Overflow

Comments about ECO National Gathering

I wanted to share with you a little taste of what our denomination, our movement is all about. There’s a genuine desire in ECO to be a movement of building flourishing churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ. I gotta tell you, it’s a great joy and encouragement to experience that whole sense at the National Gathering.

Packed two days, went from morning to evening, all day long. Fun to see that there was a bigger crowd than I think they were expecting, especially since Covid still lingers, 1100 people.

People who were enthusiastic about being there - eager to learn, to be challenged, to share in this together. Fun to worship with a room full of people lifting their voices in joyful praise to God.

I want you to know that we are a part of something really good. It’s been a painful transition - losing the building - but in the long run, being a part of ECO is a far better place to be, if we’re going to be a church that leads others into the abundant life of Jesus Christ. The training, the support, the encouragement, the whole culture of this denomination - it is a good, good thing that this is our home.

Prayer

Trust in Wrong Things

Over the Christmas holidays Conner brought his Oculus - which is a virtual reality gameset - for everyone to try.

Huge goggles you put over your face - all you can see are the images on the screen in the goggles, hold two devices in each of your hands so you can play the various games or experience the scenarios.

Several of my in-laws and my niece and nephew - they were all giving it a try. Game offers a few simple challenges to get you used to dealing with virtual reality.

This one everyone tried - put goggles on, what you see is a city block all around you (street, tall buildings, sidewalk with a few trees), turn around and there’s an open elevator. Step in, push one of the buttons - we were all picking “plank”. Elevator doors close, go up in elevator, doors upon up - except now all you see it a plank of wood that stretches out from the elevator into the sky.

Challenge is to walk out on that plank of wood and pick up donuts that are at the end of the plank. Now mind you, this is all happening in my in-laws living room. Person playing is standing on a carpeted floor in the middle of the living room. Rest of us that are not playing can see what they see on an Ipad Conner had.

Amazing to see reaction of most of the family. They got scared. Genuinely scared. They were taking baby steps out further out on the plank. Then some of them would shriek, particular if someone messing with them, gave them a little push. A couple of them couldn’t manage it the first time they tried. That is, until my niece put on the headset, goes up the elevator, walks right out and picks up the donut - no problem.

Sitting there, watching the person play, you’re thinking - you’re standing on carpet, on solid ground. There is no danger of falling 20 stories to your death! They all knew that - but their minds were so consumed by what they saw - the virtual reality - that that’s all they could respond to. And they were scared. Rather than what was truly real, nothing to be scared of.

I want to say that this is exactly what we struggle with. We trust too much in what we see, what we think is real and true about the world, about ourselves - our own version of virtual reality. Let me explain what I mean.

In the week that I was visiting my family, my brother Alf and his wife Susan got a frantic knocking at their door. When they answer it, a strange woman is there pleading for help to find her Precious. Turns out she wasn’t a stranger - it was a neighbor they didn’t recognize because her hair was all wet, bare feet - no shoes (mind you, it’s cold & rainy) and she is inconsolable because her pet dog, Precious, has gone missing.

Now, it’s concerning to have a beloved pet go missing, but this had just happened and she was already an emotional wreck. So Alf and Sus got in their car, driving around, trying to find her dog (who was found later in another part of the neighborhood).

That was an extreme reaction by this woman, but it’s an example of a narrative, a way of viewing reality that has captured many of us. If I lose this thing that is precious to me (pun intended), my life will fall apart. If I lose this pet or my health or this job or my home. The flip side of that narrative is that I must have this thing in order to be happy (get accepted to this school, or person I support must win the election or whatever the case may be).

But just like thinking they were walking a plank, that’s a false view of reality. The true narrative, the one Jesus lived by, is that the Father is enough. And he knows what we need. He will be faithful in providing it.

Why Jesus willingly fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness when he was led by the Holy Spirit to do so.

And why, even when Satan came to him and said, if you are the Son of Man, turn these stones into bread (which at the time would have sounded like a great idea). But Jesus knew he didn’t need that. Reality was he could continue to entrust himself to Father. Why he said back to Satan, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” What God says, I trust. I will feed on that reality.

How often we experience that sense of urgency that I have to be doing something. I have to be productive. I have to make it happen. When it became increasingly clear I was going to be late coming home, I had a hard time telling the other Capernaum leaders that I wasn’t going to be able to make it. Maybe I can still fit it in there. I’m leader, I need to be there. Need to control.

That, too, is a plank. I’ve never been in control. God is. Always has been. He is Lord. He is Sovereign One. He created heavens and the earth. Everything happens under the economy of his will, as he allows it.

That’s narrative Jesus lived by. Why he felt free to practice Sabbath. To go rest. To walk away from the multitudes who were clamoring for him to teach, to heal. If you’re ministry, that’s a dream scenario - people coming to you! But Jesus knew that the Father was in control, so he lived in obedience to that - including the willingness to stop. To rest. To come be with Father.

Or another example of false reality: Often one of more fear-inducing aspects of life is fear of failure. Or rejection. We want others to like us. Or at least not dislike us. Can’t stand idea of them being angry at us. Or idea that they might see our weaknesses. Our struggles.

So we hide those things as much as we can. We avoid saying honest things or entering into a difficult or potentially controversial conversation because of those narratives of how it might cause others to feel about us.

That was not a problem for Jesus. He did not walk that plank. Jesus lived life beautifully. Vulnerable. Open. He wept over the city of Jerusalem. He let a sinful woman wash his feet with her tears and defended her for doing so even though it made the rest of dinner guests upset. Remember Jesus praying in garden of Gethsemane right before being arrested? He asked his disciples to stay with him because of the anguish he was experiencing.

Jesus was so sure of narrative of who he was - when his Father proclaimed to the world at his baptism, This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Or, as Eugene Peterson writes it, This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life. That was Jesus’ reality, the sure and solid ground he walked on.

As those who have been adopted into the family of God through Jesus, that’s our identity, too. That’s reality that should shape how we view the world - because it’s the true one. What’s real.

This is why James Bryan Smith says that the very first thing we have to do in process of transformation - of becoming like Jesus - is to change our narratives. To embrace the narratives of Jesus. To take off the goggles and recognize that we’ve been walking on safe solid ground the whole time.

As We Trust in Him

I want to talk this morning about how that plays out in our lives -using the theme verse of the ECO National Gathering, which is Romans 15:13. It’s a prayer, a blessing that Paul offers his brothers and sisters in Christ in Rome: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you noticed, there’s a three-step process in this experience of hope of God - and this is our main point this morning. We trust. God fills. We overflow.

As you trust in him, as you embrace what’s real and true about who God is and what he promises, may the God of fill you with all joy and peace - God filling our hearts with gift of his joy, with his peace, so that, in order that, as you experience joy and peace of God you’ll overflow with hope. All this happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. We trust. God fills. We overflow.

It begins with trust, with embracing the narratives about the Father that Jesus had, that guided and directed his life - reality he lived by. Father is always with us. Father is in absolute control. Father has more than enough power for any circumstance we face in life. Father loves us, loves us, loves us. Rich in mercy and compassion. These and so many more.

We trust God enough to trust that he is enough. I don’t have to cling to my possessions or hopes that this will happen (or this won’t happen) because I can’t imagine life will be OK if it doesn’t (or does).

That God in and of himself is not just enough, but he is life itself, abundant life. With him, I have all I need.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides still waters, he refreshes my soul…and on it goes…surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Prayer of absolute contentment.

We trust God enough to stop and rest. To enjoy a Sabbath day delighting in him, because the world is in his care. I don’t have to control everything, manage it all.

I mentioned my journey home over the last several days. At one point I was up at the counter at the gate, trying to rebook a flight and the guy behind the counter was telling me that there were no other options, that I was not going to be able to get back to WV that day, and likely not even Saturday. I was ready to jump behind the counter and grab the keyboard away from him - let me look. I’ll find something! I didn’t. I let him do his job and he tried something else and found me something.

We trust God enough to quit pretending and hiding and avoiding. We take our masks off, and all the work we do to make sure people see us a particular way.

Because his love for us is sure and complete and everlasting. We’re not walking on the plank of uncertainty of how others feel about us - we’re walking on the sure solid ground of God’s steadfast love.

If you noticed, all these ways of trusting God - they are all postures that open us up, that enable us to be filled with all that God would pour into our lives, all joy and peace. By the way, don’t miss what that says about God, his desire to fill us with joy and peace, he’s so good. Remember - We trust. God fills. We overflow.

If I’m trusting other things for my happiness, if I fill my life that way, if my attention and my treasuring is alway directed in other ways, how can I receive what God has to give?!

In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus talks about those who pray and give and fast in order to be seen - they are looking for the admiration and approval of others - Jesus says they already have their reward.

They will be filled with how others’ think of them. It sadly will never be very satisfying. It never is.

But if I do these things to please God, I receive his reward. I am filled by him. God gives us so many wonderful blessings in life - we want to hold them loosely - enjoy them, give thanks to God for them, but we don’t cling to them. Then we’re free to be filled with God and all his goodness.

And if I’m constantly running and moving because I have to make things happen, I have to maintain control, it’s going to be very hard to be filled by all the good God wants to pour into our lives. It’s hard to fill a moving target. Just try drinking something while you’re running around your kitchen table - I promise you, it will not go well (not that I’ve tried it, but have tried drinking little cups of water you get while running a 5k - it’s always a mess).

but if I stop. And rest. And quiet myself before God, that’s a posture ready to receive what God wants to give.

If I’m closed off, hiding, pretending, avoiding - that’s like trying to fill a container that still has a lid on it!

This is always great challenge - because a posture of openness always leaves us vulnerable. But it leaves us open - able to be filled.

I tend to be more guarded - so this is an area of my life I’ve been praying about, seeking to be conscious of - how can I have a posture of openness to God, to receive what he has.

Not this posture (arms folded), but this (open wide).

But this is always the nature of genuine relationships. Relationships are rooted in trust. Relationships only grow, deepen, to level of trust in that relationship. Trusting others always opens us up to them. That’s true for us and God. We trust. God fills. We overflow.

Let me talk a few minutes about some spiritual exercises you can put into practice that will deepen your faith, your trusting of God - and with it your openness to him. We’ve talked about these before, but these are particularly helpful exercises.

Practice of silence is really helpful here. Because purpose of silence is simply to be with God. No agenda. No expectations, just be. It’s not about doing (complete lack of doing), you are emptying yourself of everything else - all thoughts, distractions, worries. You simply come to be with God. Why it’s so hard because we’d rather be doing for God, to telling him everything we need - here we just come, as ourselves.

And God, because it’s his nature, will give. Will fill us.

Start as you can. One minute of silence. Two. Move up to five minutes of silence every day. Sit quietly, hands in an open posture. Find your phrase. I typically pray, getting right mindset. And then, be.

Pray Psalm 23 every day. Set a time - maybe first thing when you get up, or last thing as you lie down in bed. Psalm 23 is prayer of trust. Sheep are utterly dependent upon the shepherd. They stand there and eat the grass while the Shepherd watches. Heck, they wouldn’t even have known where to go - shepherd had to lead them to grass and water.

Pray it with a posture of openness, I depend on you, Lord. You’re my solid ground.

This week, try one of these two every day. Put teachings of Jesus into practice.

Let me finish with this. We trust. God fills (with all joy and peace - what a wonderful gift. Honestly, if you could chose any two things you’d most want in life - wouldn’t joy and peace be at the very top of the list?!). God fills. We overflow. We overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s such a wonderful image. Not just hope, but hope overflowing. Hope so abundant, so full, it just gushes over.

It’s a just a great image of lavish abundance. Way more than you’d ever need.

There’s a world of people around us who are walking on planks every day. Lives filled with pain, worry, anger, bitterness, depravity, deceit. Because they’ve embraced the wrong narratives.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived lives filled with such overflowing hope that it would overflow to them? That they would begin to see that with God, they were really on solid ground the whole time?

We trust. God fills. We overflow.