Sermon Tone Analysis

Prayer

Are we all pumped up?

Soccer player stuck in the fog.

Sam Bartram, was the goalie for Charlton Athletic - played 579 games.

Dec 25th 1937 was involved in a well reported incident when thick fog closed in on a game he was playing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

"Soon after the kick-off," he wrote in his autobiography, "[fog] began to thicken rapidly at the far end, travelling past Vic Woodley in the Chelsea goal and rolling steadily towards me.

The referee stopped the game, and then, as visibility became clearer, restarted it.

We were on top at this time, and I saw fewer and fewer figures as we attacked steadily."

The game went unusually silent but Sam remained at his post, peering into the thickening fog from the edge of the penalty area.

And he wondered why the play was not coming his way.

"After a long time," he wrote, 'a figure loomed out of the curtain of fog in front of me.

It was a policeman, and he gaped at me incredulously.

"What on earth are you doing here?" he gasped.

"The game was stopped a quarter of an hour ago.

The field's completely empty".'

PAUSE

We have just come out of Easter.

Singing songs of celebration and hands up and lights and cheers.

When it comes to faith, if we are honest, many of us have felt that.

Like there is some sort of life beyond the fog, but we are not a part of it.

We are stuck here, unaware, alone, while others seem to be living their lives, and moving forward.

And everyone else so know something you don’t.

And once an awhile someone attempting to help you approached you and says.... “Hey what are you doing on this side of the fog.”

And for many we find that there is a disconnect between what we are told and what we experience.

Why is there a disconnect between what we are told and what we experience?

If we walk in darkness long enough we will begin to believe that all there is is darkness.

And it works both ways.

If we have been pampered our whole lives, we will assume everything everywhere is good, and we will be blind to the hurt of others and the plight of those in other area of the world.

But if we walk in shadow and depression we will have a concept that everything everywhere is bad.

Winston Churchill has been credited with the metaphor of depression, melancholy and sadness as the black dog.

this description of a wild, dark, constant companion, growling and baring his thick, razor-sharp teeth —

and imposing himself on the one he follows.

Why does Paul sit in prison and burst with joy.

And I cannot even label the source of my pain.

Phil 1:

We sing along, we talk to other Christian and nod about the amazing truths that the spirit has revealed to them and how the word always comes to life, and their prayers are answered and they almost have a physical sense of the presence of Christ in their life.

and other than wanting to punch them in the face, we think....I don’t see it, I don’t feel it, and I’m not even sure .....I believe it any more.

And we may arrive at a day where our faith hits the wall

And we cannot see it.

I couldn’t see it.

I suddenly couldn’t see God at all.

I suddenly saw the world as if God didn’t exist.

As one writer puts it...

“That day I was seized with a Grand Doubt, and scales, rather than falling off, filled my heart-eyes.

God disappeared from my spiritual sight for the first time in my memory.”

Jon Bloom

E

Bloom goes on to say, echoing Solomon....

Everything appeared hollow.

Work appeared meaningless, rest appeared meaningless, leisure appeared meaningless, the cosmos appeared meaningless.

Life appeared meaningless.

Ever been there?

And the question the christian who walks in shadow ask is ......

“Why is my experience so different than everyone else’s?”

Everyone is singing and quoting Psalms, and the pastor reads a psalms as a call to worship but he stops the psalm halfway through, because after that it gets weird, so he doesn’t read the parts that ring true to you....

like

-34

When is the last time you saw that framed in someones living room?

And the question for us today, and over these next two weeks, is this.....

How do we navigate sorrow in such a way that we not only survive, but thrive?

It is so important that we frame our experience correctly.....this is what I mean.

Three Misguided Beliefs:

Here is the framework you and I live our lives in.

I. Suffering is an affront to your spiritual and emotional health

Something like this:

Something like this:

You should be happy, you should get what you desire, and your ultimate satisfaction and joy comes when desires are attained.

And it follows, that any level of suffering is an affront to your joy.

That is a modern concept.

Greek philosophers believed that suffering led to knowledge.

Now testing does NOT mean checking whether or not you have faith!!

That is not what is at stake here, James is saying that.

He is talking about the kind of testing that builds strength and purity.

The kind of testing that my daughter does when she does what’s called a mock exam for ballet.

She is watched and critiques and her dance is “purified”, she is given endurance and strength.

This idea is foreign today.

We are taught to avoid difficulty, and uncertain circumstance.

Which is difficult if we trust the words of Jesus who said in

Jonh 16:33

There is not if.

It is not a possibility, it is inevitable!

Jesus was always very up front, the apostles were always very up front that life would have difficulty.

And that they are not an affront but a catalyst for longevity and strength.

related to that ....

II.

Our culture has provided all that is needed for your spiritual and emotional health

We are taught that because of what we have and where we live we can purchase or experience everything we need to make us happy.

Whether it is democracy, capitalism, good food, craft beer, two car garage, or the ability to have a couple vacations each year, sexual freedom.

We have created a society and an experience that is perfectly suited to give you happiness and health.

Cars are no longer tools, they are an experience of spiritual enlightenment, sexual freedom to be expressed with whomever and whenever you want is liberating and fulfilling, convenience is everywhere, and you don’t have to wait, we’ve got Prime, as if patience is a negative,

And we have also produced all the gadgets you need so you can capture all your experiences on your iPhone.

Our culture has provided all that is needed for your spiritual and emotional health

A third misguided belief is this.....

III.

Your spiritual and emotional health is a personal project

Think of just the implication of that title.

Think of just the implication of the concept of Self-Help.

You got it!

“You got it!”

“Get the right book, get the right attitude, mindset, and get it done.”

“Listen you have all the resources at your disposal, you just need the strength and the will to get it done.”