Stay In the Moment - It Happens In a Blink
Stay In the Moment • Sermon • Submitted
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It Happens In a Blink
It Happens In a Blink
Intro - [Talk about losses recently, and the questions that come from that.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Talk about time generally. ]
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Sometimes life can hit us pretty hard, and time seems to stand still. Even other times, when life is fine we can dream of a different time. [briefly me and daydreaming]
[talk about usually hiding movie references…move toward the quote: “This one a long time have I watched. All his life he has looked away…to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was…what he was doing.”]
Sometimes, when times seem to be in turmoil, we might grow numb, or silent, hoping to not cause waves.
They say time can heal all wounds, but honestly, time alone, isn’t always enough. Time alone, with it’s silence and sometimes apathy, can cause that wound to fester.
Pray
It is in these moments that we need to be the most mindful
And that is what this series has been dedicated to, that idea of mindfulness. Paying attention to the things going on around us, and the things that have lead us up to this point.
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Talk about time
[picture of Yoda?]
[talk about usually hiding movie references…move toward the quote: “This one a long time have I watched. All his life he has looked away…to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was…what he was doing.”]
This series has been dedicated to that idea of mindfulness. Paying attention to the things going on around us, and the things that have lead us up to this point.
And it is that very theme and thought, that brought me to want to change everything this morning, and just spend some time talking through this.
[pic of ecc text that looks better]
Exegete…use at funerals…move to the question of Theodicy
Theodicy
[define here]
talk about it and move toward the answer through out text AND...
And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there. I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
Ecc 3:
...Wickedness, or evil, exists so that we might have a chance to know God and follow Him.
In the place of wiping the whole slate clean, God has offered us an opportunity to, a few moments, to look beyond the evil in this life, and take hold of the life He gave for us in Jesus...
But I think we know that. And even so, we question God. Even though we know that God has proven His goodness to us, we doubt.
There’s a time for that.
But understand, the longer we look off into that horizon. The longer we peer into those questions that can never be answered this side of heaven, the more we miss in this life.
As I get older…[life moving fast]
…Listen our chances are fleeting! Our moments to show God’s love and live for Him come out of nowhere! And on top of that you never know the moment when your chances will cease to be! And if we get too wrapped up in our own doubts and questions, we might miss out on what God has for us.
Church, at the end of the day, our lives are an accumulation of the moments that have been given to us. Sure we hope for more. And if we get more, we might even do things differently. But we aren’t promised another breath! We have been given the gift of now! And we have to make the most of it!
Church, all that we are, at the end of the day, is an accumulation of the moments that have been, and the hope of moments to come! So we must, church, place more value on what we have than what we might get!
[pic of a bird in hand is worth 2 in bush]
We have to use our moments for God’s glory alone.
[pic of violence]
But we seem to be wired wrong. We seem to place almost infinite value on what we might be able to do, while looking past what we have been asked to do! We give up the moment for the moments that we hope to have! But we aren’t there yet! We aren’t guarenteed those moments! We need to give our minds and hearts to the moment God has given to us.
On top of the loss this past week locally, there is the seemingly ever present reports of threats, violence, hatred and bigotry.
O as the prophet says, “wickedness.”
Of course most of you know by now that this past weekend, there were torch carrying protesters marching to save a statue…by the way, while it is their right to want to save a statue, I wonder if they would fight so hard to save inner city children who die for lack of medical care, or nutrition. History tells us no…Eventually the protests and counterprotests lead to violence. Of course, one side came with armor, shields and weapons, so I suppose they were looking for a fight. In the course of this, of course, a car drove into the crowd, killing one person.
Wickedness.
And here we are, Christians, followers of the Prince of Peace - the man who said don’t succumb to an eye for an eye, turn the other cheek! Be persecuted for faith! Pray for your enemies and love them!
Use your time, whatever He gives us, to love, after all, hate will only bring about our destruction.
[segue to Esther]
Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
[expand on that…boasting/narcicism/detachment from reality/self-indulgence…but even with all of that he was miserable BECAUSE of his hatred. Blinded by it. And it led to his eventual demise.]
We don’t have time to hate. We just don't’ have time for that!
Our moments, as the past 10 months can surely show us, are just a breath! We have to do our best with the time we are given, because this life happens in a blink!
[it happens in a blink chorus]
And not only does it happen fast, but what we do with our time, especially as Christians, can and will echo down through the ages!
[how we are remembered]
...No, our impact has to be bigger than all of that! Our lives are filled with opportunities to live as Christ truly wants us to live! To hold tight to moments, and things, that matter! Love, joy, heartache; moments when we might doubt or have fear. All moments that shouldn’t be looked past, because they are the moments that we have been made for! It is in those moments that we can glorify God and build up His kingdom and people!
There is no stopping time. We can daydream all we want, but that doesn’t buy us another second. What we do with right now, matters more than you can ever know.
There is no stopping time. We can daydream all we want, but that doesn’t buy us another second. What we do with right now, matters more than you can ever know.
At the end of the day, who is going to remember how much money we make, or how big our house is? Is that what we are living for? Will those that matter the most to us remember how great we are at running staff meetings, or how we always made the best snacks on casual friday?
And not only that, but those are moments that will be remembered by everyone we touch! Our families, our community - everyone God gives us! Those are moments that will be remembered if only we don’t look past them and instead stare off into the horizon at those moments that don’t matter.
No, our impact has to be bigger than that.
Our life need get lost while we aren’t looking! Our moments
LISTEN, NO ONE IS GOING TO REMEMBER HOW MUCH MONEY YOU MAKE, OR HOW BIG YOUR HOUSE IS! NO ONE WILL EVER CARE ABOUT THE POSITIONS WE RISE TO IN THIS LIFE, OR EVEN THE AWARDS THAT WE GET FOR OUR WORK! NO YOUR FAMILIES, YOUR COMMUNITY, THIS ENTIRE WORLD, WILL KEEP ON MOVING REGARDLESS OF ANY PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS WE MIGHT AMASS!
And as life speeds up we begin to rush toward the future, the faster today becomes yesterday!
And the more that happens, church, we begin to lose our grip on those moments that really matter. Moments of joy, or heartache; of fear and love. Moments that we set aside for us so that we could glorify God and build up His kingdom and people. And not only that, but moments that will be remembered by everyone we touch! Our families, our community - everyone God gives us! Those are moments that will be remembered if only we don’t look past them and instead stare off into the horizon at those moments that don’t matter.
NO, THE MORE WE CARE ABOUT THAT, THE MORE WE PLAN FOR TOMORROW, THE MORE WE RUSH TOWARD THE FUTURE, THE FASTER TODAY BECOMES YESTERDAY!
You see, Church, apart from knowing Christ, the only thing that truly matters in this life is how we have loved...
AND THE FASTER WE PUSH TOWARDS THESE WORLDLY GOALS, THE FASTER WE MOVE THROUGH THE MOMENTS THAT REALLY MATTER! THE MOMENTS OF JOY, OR HEART ACHE, OF FEAR, OF LOVE - THE MOMENTS THAT WERE SET ASIDE FOR US THAT WE MIGHT USE THEM TO GLORIFY GOD AND TO HELP BUILD HIS KINGDOM! MOMENTS RESERVED FOR US AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOVE AND EXPERIENCE LOVE! MOMENTS THAT WILL BE REMEMBERED BY EVERYONE WE MEET, IF ONLY WE DON’T LOOK PAST THEM TOWARDS THOSE OTHER MOMENTS THAT DON’T MATTER!
CHURCH, THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IN THIS LIFE, APART FROM KNOWING CHRIST, IS HOW WE HAVE LOVED!
Jesus replied: “ ‘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.”
Matt
[JESUS ABOUT LOVE]
Love. God and others.
And a big part of loving others, is standing beside them in the hard times. Whether in the wake of loss, or in the face of hatred, the job of Christians, those who claim the title of “saved,” is to follow the words in this book and love radically. Even at a cost to self.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Listen, Jesus died that we might have the tools to put an end to hate. Jesus is our justice and our judgement! In the light of the cross, all wickedness and evil turns and runs! And if the cross, and Christ, is truly the center of our life we have no time for evil! We have no time for hatred!
LISTEN WE DON’T HAVE TIME BECAUSE LIFE HAPPENS TOO FAST! WE CAN’T CRIPPLE OUR WITNESS AND OUR WORLD BY WASTING OUR TIME BEING VESSELS OF HATRED OR INDIFFERENCE! WE HAVE BEEN REMADE BY CHRIST! WE ARE NOW VESSELS OF HIS LOVE AND HIS MESSAGE! WE ARE THE INSTRUMENTS INTENDED TO SPREAD GODS JOY, LOVE, AND GRACE TO THE ENTIRE WORLD!
Life is too short to waste time. We have to make the most of what God gives to us.
Thursday, at the memorial gathering at the Baseball field…[story about Jimmy]
…You see, that is the good news, church. There is a time for these questions. There is a time for doubts, and anger, and fear, and all the emotions that we encounter in this life. But over and above all of that, there is a time to love, and that time is every moment we are given!
BUT CHURCH, GOD HAS MADE ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL IN THEIR TIME! THOSE MOMENTS WE HAVE IN THIS LIFE ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFTS WE CAN EVER EXPERIENCE, BUT THE TRICK IS, WE HAVE TO SLOW DOWN AND EXPERIENCE IT!
I don’t want to get to the end of this life and look back and realize that missed it all hoping for something else, or ungrateful for what I had been given. No I want to look back and see a path carved out by love that runs through every soul I have ever met! I want to be grateful for every second, every moment, every opportunity I have been given!
And that starts at the cross.
YOU HAVE THIS ONE LIFE, CHURCH! DON’T SPEND IT LOOKING PAST THIS MOMENT! IT HAPPENS TOO FAST!
We must be grateful for the cross. Grateful for Christ. Grateful for love. And the more time we spend grateful, the more time we will have to love others. The more time will make for families. The more time we free up to volunteer, or reach into the lives of those who most need us! The more we live in the light and love of the cross, and in the moments we are given - the more we keep our minds on where we are and what we are supposed to be doing - the more we can do for this world and for Christ!
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
Ecc 3:12
You want to find happiness? Start there. The prophet tells us…[happy=joy in christ, do good=love others as yourself]