talking about the Bible. Certainly we have to make it a priority to read the Word daily – but beyond that we ought to be life long scholars. We need to read good Christian books and magazines. We need to commit to Bible Studies and learning opportunities. The Bible says,
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:18
“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.”
Proverbs 3:13-15
I believe the enemy of our souls wants us ignorant and unknowing. The enemy of our souls is Satan, the world and our own flesh. It is our nature to be lazy and ignorant. Ignorance IS bliss sometimes. But God is omniscience; He is all-knowing – and He desires us to grow in knowledge.
And do you know what? You won’t grow unless you decide to and make a plan to and then discipline yourself to learn more. And I’m not talking about learn about worldly things. Growing is always good. But what we are talking about is growing in the knowledge of the Lord and His ways. Make cell groups happen. Take a book like “Mere Christianity” by C. S. Lewis and study it with others. We need to learn more individually.
We also need to learn more as a church. We are blessed with a denomination that gives us a lot of learning opportunities. We need to take advantage of them. But more specifically, we need to be a church that is teaching and getting deeper into the Word of God. Let us hunger and thirst after righteousness. God promises that we will be filled is we do.
Lastly, the second ‘L’ in PILL stands for love. We need to love more.
The Word says,
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
We do need to be sacrificial and involved. We do need to grow in knowledge and fathom these deep mysteries. But it is all for nothing if we do not love. Love is the real deal. Love is who and what we are. It is our character. It is the expression of our being. And love is not static. It never remains the same. It is either growing or diminishing. It is our choice. It is an expression of our will. Personally it is manifested in our good works. Good works comes from a good heart. If you are loving – you just can’t help it – you will express that love. You will love more. You will care more. You will DO more.
In a church – love is manifested in mission. We need to love more as a mission. I have to tell you I am blessed by you and our mission and ministry as a church. The Worship Team ministering in the park and at the Coffee Connection is wonderful. Our group serving in the soup kitchen is awesome. Some of you help at Celebrate Recovery and in areas like that. Our Nazarene Missions ministry with Compassionate Ministries and in World Missions is excellent. But can we do MORE? Can we love more? I think we can.
God’s medicine is always GOOD medicine. God’s pill is always a GOOD pill.
Sometimes when I take a new pill it makes me dizzy or woozy. It isn’t always something I want to do – but I do it because I know it is good for me.
Would you pray about what God wants you to do in regards to this pill? Will you PRAY more? Will you get INVOLVED more? Will you LEARN more and LOVE more. Swallow this pill. It is one that will bring healing; make you stronger; do you more good than any of those other pills.
