Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
This past month I was involved in Footloose the musical at Abrams Spotlight Productions. “It was a terrifying experience and it was exhilarating,” to quote my character Reverend Shaw Moore. I have been thinking about doing a production for a while now as several of St. John’s members had been involved and I know a few people who have been in productions and are involved with the theater. Plus I also know several colleagues who do theater. I have played for musicals in the past and will in the future, but this was my first venture onto the stage to have a role in a production. I was worried about how I would do and how I would be accepted.
What I learned at Abrams Spotlight Productions is the theater is what the world show be like. You see the world is made up of all kinds of people. Some are funny and some are serious. Some are short and some are tall. Some can sing and some can sing in their cars. Some can dance, and then there is me. Some of them believe in God and some of them don’t. But the world is full of people who are different. And we should, as followers of Christ, be accepting of others where they are and not try to make them fit into any mold or act a certain way. We should look on them with love and as more significant than ourselves. And to be honest, the theater is one of the first places I have found this.
Everyone at the theater didn’t judge me because I was a pastor, or an outsider. They welcomed me as a co creator in the world we were becoming so that everyone could forget about their troubles for a couple hours. They didn’t worry about if I was good enough, they gave me my part and helped me along the way. They didn’t think I would pull the down because it was my first time, they empowered me to be the best I could be. They didn’t judge me, they accepted me and made me a better version of myself. And that my friends is what we should be doing as the church.
So let us accept everyone as they are, because that is what God did for you, and let us take a look at how we act towards others, and be a bit more like the theater, open and welcoming of every one, because we all are made in the image of God and we all have a gift to give.
I offer you the opportunity I had at the theater, to welcome as God welcomed you, without judgement and openly as people are.
Do Not Worry:God Will Provide
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:25-34, NRSV)
Do not worry about tomorrow…
Do not worry about anything!
These 2 statements are easier said than done. It is hard for some of us not to worry about what is going to happen. I can start to think about things and come up with some of the most terrifying things you could imagine. I worry a lot. About everything. It is surprising I have not had an ulcer yet. And yet here Jesus tells the disciples to not worry about anything.
Don’t worry about life, what you will eat or drink, just focus on the here and now. Because God takes care of the grass and the birds, God will take care of you.
Tomorrow doesn’t need to be worried about because today has enough to worry about. Just be present and know that God will take care of you!
The Lord is my Light and Salvation
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
(Psalm 27:1-6, NRSV)
No matter what happens in my life I will not fear. Because I know my God will always hide me in the shelter God has prepared for me.
God will conceal me in His tent and keep me from my enemies.
I will not fear for God is always with me and nothing can change that!
No matter what may come, I will rest in my God and I will not fear!
A Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
1Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers; protect me from those who are violent,
2who plan evil things in their minds and stir up wars continually.
3They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s, and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah
4Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent who have planned my downfall.
5The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net, along the road they have set snares for me. Selah
6I say to the Lord, “You are my God; give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
7O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot. Selah
(Psalm 140:1-8, NRSV)
Under their lips is the venom of vipers! They spit out evils from their very beings to continue wars. You alone o, God can protect me from their evil.
Only God can keep us safe from the evils of the world around us.
God alone hears us when we cry and answers our prayers.
Cry out to God and know that God will deliver you from all the evils that surround you!
A Cry to God from the Depths
1Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
5I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
7O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
8It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(Psalm 130, NRSV)
My hope is in God’s Word!
Because I know when I cry out from the depths of the holes I find myself in, God will listen to my cries and come to my aid.
I know that Jesus is always near me and will always be there for me.
My hope is in God and I know that God’s promises are sure.
A Promise to Praise God
19You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
20You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
21You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.
22I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued.
24All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced.
(Psalm 71:19b-24, NRSV)
God has rescued us from all that is about to harm us and from what is surrounding us.
We need to consistently and constantly praise God for what God has done for us.
Who is like God and who has pulled us up out of the mire? Only God has been there through thick and thin to see us through.
So praise God for everything God has done for you!
A Call to God for Help
12O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
13Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.
15My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge.
16I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power
19and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens.
(Psalm 71:12-19a, NRSV)
God do not let me fall, let my accusers be put to shame.
God do not let me drown or fall below.
God do not forsake me, for I have always praised you from my youth until now.
God will not let you drown. God will always be there for you.
God is A Rock of Refuge
1In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
3Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.
7I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long.
9Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life consult together.
11They say, “Pursue and seize that person whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.”
(Psalm 71:1-11, NRSV)
When I got ready to write this post, I searched for an image as I always do, by highlighting the verse and right clicking and finding the option to search swagbucks.com for Psalm 71:1-11 in this case. Well, my search turned up nothing. No pictures, so then I had to figure out what to do next, so I reread the passage and thought what word sticks out to me as I read this. Hope. This passage speaks to me of where my trust is, where my hope lies. God has and always will be there for me. So I highlighted hope, and right clicked, with my mouse, and found “search swagbucks.com for hope”. And I thought wow, how many of us search for hope every day?
How many of us are looking for a glimmer, a little bit of light to attach our lives to? How many of are searching for something to keep us going?
We wonder how we can go on sometimes and here the psalmist tells us, our trust and our hope should be in God because God will not let us down.
So where do you look for hope?
God is our Loving Parent
7“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11, NRSV)
How many of you give good things to your kids even when they are getting on your nerves?
When they ask you for what they need, you provide it. And that is how God is to us also.
When we need something God will provide.
Now we need to discern the difference between a need and a want. And know if it isn’t in God’s will it is a want.
But ask God, God will listen and God will respond.
A Call to God for Deliverance
1Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore?
5O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel.
7It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face.
8I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children.
9It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so.
11When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help
14rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
(Psalm 69:1-16, NRSV)
The water is around my neck and I’m about to drown…
I have a fear of water. 2 years ago I did a dunk tank for the auction at the congregation I’m currently at and my anxiety level was through the roof. Even though I knew I could put my feet down and stand up just that feeling of going under the water at an uncontrolled time for me was super stressful.
You cry out for help and it seems it isn’t there, I get what David is saying here.
But do you see what David never losses?
He never loses hope. He says in verse 13 my prayer is to you God and I know you will answer me. You will not fail me. You will be helpful to me and come to my aid.
Do we have that hope in the darkness?
aSacredRebel 