Sermon Tone Analysis

Focus Scripture

Focus Scripture Slides here

2 After a few days, Jesus went back to Capernaum, and people heard that he was at home. 2 So many gathered that there was no longer space, not even near the door.

Jesus was speaking the word to them. 3 Some people arrived, and four of them were bringing to him a man who was paralyzed.

4 They couldn’t carry him through the crowd, so they tore off part of the roof above where Jesus was.

When they had made an opening, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven!”

6 Some legal experts were sitting there, muttering among themselves, 7 “Why does he speak this way?

He’s insulting God.

Only the one God can forgive sins.”

8 Jesus immediately recognized what they were discussing, and he said to them, “Why do you fill your minds with these questions? 9 Which is easier—to say to a paralyzed person, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk’? 10 But so you will know that the Human One has authority on the earth to forgive sins—he said to the man who was paralyzed, 11 “Get up, take your mat, and go home.”

12 Jesus raised him up, and right away he picked up his mat and walked out in front of everybody.

They were all amazed and praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”

Orientation: Smoke & Mirrors

Smoke & Mirrors Slide here

We are in week three of a four part series entitled Smoke & Mirrors: Mind Games that Blind Us.

The premise behind this series is based in the ability of a magician or illusionist act is the art of misdirection.

If a magician can draw the focus of our attention onto something momentarily.

This provides a window to trick us or create open space through which they can trick our eyes or other senses into thinking something magical has happened.

Many of these artists are so good that they can perform their tricks right in front of us and we still don’t see what is actually happening.

Sometimes the things right in front of us are the hardest things to see.

There are things, or mind games, we see and perform everyday yet we are blind and unable to recognize it until your focus is directed to it.

Smoke & Mirrors Slide here

That is what we are doing in this series, we are drawing our attention to the mind games we play on ourselves and others.

In the previous two sermons we have explored The Comparison Delusion and The Walk of Apathy.

Today we move into mind game I am calling Lies, Labels & Other Card Tricks.

I would be willing to bet that just about if not all of you have seen a card trick.

It usually goes like this, the magician invites you pick or think of a card.

You pick a card.

You are told to remember you card and then put it back in the deck.

Then mysteriously, they pull a card back out of the deck after doing shuffle and ask you if the card they have selected was the card you picked or where thinking about.

My personal favorite is when the magician takes the card has you identify it and then proceeds to tear it up in to many pieces only to have it reappear full healed and returned to the deck.

Have you seen that trick?

Where have we been?

Where have we been?

Where are we going?

Where are we today?

Lies, Labels & Other Card Tricks

What Card Are You Holding?

Card Slide Here

I want to do something similar with you this morning.

I want you to make a mental note of three words that you would use to describe yourself.

We are talking about are labels.

A label is a phrase that is used to describe a person or a thing.

I am sure that they will be positive because if you have someone next to you I would invite you to share those words with them.

Here I will give you an example of what I mean.

I am a Mother, Pastor and Wife or I like to fish, craft and dabble in graphic design.

Somebody might be thinking “I am tall, dark and handsome.”

Take a moment and think what would I tell someone about myself and write it down if you can.

LONG PAUSE

Did you do it?

Good!!

Now let’s do it again but this time I want you to think about three words you use to describe yourself or others have used to describe yourself in a less than positive way or in a way that you received in a less than positive way.

Here are some that come to my mind when I think of myself and I know you will laugh.

But truthfully, I have at one time or another thought of myself in these ways and can at time struggle with clinging to these labels.

Some I had given to myself but at times other had given them to me is some shape or fashion through words, actions, apathy or comparison.

These labels are stupid, fat, ugly, a failure and unloveable.

Maybe you have some of the same labels but make sure you write these down because I want to do an exercise with you later in this sermon.

OKAY!? Okay!

These labels are

Which ones are placed on you?

Whether we are aware of it or not, labels are powerful.

When I started grade school I wanted to fit in with others and have friends.

A few of girls were talking about being Girl Scouts and after hearing them talk and receiving an invitation, I desperately wanted to be a Girl Scout.

Here is the thing though.

Girl Scout membership was costly because you had to have a uniform and participate in activities outside of school.

We didn’t have a lot of money in those days.

So I suspect that was part of the reason my father said, “no”.

After a lot of tears and lamenting, my parents gave in and let me join.

Once I got there, I decided it wasn’t really something I enjoyed.

I think I went to 2-3 meetings and then I quit.

I look back on those early years and realize that because I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be.

I was very susceptible to the labels of the world.

I didn’t have an identity within myself and I was looking to my surroundings and thought that wearing the very prominent label of Girl Scout would tell the world that I was honorable, like-able and in the eyes of a first grader, fashionable.

I was seeking an identity, a label.

(Laughing)

Proverbs Slide here

Which ones do you belief?

Labels can be costly or freely given and whether we are completely aware of it or not.

We have or at some point of our lives pursued the possession of a label or we have tried desperately to get rid of one we were given or are believing to be true.

Labels can have value but they also can communicate value.

We all carry labels around in life.

Some are positive but many are negative.

Proverbs which is a book of wisdom says this, “Keep your heart with ALL VIGILANCE.

For from it flow THE SPRINGS of LIFE.”

This means the labels that we take to heart and mind should be weighed with great discernment before we believe them.

We must sort through the lies we believe and the look for the truth.

The problem with labels is is you wear it for too long, it stops describing your past and begins to shape your future.

The longer you wear a label, the more it stops describing where you have been and the more it begins to determine where you are headed.

Misdirected focus or attention has to capacity to blind us to the whole reality of our past and trick us into believing lies which can shape our future.

False labels can be positive but lead to negative consequences in in lives of people too.

The labels we place upon others also changes the way we treat them even those we love the most.

There was a study done with students and these researchers took a look at these students and here's what they determined.

They determined if you take this child who's in school and you label them slow and nothing else changes, you don't change the way you teach them, you don't change their home life, nothing else changes but you label them slow, their school performance will actually decrease if they're aware of that label.

If you take the same child and you label them advanced and nothing else changes, their school performance will actually increase.

Why?

Because labels are powerful, aren't they?

Labels are powerful and we know it.

Here's how that looks for you and me.

If I feel labeled as a failure, maybe because of what happened in school or what happened at work or what's happened in relationships in my life, if I feel like a failure, I'm afraid to try new things because if I try new things and it doesn't work out, it's only confirmed what I've been labeled, which is a failure and I feel even more like a failure.