The Purpose

"The Purpose"

Pastor Tom Millner

Ecclesiastes 3:11-14, Philippians 4:4-8,13, James 1:22-25

SpiritSong Worship Center

Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him."

Philippians 4:4-8,13 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

James 1:22-25 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does."

This is the Word of the Lord. Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

You've heard us say that God created us for a purpose. What purpose is that? – To be loved by Him! What does that look like? Where do we go wrong? How do we get back on track? The answer my friend is blowing in that wind Pastor Les spoke about last week… the one that wants to blow through us in this place…the one described and outlined in this Book (the Bible)!

Well, if God created us to love us, and if indeed God does love us, so what? What does that mean, what does that look like? What does God's purpose look like in the reality of this world?

The first clue of what that means comes to us from the creation story in Genesis. God who is love, who is creator of all things, created us humans as a divine reflection (in His image) of Himself. Therefore, we were created to reflect the nature of the creator. So the purpose of the creation (mankind) is to reflect the nature of the creator! That's where the "rub" begins! The created can never be more than the reflection of the creator…it can never be the creator! We humans buy the lie that there should be more. There is another creation who was made to be the lead lover in the heavens who thought himself capable of being more than the created…he was thrown out of heaven and now lives to amass his own group of followers – Satan! Scary thought, isn't it? Sometimes, the divine nature we experience is not too far removed from the one that masquerades as the divine (light). That's why we have to keep our eyes on the One who is the true source of our divinity and not look to the frequent appeal of the fake one! There was one man in antiquity who walked in obedient faith that God is Who He says He is. Abraham walked by faith (acted like he really believed God and loved others as himself), and was therefore made the "father of a great nation." Unfortunately, his descendants didn't do as good of a job reflecting the love of their Creator. They wound up in slavery in a hostile land. Even in those circumstances, however, they were given the opportunity to live out God's purpose (love), but they didn't quite make it. God (in His loving nature) showed grace and mercy by bringing them out of bondage with a promise of a better land and life. He went so far as to give them a recipe for living out the reflective image of Himself. That recipe is in the Ten Commandments. Jesus summed them up like this; "Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, and mind. The second is like that – love your neighbor as yourself." Having no other God's before Him (including self), making no graven images either material or imaginary (personal agendas included), not misusing the very character of His name (acting like He really doesn't matter), and keeping one day each week as devoted to Him is an act of love for him that engages our hearts, minds, and souls with Him! Giving honor to our parents, and to others by not murdering, adulterating them, stealing from them, lying and gossiping about them, and not being envious of what they have been gifted or earned, is loving others as we would love ourselves! This also honors and loves God because it reflects the Divine nature of the one who is the Creator. You'd think that's sufficient for us to then k now and live out our purpose?

Not quite. You see, we're slow learners when it comes to our Divine nature. You see, when it comes to making dirty pants, we've turned it into an art form! So, Love Himself went a step further. He decided to come to us as one of us, show us what it looks like to be the true reflection of His Divine nature and what did we do with that? We (humans) had to do away with Him who "showed us up." So Love being who Love is, expressed His mercy and grace by giving His perfect life as a sacrifice for our imperfection, so that even in our imperfection, we could live out the hope of our Divine reflection, with a little help from our friend, the Holy Spirit! Seems like everywhere we turn in this story, God is at work, perfecting us to do what is His purpose for us from the beginning! To Love Him and love one another! So how God's love plays out in our lives is that He gives us unconditional mercy and grace (all sufficient to meet every emotional and spiritual need we have) and all He asks in return is that we live out His reflection by shining that Light of love onto others (mercy and grace). If we're spending all our time seeking the reassurance of His love that has been given so abundantly, we're not living in the light of His love, but in the light of the great pretender!!! The measure of the faith we have that His grace is sufficient is the amount of mercy and grace we extend to others without desire for recognition! Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Workers Union said: "I only love God as much as the one whom I love the least." Think about it! How much time do we ponder how to love more dearly the one we love the least? Why don't we do that more often? It's the purpose of our existence!!! It is the true reflection of the Divine in whose image we are made.

We are called here to be the Body of Christ – the living Love of God! Christ did not live for Himself, but for the glory of the Father and the sake of His earthly brothers and sisters. And so are we too called to do the same, if we are a part of this Body of Christ.

Today, we leave here for the beach where 13 or more people will demonstrate their faith in the love of God by submitting to the water – a symbol of dying to self, and then being raised from the water symbolizing a resurrection into a new life in Him. The life in Him is a life in Love, even for those whom we like the least! Love is an action. Life that is an act of love is a life lived as witness to Love Himself.

Some years ago there was a celebration in Zaire (in Africa) of the 100^th anniversary of Christianity in that theretofore pagan nation. The streets were full of those celebrating the wonders of Christ in their lives and giving glory to God for those who had sacrificed so much for the cause of Christ there. Suddenly an aged man came slowly to the center stage and approached the host, imploring him to let him speak a word of truth about the past, or it would forever be lost with him in the grave. He recounted for the crowd how when the missionaries first came, they told the story of Jesus and His self sacrifice for the sins of all. The story to them seemed so strange. They wondered to themselves how they could know to trust these stories to be true. They reasoned, the best witness to someone's story about life is how they die. So the tribal leaders undertook the systematic task of poisoning the missionary families. One by one, the Children of the missionaries began to dye off from mysterious and painful causes. A few of the adults also died. At the loss of each, the missionaries surrendered each life to the glory of God and gave thanks for the joy of having known each one. These acts of love and the never wavering mercy and grace being shown the tribe gave witness to the power of Christ in their lives. The tribal leaders believed and so a whole of a nation began to turn to God. The old man had testified as to the power of God lived out in the lives of those He redeems.

Our lives are His witness. What of Him are you allowing to be reflected in you?

Year Eleven

"Year Eleven – A Gift from Heaven"

Pastor Tom Millner

Isaiah 53:5-6, I Peter 4:8-13, Philippians 4:8

August 9, 2009

SpiritSong Worship Center

Isaiah 53:5-6 "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

I Peter 4:8-13 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Last week there was a rumor flying around that actually turned into gossip. You see, it started with another minister receiving an invitation to an LBGT clergy group for a brown bag luncheon here at SpiritSong Worship Center on the 18^th of August. For some reason, that minister made a comment to someone about a "pagan" group of clergy meeting here. Before long, the story became that we were renting space to a group of wiccans! If you've for some reason heard this rumor, I want to dispel any concerns. We are not and never will "rent" space to any pagan group. The truth is, I've invited the ecumenical group (Christian, Jewish, Non-Christian) here to witness the presence of Jesus Christ at work in this place. Just as we saw in the video a few weeks ago when we talked about gossip, words of hearsay or gossip are like feathers blown from a pillow. Once released, it's impossible to retrieve all of them. Where our words fall on what may be tender and impressionable ears, we may not know. The result can be deadly for the listener. Scripture equates gossip to the same level as murder and thievery. If you've been a part of it, I ask you to now rectify your conversation to the truth.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."

Is gossip sin? You bet your bippy it is. And so is envy, strife, division, being judgmental (unjustly), arrogance, insolence… in other words, just about everything human. At the end of the day, we're each wearing dirty pants. Fortunately, because of the grace of Jesus Christ, we wake every morning to a clean pair when we acknowledge the dirty ones and seek the clean. Let's remember to love one another and not quarrel about petty things in this body of Christ – this family of God. The only people who listen to both sides of a family quarrel are the next door neighbors! "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." Our words and our deeds are our witness!

God has graced us with 10 years as a Church Body. How have we gotten here? By prayer in the presence of an all loving God followed by action to honor and worship Him! This week we begin year 11. How will we make it to year 20? By prayer in the presence of an all loving God followed by action to honor and worship Him!

In our scripture today from 1 Peter 4:8 we read: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

Let's look more closely at this scripture – for in these words lies the wisdom of God! "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Let's translate that a bit further. "With the love that God has given to you, give to one another, for at the end of the day, we're all in need of a pair of clean shorts!" What does God's love look like? Mercy and grace – Mercy is not getting what we really deserve – Grace is getting what we really don't deserve! We all love to receive both mercy and grace from God, but what about the giving of them? Huh? What do you mean? It's easy to offer grace and mercy (love) to those we like –right? That's not what Peter is saying here…The love (grace and mercy) of God is extended to all…the good, the bad, the ugly – each one equally. That's the love He demands back from us. We love Him by giving His love to one another! But I don't always "feel" very loving, we say… I've been hurt by these people. I've been put upon, disrespected, not honored, not esteemed…! Let me ask you – do you think the man who was nailed to the not so glittery cross on that hill called Calvary was nailed in honor, respect, and esteem? Think He "felt" like being loving? God's love is not a feeling, folks – its HARD stuff! We've got to learn to overcome our feeling addiction… we often act like a bunch of emotion junkies… we're being called to recovery, here folks! Don't get me wrong – there's nothing wrong with savoring good feelings – when we put those feelings ahead of God's command – it's Idolatry –sin in its basic form! What's the consequence of sin? … separation from God, each other, and self! What's the cure? God's love in the form of mercy and grace….. Just for me alone to receive - NO… for you and me to give away, just as Jesus did. Got your heart set on feeling loved? Try throwing a little love in the direction of someone from whom you've felt hurt… that's putting your heart in the act of forgiveness… it's living God's grace as you have received from Him. Norman Vincent Peale said once: "throw your heart over the fence and the rest of your body will go along." Throw your heart in the direction of another's best interest and see the rewards of a heart filled with joy! "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." Don't be destroyed by the sin of Sodom! – Inhospitality!

Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest football coaches of the 20^th century – coach of the Green Bay Packers – in their hay day – was asked what he attributed as the secret to a winning team. Without hesitation he responded that it was the positive regard each player had for the other, both on and off the field. Each one always looking out for the best interest of the other! That's the "secret" to this winning team as well – loving is looking out for the best interest of the other. The secret to getting more love is to love more!

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." Grace – giving us what we don't deserve! Each of us has received one or more loving gifts from our gracious Father, God. The gifts are not for our personal consumption, though we receive personal joy in their presence. Those gifts are given to be used for the benefit of others…to provide to others what they don't deserve, haven't worked for, have no right to receive…that's loving as God loves – that's gracing as God graces!

There was a Puerto Rican lady living in New York City who started going to a Christian Academy on the upper west side that served a destitute and needy population. The woman, in broken English, said to the head master; "I need to give love somehow." The Headmaster wasn't sure what to do and the woman kept returning saying the same thing. Finally, the Headmaster said; "start riding the one of the school busses and give your love away." She did as she was told and on each of the several busses, she would express in the few English words she knew "I love you" to the students. One day, she announced she was going to ride just the one bus for the rest of the school year. She had found a child who didn't speak, who would lay his head on her shoulder as she whispered day after day "I love you" as she held him close. Finally, one day the boy whispered back to her; "I love you too." That was 10:30 a.m. At 9:30 p.m., that boy's body was found in a garbage bag near a dumpster, the victim of his mother's abuse. We never know the impact of using the gift we have been given in administering the Grace of God to others in its many forms!

Love is given when it is abundantly received! Jesus died as an act of love – saving us from what we really deserve and giving us what we really don't deserve – absolute forgiveness and a clean pair of shorts to wear before God! How much more do we really need to give it away?

L Be quiet and Listen

O Keep your heart and mind Open

V Remember you bring Value

E God's love is for Everyone

The second decade of our existence is contingent on our living out the LOVE of Christ in and through each other – testifying to the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. We're on the edge of a great revival in this community – will you LOVE it in?

With These Lips

"With These Lips"

Pastor Tom Millner

July 12, 2009

SpiritSong Worship Center

Exodus 20:16, Matthew 15:10-11; 16 - 20, Ephesians 4:29-32

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40

This statement sums up the total of the Christian's walk. There is a single message you will hear in every sermon preached in this Church: God loves us so much that He gave the life of His only Son so that we can be made whole before God when we act in that knowledge and because of that we are called to put love Him above all else and to love each other with the same degree of love we give ourselves! If you aren't hearing that in the sermons from this pulpit, ask one of us to explain where it was in the message! Today's message is no exception.

What is this thing called gossip? Why is it so inviting and easy to engage? What's the real harm in it? What do I do about it?

Wikipedia defines gossip as follows: Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing (unproven) facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted. The term also carries implications that the news so transmitted (usually) has a personal or trivial nature, as opposed to normal conversation.

You know its gossip when the voice lowers, the eyebrow raises! Gossip is the only sound that travels faster than sound! Seems the only time we dislike gossip is when it's about us. We have a whole society built upon gossip. What about "inquiring minds"? We've even raised it to an honorable place on line and in newsprint "The Gossip Column." There are TV shows filled with it. But, embracing gossip is like sleeping with a 30 foot python; one day you'll wake up being devoured by it!

Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, "Our people come to us and pour out their hearts, confess certain sins and needs. Let's do the same. Confession is good for the soul." One confessed he had a fondness for extra dry martinis. Another confessed she had a fascination with seedy movies. The third confessed that he loved placing wagers and a good game of poker. When it came time for the fourth one, he wouldn't confess. The others pressed him…. "Come on now, we confessed ours. What's your secret or vice? Finally he said, "It's gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here!"

Why is gossip so appealing? What is there about a juicy piece of information, a morsel, and a tidbit? What is there that makes us lend an ear or whisper a word? There's the complex answer and then the simple one. Let's start simple and build from there. Notice in the spelling of a word we don't like – S I N… what's in the center? "I, I, I, I, I, I" Me, me, me, me, me, and me! Life's all about ME! But of course, the "me" that I see which is the "me" I strive for you never to see, will be the source of destruction for both you and me, don't you see?

We participate in gossip because we want to be "in the know." Information is POWER! I heard that preached in corporate America over and again. Never mind that being in the know comes from ones who don't know! If you tell me all you know then I'll know what you know, plus what I know – then I'll know more than you know! So one of the reasons we engage in gossip is to make us believe we have the knowledge edge. That can feel good for a while, but it doesn't last. It's like that first hit on the crack pipe… or the first drink...If the first was so good, the second must be better. The addiction starts and the high from the first will never be reached again. Just can't get enough to get away from "me." So, let's talk about you, or you, or better still, about YOU.

We participate in gossip because it often puts others in a worse light than we see ourselves. Honey, I didn't want to say this but – you know, he's got a trail of woes that would make cow manure look like stepping stones! The worse I paint the picture of you, the less light is reflected on me. When all the buzz about you has fizzled, though, I still have to live with me… now I have to live with guilt as well. Boy, does that make me angry!

Anger – emotion: another reason why we gossip. "I've just been holding this in for too long now. I have to tell somebody… Did you know that Elmer chose that sleazy hussy's brownies over my hand made chocolate fudge?" Because we're angry, hurt, feel rejected, left out, overlooked, disregarded, neglected, or otherwise disenfranchised, we want to hurt back. As our Sister Audrey said in her sermon a few weeks ago; "Hurt people hurt people." We conveniently forget about Christ's admonition to "turn the other cheek." Instead of dealing with our own iceberg, we want to sink someone else's ship! Proverbs 26: 20-24 reads: "……

So what's so bad about a little gossip? We were just sitting around chit-chatting about this and that and about how we feel about stuff. What's wrong with that? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." How does gossip square with that?

When I was a freshman in college, the Pastor of my home church was accused of trying to kiss my childhood sweetheart. My Mother, who was faithful to write me every week until she became an invalid more than 10 years ago, penned the news to me. When I was home from college one weekend later, I said to my girlfriend (with her sister present) that I could not fathom how the Pastor could have done such a thing – I found it hard to believe. Two weeks later, my mother wrote me that the father of my childhood sweetheart (who happened to be a Deacon in the church) had called him to demand that she "shut me up" or be sued for slander. I was appalled. What on earth was going on, I thought. Here I was 120 miles from home (before cell phone days) with virtually no contact with anyone from the community, yet I was being accused of slander – for WHAT? I subsequently found out that my girlfriend's sister worked in a local factory alongside the boyfriend of my childhood sweetheart whose father had called my mother… Get the picture? My words of "disbelief" at the unfathomable happening had been translated to my calling the girl a liar. I was so traumatized by the whole incident that I allowed the enemy to turn me away from the church for many years – all because of gossip! I can still feel the pangs of grief over the whole incident. Gossip destroys – it kills – His Spirit in us!

Paul in his letter to the Church in Rome, chapter 1, puts gossip right up there with murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, and stealing. I don't see the fruit of the Spirit nor loving God and others anywhere in any one of these! You don't take a gun, shoot your neighbor and say; "just a little murder." You don't stab a passer by and say; "just a little chest wound." Yet, we dare to make light of a "little gossip." What's it gonna harm? After all, I can say what's on my heart... Jeremiah 17:9 says; "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jesus said in Matthew that out of the mouth comes all sorts of evil from the heart. The Bible forbids us to both utter what is untrue and to utter what may be true but the uttering of which arises from a mood or motivation that is aimed at someone else's ruin.

Hearsay is never permitted as testimony in a court of law. In Biblical times two witnesses were required for a testimony to be valid. Both had to be of reputable character. The Mishnah (a distillation of rabbinic wisdom) stated that anyone who was commonly known to be loose-tongued or mean-spirited was disqualified as a witness – the testimony was worthless at all times and in all circumstances. Also, if the person gives false testimony and the accused is found innocent, the one giving false testimony is sentenced to the fate of the accused if he had been found guilty. Furthermore, if found guilty by virtue of one's testimony, should the penalty be death, the one giving the testimony delivers the death blow!

Something more… One would think that the best way to act sometimes is to just ignore the gossiping person and say nothing. Not good enough in ancient Israel! If you listened to gossip and did nothing to denounce it as gossip, you were deemed guilty of gossip yourself on the spot and subject to the punishment for bearing false witness!

So, if gossip is so bad for us and the Body of Christ of which we are each a part, what do we do about it?

T.H.I.N.K!

T Is it True?

H Is it Helpful?

I Is it Inspiring?

N Is it Necessary?

K Is it King?

If what I'm about to say doesn't pass that test, I keep my mouth shut!!!

Psalm 19:14 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my Redeemer.