Compass, Unitard, Well Worn Boots
“Compass, Unitard, Well Worn Boots” (say these three seemingly unrelated things out loud, in the tradition of Johnny Carson’s character, alluded to below, but then proceed to talk about the following material first, before giving the “question” that those three words are the answer too)
Carnack (maybe start with a few Great Carnack examples, the Johnny Carson Character)
We often have a tendency for reducing Complexity and Relationship down to statements and formulas
Grace—“undeserved gift?” Sure. Does that move me? Does that help me?
Yancey: What’s so amazing about grace? STORY of grace. (sorry sermon central, I don’t remember the story, but get Philip Yancey’s book of that title. Basically it was a story that illustrated in “full color” what grace is. How it affects lives. How it is given. You could supply your own here. Maybe consult Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality, or Donald Miller, “searching for God Knows what” etc)
Mission Statements are another example of reducing down all the church (or business) is to a few words.
we often miss out on the richness and reward of relationship.
A disciple of Jesus is all about being in relationship with Jesus.
“Ohh—what is the question to the 3 items: compass, unitard, well-worn boots?”
(Answer) What are three things a Disciple of Jesus can’t do without?
. . . What on earth do we need these three things for? . . .
Do you recall how Jesus seemed rarely direct, rarely “to the point?”
• When someone asked him “who is my neighbor?” he replies with “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho . . .”
He seems rarely the “Shell Answer Man” . . . if anything, he is the “Shell Question Man”:
Do you recall how Jesus often answered a question with a question?
(recall some . . . show some)
• Luke 12:41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable just for us or for everyone?”42 The Lord said, “Who, then, is the faithful and careful manager whom his master will put in charge of giving all his other servants their share of food at the right time?”
• Lk 10:25 Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”26 Jesus answered him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
• Luke 18:18 Then an official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Nobody is good except for one—God.
• Finally, after never being able to stump Jesus, trap him, or make him look like a fool, we read in Luke 20:40: “And no one dared to ask him any more questions . . . !”
. . . . . . .What on earth do we need these three things for?
Well, let me ask you a question!
hmmmm:
My friend and mentor, Doug Kostowski, was recalling how Elton Trueblood, the late prolific Christian writer, described how a disciple of Jesus is able to navigate the confusing voices of our time, pulling us this way and that way. How are we to stay true, to know what to do when so many signs, voices, opportunities, temptations, religions, philosophies, ways of life are swirling all around us? Mr. Trueblood said (paraphrasing) “the disciple has a compass for a heart, and that compass is always pointed toward Jesus?”
1. When is the last time your compass pointed toward . . . Jesus?
That phrase may not be found literally in the bible, but it appears as though the concept is:
Luke 12: 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
Describing all the wannabe meteorologists who don’t have a clue that the man standing in front of him is none other than the long awaited Messiah foretold of throught their scriptures.
Luke 21: 34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Warning people who hearts may be in danger of going beserk/haywire (needle spinning all around) instead of focused and ready for the return of Jesus in the last days.
Luke 12: 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What takes up your time and spends your money? What fills your eyes and overflows down into your heart? When you open your treasure chest, WHERE is it, and WHAT is in it?
Different metaphor (chest) same idea: what drives you? In what direction do you point?
The parable of the sower is another one . . .
For your compass to be pointed toward Jesus means:
People know a lot of things about a lot of things:
• Computers: Marc and Ed
• Pipes: Marcel
• Stationary: Jenny
• Homeschooling: Quartet of Women
• Designing sub par diesel engines: Cra—wait, did I just say that?
I worked with a guy who could quote any obscure baseball stat, and tell you all about Formula 1 (racing, not a laundry detergent trade secret) and Stocks and Bonds till it was time to go to bed.
Some of those are fun, some are useful. They point our
• You care about what he says
• Is your heart pointed in his direction?
• Are you on the lookout for him?
How do we spend our time and dollars? That may indicate where our compass is pointed
But when it points toward Jesus: we have LIFE, GROWTH, CALM amid the STORM, PREPARED, CLEAR MINDED, able to GIVE DIRECTIONS to others
IS that what we want? Does a Bear live in the woods? Does the Pope live in the Vatican? Are we Disciples?
A disciple follows . . . whom are you following . . . what direction are you pointed? Is your needle steady on . . . JESUS?
But that is not all there is:
Well, let me ask you another question
Actually I was wanting to tell you about something that the state of Iowa is proud of:
NOT
• Corn
• Pigs
• Down-home cooking
• Tractors
• Being “fly over country” for celebrities
• Home of Amana and Maytag appliences
We are proud of our wrestling: we can’t be good enough to beat you all in regular sports, so we pick an obscure sport, become masters at it, and beat you into the ground with it. Iowa (until very recently) is to wrestling what
• John Wooden was to college basketball
• Schembechler and Woody Hayes were to football
• Ben and Jerry are to ice cream
Always a winning combination. Last 36 years they won about 25 times (UI 9 years in a row)
It is tough: grappling, jabbing, holds, escaping, dominating. Long, exhausting, sweating, huffing and puffing hours to shed water just to “meet weight.”
When you wrestle, you have to study your opponent. Know what he is about. See what you are made of. Be ready for some focused, intense, and challenging times.
When was the last time you put on your unitard
Your spiritual unitard
Just a bad image for some of us guys, how about:
2. When is the last time you wrestled with . . . Jesus?
not Jesus action figure, not WWE, not body slamming, or being disrespectful, or trying to do what Jacob did when he got his hip “touched” out of place when wrestling the Lord . . .
But about grappling with Jesus and who he is . . . wrestling with his teaching . . . trying to get a handle on who this guy was, what made him tick, what we could gain from studying him
He is the image of perfection, the exact representation of God. Watching him at work is like soaking in the Master (literally, THE master):
• Seeing Dan Gable Wrestle
• Martha Stewart in the Kitchen (emeril legasse or the IRON CHEF)
• Candace swimming the mile
Actually, he is like them, and yet not at all like them. For in being not just man, but God anything he does is beyond compare.
You have never met a more
• confident
• direct
• tender
• strong
• compassionate
• insightful
• sacrificial and self giving
person in your life. And his teaching and mingling and daily living reflected that
danger of reducing Jesus to a word, or image, favorite saying or verse. He is often so much more and we encounter him anew and afresh as we study and grapple with him
not easy to peg:
• heals demon possessed man who begs to follow alongside Jesus: “NO, go tell . . .”
• another scene and he is mentoring and coaching his disciples to head out on their own and preach the kingdom
• next he is on a mountain with his drowsy disciples, talking with Moses/Elijah white clothes like a flash of lightning
• then he is tender, holding a child, not scary or imposing, “who ever welcomes . .”
• Stores of Grain: Barns built, ENJOY it, FOOOOOOL! 2night ur life will be taken away from you”
• “have come not to bring peace but division” “turn a father against a son”
• One the one hand: [tower of siloam] “repent or you too will perish
• On the other: vineyard not producing, (metaphor) and how God listens to the pleas of the caretaker to let him fertilize and coax it one more year . . .
• Heals a crippled woman when others would ignore her to “keep the Sabbath” with a twisted interpretation of the law.
• Narrow door, but joy of God (parable of lost coin)
• Unless you come like a child . . . never enter the kingdom
We could go on. Some of these are verses
• we may never have heard
• make us feel uncomfortable
• comforted
• challenge
Disciples were challenged:
Forgive seven times a day (I repent) INCREASE OUR FAITH faith grows by putting it into practice.
• Luke 17:7-10 (against being smug and self centered) servant does the master’s bidding. It is just DUTY.
He spoke them all and all are words that have relevance for our world, our times, my life, your life.
He is NOT one dimensional,
Like:
Marc is not all about computers
Craig is not all about losing weight
Diane is not all about hugs and smiles (but sometimes I wonder)
Alison is more than homeschooling
Vickie is more than riding bikes and working at McDonalds
When we wrestle with him and his words, we study him, get to know what makes him tick, what he wants for our lives
THEY ARE WORDS THAT HELP KEEP OUR COMPASS POINTED ON HIM
When we wrestle with him, we focus on him, challenge our assumptions, expose our flaws and in following him, being his disciple
Become more like him
Well, let me ask you another question
(my Pumas that lasted two years)
How long do your shoes last?
Who has the oldest shoes?
3. When is the last time your boots were worn from . . . following after . . . Jesus?
Luke 8:19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Talking about doing what Jesus says. Following him. When you follow him, you
WALK IN HIS STEPS
Your shoes should be worn from following him.
When you wrestle with his words and teaching, and you come to understand them, do you make changes?
That is following him
BEING A SERVANT been learning that to my chagrin. Confronted with what I am teaching . . .
How I grumbled when having to take David to the hospital
etc
Some of you have told about decisions you have made recently, because you wrestled with God, he won, and you saw his wisdom and made specific changes
Walking is a daily activity. We might stop to rest we might need to catch our breath,
But our shoes need to be worn from obedience
Conclusion
Doug’s illustration of new preacher:
• Theologically profound, literate, and astute:
Little old lady’s note: “Sir we would see Jesus”
• Changed his ways, dove into the gospels and wrestled, grappled with Jesus, and presented his findings to the congregation over many weeks.
Little old lady’s note: “Then were the people glad, when they saw the Lord.”
He is our all in all, the reason this community came to be, the head of all we do, the reason for the season, our Master of all apprenticeships, the hope of all the hopeless and the hope of all the hope-filled, the director of our mission statement, our friend, redeemer, the reason why we don’t harbor bitterness with each other, the one who knows us behind our masks, our mediator before the Father in heaven, the one who blinded Paul on the road to Damascus, but gave him a CLEAR VISION and MISSION
So for us.
OUR MOTIVATION.
Plan some time. CARVE IT OUT.
