See, Show, Shout

Children’s Sermon

There’s an old saying - A lie makes it around the world while the truth is still putting its pants on. As I was working on this sermon, I thought over my years as a kid and tried to remember a time when something positive spread like wildfire. In today’s language, we’d call that “going viral.” I struggled to think of anything. Yet, if I think of fights, rumors, gossip, insults that went viral I can populate a list very quickly. We humans are strange. I’ve seen that often when we congratulate someone on something positive we do it much more quietly than when we’re spreading gossip, for instance.

Be different! When you hear gossip, or rumors, or dirt on someone you may savor it for a moment, but you can also stop it. PUT THAT FIRE OUT! (WORK WITH THIS…NOT SPREADING IT, POURING WATER ON IT, ETC) You can refuse to share it further as difficult as it might be at first. If you’re really up to a challenge, you might even think of something positive to say or share with others about the person or persons who the gossip is targeting. I think, in general, it won’t take a lot of practice doing this before people learn it’s a waste of time to share such things with you. And THEN, I promise, you will be a much happier person!

When you’re thinking of saying something, there are three golden questions to ask: Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me now?

Pray

Scripture

Daniel 6:21-28- Then Daniel said to the king, “Long live the king! My god sent his angel and kept the lions’ mouths shut. They couldn’t harm me because God found me innocent; and I also haven’t done anything wrong to you.” The king was elated. He ordered Daniel brought up from the den and there wasn’t a scratch on him because he trusted God. The king then ordered the men who had accused Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. The lions instantly overpowered and crushed them. Then King Darius wrote a decree: To all peoples, nations, and languages on the earth: I wish you great peace. I issue this command: In ever corner of my kingdom, all must fear and revere Daniel’s God because: He is the living God. God stands eternally firm. His kingship cannot be destroyed. He will rule until the end of time. He is a rescuer and savior; God gives signs and performs miracles in heaven and on earth. I’ve seen the proof: He saved Daniel from the lions’ power. And so Daniel was made wealthy and important during the rule of Darius and the rule of Cyrus the Persian.

Engage

How are we to act when we see clearly the Truth of Jesus? Perhaps when we see a miracle, or miracles. Perhaps when we feel the unmistakable power of the Spirit in ourselves or a situation. I remember going to church camp in middle school, where I felt the Spirit so powerfully. Yet, like many, as I returned to normal life, I slid away. I chickened out.

Our local Walk to Emmaus community had our first weekend since COVID a couple of weeks ago, a men’s walk. By the way, if you haven’t been on walk to Emmaus and would be interested, I’d love to find you a sponsor and send you. It’s not a cult…but we do hold some of the details of the weekend close to our vests so as not to spoil the experience with foreknowledge. I’m actually the Spiritual Director on a men’s walk scheduled for March. There are women’s walks coming up as well, and Chrysalis flights for teenagers should resume next year, prayerfully. Anyway, I was talking to a pastor friend about this last men’s weekend. He said the wife of a man in his church, who attended this Emmaus walk, approached him the following Sunday. She said, “he’s a different man. 180 degrees different. He used to have a big anger problem, especially with the kids. Now he’s learned to stop and walk away. He’s taking his life much more seriously than before.” He saw Jesus (met him), he’s showing that the encounter changed him, and no doubt he’s telling people about it!

Encounter

Our challenge is to be open to seeing the hands of God, Jesus, the Spirit at work in our lives and in the world around us. Then, when we see it, our challenge is to show it and shout it!

There are numerous Old Testament examples of this. Our Scripture today comes from the story of Daniel and King Darius. Darius was caught by his own law that he’d issued under pressure from his advisors. On a side note, stop and think with me how many terrible advisors there have been in human history! Anyway, his own law forces him to throw Daniel into the Lions’ den even though he doesn’t want to. Yet, Daniel comes out without a scratch! Darius SEES the miracle of God, he shows it to all those around him and then he shouts the truths of God to his entire kingdom…RE-READ A PORTION OF SCRIPTURE ABOVE.

We find another example in the person of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah gets very ill, as recorded in Isaiah 38. He’s even told he’s not going to survive the illness. He prays to God and God answers by promising an additional 15 years of life. He’s SEEN a miracle. He shows it and shouts it by recording it, writing it down. Countless generations have read his account and his praise, right up to us in Isaiah 38. He says, “I thought, I must depart in the prime of my life....I won’t see the Lord, I won’t look upon humans again…but, what can I say, God has spoken to me; he himself has acted! The Lord most High is the one who gives life to every heart, who gives life in the spirit!…The living can thank you, as I do today. Parents will tell children of your faithfulness…the Lord has truly saved me!”

One more example from the Old Testament you may remember from your kids Bible, or from teaching during VBS. It’s a popular story to recite to children. Namaan, a powerful Syrian foreigner, has a horrible skin disease. He eventually is led to the powerful prophet Elisha. This is all recorded in 2 Kings Chapter 5. Elisha has Namaan wash himself seven times in the Jordan river, above Namaan’s initial objection. Then, he’s cured. He’s SEEN a miracle…one he’d been desperate for. His clean skin shines for all who know him. And, he shouts praise to God for the miracle, saying, “Now I know for certain there’s no God anywhere except the God of Israel.”

Now, I doubt any of us would have a problem with seeing a miracle. It may be a challenge to BELIEVE what we’ve seen, but I’d hope most of us could overcome that somewhat easily. If you don’t believe in miracles, you aren’t paying attention. It’s a bit more difficult, though, to show a miracle. To show a miracle we take the risk of being influenced by what other people think. What a powerful influencer that can be! And, to shout it is even riskier. People might really think we’ve lost our marbles! What if our relationships change, our work changes, our life changes because we’re shouting about the miracles we’ve seen? Get over it! I promise, it’s worth the risk. As I said during the Window series, and numerous times since, we have to get better at telling our stories! This congregation is FULL of miracle stories to share! We don’t shout them enough...

We see this all over the NT as well, of course. The Samaritan woman at the well comes to mind. She experiences the miracle of Jesus and becomes one of the first evangelists of the Christian church. You might say she had little or nothing to lose, and perhaps so. But she certainly risked people thinking she was even crazier and more wicked than they already thought. Yet, she shouts her praise of Jesus.

Empower

I have a couple of friends I grew up with, Chad Lindaman, who I graduated high school with, his older sister Keri who I knew and got to know better in college, and their older brother Mike. I knew their mom and even watched the Super Bowl in 1991 at their house when the Giants played the Bills (the one where Whitney sang the national anthem and Scott Norwood’s kick sailed wide right). What I always thought was their dad was actually their step-dad. No wonder Keri called him by his first name, lol. Chad lives in the Phoenix area and Keri still lives in the KC area. I didn’t know that their biological father, Dennis, or Dennie, lives in Joplin.

Then, an F5 tornado hit Joplin May 22, 2011. 161 people died. It remains the costliest single tornado in American history. I saw Chad’s messages that night and I stayed up most of the night checking and re-checking the status. Here are just some of them:

· Chad – 8:04 pm – from Keri – Chad, Call me!

o 8:53pm – Major tornado hit Joplin MO where my dad lives. The power is out, and we have no way to get in touch with him. The damage on the news looks pretty awful. Very worried.

o 8:59pm – my brother and sister are driving down to find him now.

o 10:35pm – It's been 4.5 hours since the tornado. No word yet from my dad. The major buildings they are reporting destroyed (walmart, high school, hospital, etc.) are all near his house.

o 12:08am - Still no word on my dad. My brother and sister made it into Joplin. They are trying to make their way through blocked roads. They saw cars littering the sides of streets, gas stations completely leveled, etc. They are still miles from my dads.

o 12:44am – My brother made it to my dad's area. Just got a text that they found my dad's dog.

o 12:50am – Lindy (dog) is ok. Only 2 walls standing at my dads. No sign of my dad.

o 12:51am – my sister is on the phone with me now, hysterical

o 12:52am-1:10am – national guard has not found a single person from my dads area. L…lifting through debris now. Found his wallet, keys. Both of his cars are there. They are going through upstairs (what's left of it) now. Brother said all the houses are gone..very, very bad. They are heading to the triage center now.

o 4:37am - Just received word that my dads name was on the list at Freeman Hospital. Brother and sister are going in now to learn of condition.

o 4:43am - Lots of confusion at the hospital. They only have his name, and can't say where he is in the hospital, or if he's dead or alive :( Now my brother is worried they may have his name from when they left it there earlier looking for him.... They are still working with hospital staff. Lots of confusion and chaos there.

o 6:56am - Update!!: My dad is OK!!! Broken arm, broken leg, concussion, cuts/bleeding! I just talked with him! He's still a pain in the you know what!! Woohoo!!

o 7:00am – He is tough!! He's waiting on surgery for his arm! He was asleep upstairs. Ceiling fan fell on his head. Neighbor pulled him from the rubble!

SHOW PICTURES

Now, Keri is a Christian. Hasn't always been, is now. You heard how she was right in the midst of all of this. Several times, she thought her dad was dead (rubble, etc). I asked her if/how her faith has been present for her during this time. I quoted 1 Peter 3:15ff

o 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

o Listen to how she responded (I am paraphrasing some of this):

o "I would say that (my faith) is the only thing I lean on at a time like this. God is good in all of this. So many amazing stories from the people I have met. Four strangers we met spent 5 hours helping my brother, mike & I, look for my father....My dad was saved by a young neighbor who spent 2+ hours after the tornado going door to door helping strangers. Dennie (her dad) most likely would have bled to death w/o his help. I see the love of people jumping at the chance to help people from Joplin. Churches walked through the neighborhoods while people dug through their homes offering food, water, and trash bags. Two men we met were going through house by house looking for the dead…as volunteers. My family has received many messages from friends, family and strangers telling us they are praying for Dennie and the people of Joplin. my heart breaks for those who did not make it. I am not sure why that had to happen but I am confident that God can work through anything. In my family....my brothers are speaking again because of this. Broken relationships between my father and all 3 of us are on the mend. Sometimes I think many wonderful things can come out of people when tragedy strikes."

Pray!