From Last Place to First

Joseph Whalen

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From Last Place to First

· 1 Samuel 30:18-25

· Matthew 20:1-16

“What’s in Your Backpack?” Is a speech in the movie, “Up in the Air” starring George Clooney as Ryan Bingham who travelsaround America firing people while living out of a suitcase.

Now, this is gonna be a little difficult, so stay with me. You have a new backpack. Only this time, I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office, and then you move into the people that you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your cousins, your aunts, your uncles, your brothers, your sisters, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend or your girlfriend.

You get them into that backpack. And don’t worry. I’m not gonna ask you to light it on fire. Feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake – your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. Do you feel the straps cutting into your shoulders?

All those negotiations and arguments, and secrets and compromises.

You don’t need to carry all that weight.

Why don’t you set that bag down?

Some animals were meant to carry each other, to live symbiotically for a lifetime – star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not those animals.

The slower we move, the faster we die.

We are not swans. We’re sharks.

Near the end of the movie, Bingham abruptly drops his classic speech after his beloved lifestyle is threatened by the dynamicsof a new hire and a potential love interest.

You May Be In Pain,

· But Don’t See Others as a Pain

· and Don’t Be A Pain

Those in Pain, Please Don’t Be a Pain!

· Those who wanted to stone David were in Pain.

· Those who voiced their opposition to 200 hundred getting any bounty were in Pain

· Those who objected to the last hired getting equal pay felt the Pain of working all day long in the hot sun.

· Have you ever justified being a pain because you suffered pain?

o I’ve had a hard day and I don’t feel like putting up with you. Not today baby!

o I’ve got a headache and just looking at your face is making my headache worst.

o I’ve been here 14 years and nobody took me by the hand. You just got here…You figure it out for yourself!

o It’s a ‘Dog-Eat-Dog-World’. Grr!

In the Economy of Grace

1.—Everyone Belongs

David asked him, “Who do you belong to?

The Egyptian slave redefined whom he belonged to

· Yes, technically he was the property (slave) of an Amalekite. However, his master abandoned him, and left him to die, when he fell sick—he couldn’t keep up and was perceived to have no value. Listen, we belonged to the world, slaves to sin, but where did it leave us—death?

· David and his band, on the other hand, took him under their wings, feed him, and gave him a new sense of belonging. When we were slaves to sin, wretched and undone, Christ gave His life for us—now the provisions of sonship, and especially a place of belonging, are ours.

At one time you were strangers to God and your minds were at war with Him. Your thoughts and actions were wrong. But Christ has brought you back to God by His death on the cross. Col. 1:21-22a (NLV)

David offered a sense of belonging to a stranger, the slave of his enemy.

2. —No One Gets What They Deserve

The Portions of Belonging

David made a statute that everyone who had a position of belonging received a portion of the bounty of the kingdom

David’s Decree —Overriding Conventional Wisdom and Dictates —Exhausted, not lazy Jesus’ Parable of the Last made First—Equal Portions for those who Belong —Like those who fought with David, these were not lazy—they were willing, just not able. —In support of the Willing —The Able are often Overrated and Arrogant —The Able naturally esteem what they “bring to the table” as justification for their entitlement

—in both situations, those arguing for one-upmanship ignored, or were blind to, or simply discounted, to contributing factors of the lasts. What contributions: guarding the campsite and supplies (their most recent experiences should have pressed upon them the importance of guarding your rear).

but as his part [is] that goeth down to the battle, so [shall] his part [be] that tarrieth by the stuff; as these two hundred men did; they were placed to abide by and watch the carriages, the bag and baggage the rest had left there, that they might be the lighter, and make their pursuit more swiftly

—Those who bore the burden in the heat of the day, would have certainly benefited from the fresh legs of the fourth quarter helper. Example: How society devalues caregivers.

· The Egyptian Slave

· Mephibosheth sits at the King’s table.

· The dying thief on the cross receives

3. —God’s Portions Levels the Playing Field

The Economy of Grace Flips the One-Upmanship of the world One upmanship is defined as the practice of always trying to be better than or gain superiority over others. The art of outdoing. Heaven’s value system is far different from earth’s value system.

In the Economy of God, No Child is Left Behind

There are some who are first in prestige and rank yet might never enter the kingdom. Jesus told the Pharisees that the sinners they despised were being saved ahead of them: “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31–32).

God places you in First-class Standing so that you may enjoy putting God First.

God empowers us to enjoy making much of Him.

God turns up the brilliance of our light so that others may see and Glorify Him.

When You Pack According to the Economy of God, We All Cross the Finish Line Together—the First Become Last and the Last First = Crossing the Finish line Together

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

(Song by The Hollies)

… It's a long, long road From which there is no return While we're on the way to there Why not share?

… And the load Doesn't weigh me down at all He ain't heavy, he's my brother