Move Life from Whatever to Wherever
1 Peter 1:3-9 (New International Version)
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
INTRODUCTION: Whatever or Wherever?
Ever notice the power of tone when someone speaks to you? A soft tone comes across as loving and caring. A loud tone is perceived to be angry or upset. Tone often carries a greater understanding of the intended meaning of a word than the word itself.
Take the word, “whatever”. Say whatever in a soft tone and it may mean a lack of preference. People come up and ask, my opinion, and I respond with a gentle “whatever” that conveys, “I care, I just don’t have a preference. Whatever way you prefer would be fine – chocolate doughnuts or chocolate chip cookies or both.”
Say the word “whatever” in a loud voice and it comes across as a loss of hope, as if one’s destiny is determined by a fate outside of my control. A couple arguing. One threatens to leave, and the other yells, “Whatever.” Loss of hope. End of argument. Beginning of despair.
Or say the word “whatever” with the emphasis on the second syllable, “whatEVer.” And you have hit the one word mantra of indifference and scorn.
Why such an examination of the word “whatever”? In the last decade, the gentle whatever of caring has been replaced by the loud “whatever” of loss of hope and the attitude of “whatEVer” that spews forth scorn and indifference. That’s what makes Thomas’ Easter response and Peter’s words on this weekend after Easter so appealing for they teach us Jesus moves life from whatever to wherever.
Thomas in John’s Gospel has given up. Instead of getting in the game, Thomas believes the game’s over and it’s time to get on with life. We call him doubting Thomas, but the word is actually disbelieving Thomas. The other disciples say, “Jesus is risen.” Thomas responds with a “WhatEVer” attitude until he encounters Jesus and then his whatever becomes a wherever.
That’s why I also love these verses from 1 Peter as he writes of the power of living hope. Such living hope flows out of resurrection power. 1 Peter is written to Christians who suffer for their faith, yet have discovered a living hope that overcomes the whatEver attitude of our day to the I will go wherever God takes me.
Warren Wiersbe describes Easter as “the truth that turns a church from a museum into a ministry.” Take away Easter and the resurrection, and we gather merely to consider the teachings of a sage of long ago. Embrace Easter and the truth Jesus is alive and we discover He is more than a sage, He is our Savior. As our Savior, Jesus provides a relationship with God that gives life meaning and purpose. Because of Easter Jesus gives the power to move life from whatever to wherever with 3 steps.
STEP 1: Believe God can use you each day. One day a reporter visited the Oakland Raiders locker room, to talk to their starting quarterback Kenny Stabler who wasn’t known as an intellectual, but was a good quarterback. This reporter read Stabler some English prose: “I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy, impermanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” After reading this, the reporter asked, “Kenny, what does this mean to you?” Stabler immediately replied, “Throw deep.”
Though not a Raiders fan, I like that approach to life, “Throw deep.” Peter describes such deep throws as the gift of faith God gives for us to use each day in 1 Peter 1:3-5. “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” -- (New American Standard Bible). Such hope comes through the resurrection of Jesus, and such resurrection power transforms lives.
A father was feverishly pushing his lawnmower around his yard, trying to finish the mowing before dinner, when Mikey, his 6-year-old son, walked up and, without asking, stepped in front of his dad and placed his hands on the mower handle. Knowing that his son wanted to help him, he quit pushing.
The mower quickly slowed to a stop. Chuckling inwardly at his son’s struggles, the father resisted the urge to say, “Get out of here, kid. You’re in my way.” and said instead, “Here, Son, I’ll help you.” As the father resumed pushing, he bowed his back, leaned forward and walked spread-legged to avoid colliding with Mikey. The grass cutting continued, but more slowly and less efficiently than before, because Mikey was helping him.
In the same way our heavenly Father allows us to help Him build His kingdom. Our God works at seeking, saving and transforming people, and there we are with weak hands ‘helping.’ God could do the work by Himself, but He invites us to help Him in building others. He chooses to stoop graciously to allow us to work with His Spirit in building up the Body of Christ. Why? For our sake, because he wants us to have the joy of building our lives on the solid foundation of God Himself.
The psalmist says in Psalm 16:8, 11, “8I always keep the LORD in front of me. When he is by my side, I cannot be moved. … 11You make the path of life known to me. Complete joy is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever.” -- (GOD’S WORD)
Keep the LORD by your side. He gives the gift of faith to believe He can use you each day to make a difference.
STEP 2: Develop daily the gifts God has given you. Some people wrongly perceive ministry as doing time. Ministry is more about reaching out. Ministry isn’t about following my agenda, but developing God’s resources to reveal His glory and love to the world. Peter says in 1 Peter 1:8-9, “You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express, 9because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him.” -- (Today’s English Version)
Develop daily the gifts God has given you recognizes God is the giver of the gifts, and development comes by the work of the Holy Spirit as we put the gifts into use. J. I. Packer wrote, “The church is not to be like a bus, where passengers sit quietly and let someone else do the driving, but like an anthill, where everybody is at work.”
We put our gifts into use because God is the one who sends us out into service. Some churches recruit to ministry with the 98.6 rule. If you have a body temperature, you’re it. Jesus operates under a different principle of using our gifts. Look at what he says to his disciples in John 20:21-22, “He spoke to them again and said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22Then he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” -- (New Living Translation) Receiving the Holy Spirit is the key to effective gift development. Consider Holy Spirit power at work in the life of Thomas.
People wonder what happened to Thomas after his experience with the risen Christ in John 20. According to legend, when the disciples divided up the world to reach others for Jesus, Thomas received India where he later died for the faith he once had doubted. In South India today you will find a church called the Thomist Church of South India that claims Thomas as its founder. Thomas dropped his doubts at the feet of the risen Jesus. Thomas moved beyond his moment of whatever doubt to become a committed wherever builder of faith for the lives of others as he received the Holy Spirit and developed daily the gifts God had given him.
STEP 3: Persevere with divine purpose amidst life’s momentary potholes. With the heavy rains the past few months, the roads have become littered with potholes. Driving with potholes in San Diego takes the fun out of driving.
Hitting life’s potholes can take the fun out of living, and drain energy to pursue God’s purpose. Peter contrasts the power of Easter and the pain of life’s potholes as he writes of the power of perseverance in 1 Peter 1:6-7, “6You are extremely happy about these things, even though you have to suffer different kinds of trouble for a little while now. 7The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God. This will happen when Jesus Christ appears again.” -- (GOD’S WORD)
Church is not a spectator sport where a few play significant roles, and the rest of the congregation sits and cheers. God’s goal for our congregation is not more members as much as it is more ministers.
As Robert Frost observed, “The world is full of willing people: some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.” My goal as a pastor is to prepare you to use the spiritual gifts God has given you. You do not send your child to school merely to have a teacher read, write and think for your child, but to teach your child how to read, write and think. Our goal is to grow in ministers who serve our God, and build His church.
In nearly 20 years of being a pastor I have observed that one of the key qualities of effective service is perseverance. No matter the potholes they face effective servants of God persevere with God. The key to such perseverance comes from knowing the difference between divine purpose that is eternal, and life’s potholes that are temporary.
Peter in Acts 2:22-24 declares, “22Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” -- (New International Version). Whatever the pothole you are facing today, remember these 7 words of Peter’s message, But God raised him from the dead. Resurrection power is the key to persevering power.
When you hit the pothole of failure, remember, But God raised him from the dead and God is alive and present.
When you hit the pothole of guilt, remember, But God raised him from the dead and the forgiveness Jesus death and resurrection brings.
When you hit the pothole of fear, remember, But God raised him from the dead and move forward from whatever to wherever with the courage God Himself provides.
CONCLUSION: Where did you see God in the people you served today?
I invite you this week to ask one question each day. At the end of the day as you get ready for bed, just think, “Where did you see God in the people you served today?” Where did you see God’s presence working in the people that came across your path? Maybe it was a friend who called, and gave a listening hear. Maybe it was someone at work that provided an encouraging word. Maybe it was God working through you in a wherever you found yourself moment that put His grace in action and God used you to transform a life. Each day this week ask yourself, “Where did I see God in the people I served today?” And enjoy the great surprise of discovering God at work in you! Amen.
