Rocky Soil

The grass is always greener on the other side, is a saying that means, no matter how good I have it, there is always something that looks better.  No matter how good my life is, there is always someone who has more, and what they have is what I need to make me happy.  Last week we heard that this way of thinking can destroy us because we will either be consumed by an obsession for more, and die trying to get it, or we might get what we want only to find that it doesn’t satisfy us, so we still end up looking for more.  The answer, we heard, is to trust God as the Good Shepherd. 

If God is the Good Shepherd, then God is the one who has led us to this moment in life, given us what we have, and God is the one who will lead us forward.  If God is our Good Shepherd, then we should be content knowing that we have all we need for this moment and that we will have all we need for the future.  God is truly enough.  But trusting God and freeing ourselves from this greener grass phenomenon doesn’t mean that we won’t set goals and dream dreams that we hope will lead us to greener grass in the future. 

It is good for us to have dreams and make plans for our future.  It is good for us to see the things God has for us and to set ourselves on a path to achieve those goals.  The Bible says, where there is no vision – the people perish.  If we have no vision for our future, no plans and dreams of what God wants for us, then we have nothing to work toward.  We need to set goals, and it is good to plan, and dream, and ask God to show us the good things he wants for us, but as we do this, there is one reality we have to keep in mind.  No matter how much effort we give, planning we make, and no matter how much we think we deserve something – we don’t always get what we want.  We don’t always get what we plan for.  We don’t always get that greener grass. 

I have talked with many couples whose dream was to have children.  They planned for them, worked for them, and they are great people who deserve to have them because they would be great parents, but the children never came.  They struggle through the pain and disappointment of watching their friends and coworkers having families, knowing that children for them might never come.  They did everything they could, but their dreams never became a reality. 

Many people dream about moving up in their job.  They work hard to get the promotion, they position themselves to advance in their career, and as they look around at the work force they humbly believe they deserve the advancements that they see other people getting.  But year after year they are passed over for jobs wondering if they will ever get ahead.

My first year working as an assistant theater manager, I worked under a man who was completely incompetent.  I don’t say that lightly, he really was in over his head, and I bailed him out many times.  He was finally fired, and the company brought in another manager.  I have to say, I was a little hurt.  I could have done the job, and in time I was doing as much, if not more, than the new manager, but I wasn’t given the promotion.  My District Manager even told me that the company thought of me as a co-manager at my theater, but when another manager job became available in our town, I didn’t get that job either.  No matter how hard we work, and how much we think we deserve the advancement, sometimes we just don’t get what we want. 

For some people the struggle is finding true love.  We long for a relationship that will be meaningful and long lasting, we might even pray for the right person to come along, and we can read God’s word and think that we deserve it because the Bible says it is not good for us to be alone, but for many of us, that kind of true love seems unattainable. 

For others, what they long for, pray for, and work for is healing and strength, and yet no matter how much they eat right, exercise regularly, and follow the advice of their doctors, sickness and disease happens anyway.  We see it in our lives, and we see it in the ones we love.  Our dreams of healthy and strong lives never becomes a reality.

The desire we have for what we see in someone else’s life, this greener grass, is real.  It’s not that we are greedy, or jealous, or filled with envy – at times we just have a healthy desire for more, and a longing for what we believe God wants for us, but that greener grass never comes and we are let asking ourselves:
How long must I wait for ?
How long must I go through ?

We ask ourselves how long we have to wait for the greener grass of our goals and dreams to become reality, and we ask God how long we have to go through difficult periods of pain and disappointment. 

When we walk through these dark valleys of disappointment, we have choices to make.  Some people choose to be Bitter.  Being angry with God because we don’t get what we think we deserve is a choice.  It is not a good choice, but it is a choice.  Many people choose to be angry with God because they feel God has let them down and not answered their prayers or fulfilled their dreams.  While being angry and disappointed with God is a real emotion that God can certainly handle, it is not where we should stay.  When we choose to remain bitter with God, it closes the door to God’s love and grace.  When we choose to be bitter we are not able to move forward into the future God has for us.

We can also choose to be Envious.  It is a choice we make to look into everyone else’s life, be jealous of what we see, and allow that envy to consume us.  Last week we talked about how envy actually destroys our lives because it leads us to always wanting more, and to doing things we might not otherwise do to get our hands on what we think we want.  This choice never ends well so once again, this is not a good choice. 

We can also choose to feel Entitled.  We can choose to walk around feeling like we are owed all we want, and dream about, but this is a form of pride that is never satisfied so once again leads to problems.  The Bible says pride comes before a fall. 

Many people also choose to be Anxious, or filled with fear.  When fear and anxiety set in, we being to think that nothing will ever change, nothing will improve, and nothing will ever be good in our lives.  This kind of fear robs us of joy, and leads us into dark times of despair and desperation.  When God tells us over 300 times in the Bible to “fear not”, we know that fear and anxiety is a choice.

We often see other people making these choices when they don’t get what they want, and this is often how we feel as well, but these choices all lead to deeper darkness.  We need to make different choices it we want to experience hope, and peace, and once again it is King David who points us in the right direction.

David knows what it’s like to want the good things that God has promised, and yet he also knows the pain of walking through difficult and disappointing times waiting for it to happen.  David was told he would be the king of Israel long before he became the king and so for years, David had to run and hide from his enemies.  For years David had to walk through rocky soil asking himself how long he had to wait and how long he had to suffer until he might experience greener grass.  David pours out his heart to God in Psalm 13:1-4. 

David had some choices here about how to handle his feelings.  He could be bitter, and angry with God because he believed that God had forgotten him.  He could be envious of what Saul was getting as the King when David had been told he was the king.  He could have felt entitled and demanded that God give him the kingdom he had promised, or he could have given into anxiety and fear and just given up on God all together.  David could have made any one of these four choices, but he didn’t.  David made choices that moved him through the rocky soil to greener grass.  Psalm 13:5-6

This is the way forward through difficult times. The first thing we need to do is trust in God’s unfailing love.  No matter what we may be going through, no matter where we might be today, and where it looks like our life is heading, we need to trust that God loves us, and that God’s grace and love is sufficient for us. 

The Apostle Paul suffered with some kind of affliction.  We don’t know what it was, but we know that it was severe enough that three times he asked God to take it away, but God didn’t.  Paul didn’t get bitter, or envious, or feel entitled to healing, or anxious about the future, instead Paul trusted that God loved him and would provide for him.  Paul heard God say, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  2 Corinthians 12:9.  Paul trusted that God’s love and grace was enough for him, and that God’s love would see him through. 

The second thing we need to do to make it through rocky soil is to rejoice in God’s salvation.  David knew that in God’s time, and in God’s way, God would rescue him and make him the king.  We need to trust in God’s power and goodness in our own lives.  God’s salvation is here for all of us and this isn’t just a salvation that is ours in heaven, this is a salvation that can be ours today.  God’s salvation – or gift of life – is ours now and if we can rejoice in this life, it gives us hope for the future.  Rejoicing in God’s salvation helps us believe that greener grass is possible with God. 

God’s salvation is always certain, Paul tells us this in Romans 8:31b-32, 37-39.  In all things we have God’s salvation which means we can choose not to be bitter or afraid, but to rejoice and sing, and that is third thing David does.  Psalm 13:6.

Sing to the Lord.  David looked at his life, saw the bounty of God’s blessing and provision and he sang to God – he gave thanks for God’s goodness.  Giving thanks to God is a choice we can make at all times.  It might be hard to do when we are going through difficult times, and when we are feeling hopeless and disappointed, but it is actually during these dark times that we need to be focused on God’s goodness, and sing songs of praise.  It is gratitude that helps us be content in every situation – even when we don’t get what we want.  It is giving thanks that lifts our eyes off what we don’t have, and helps us see all that we do have. 

David could have remained focused on his enemies that were chasing him, and he could have constantly thought about Saul who was still the King of Israel, but he didn’t.  David lifted up his eyes to see the love of God, the salvation God provides, and David sang about the bounty of God’s blessing in his life.  David sang about all God had given him, and all the ways God was his Good Shepherd.

So let me ask this: 
Where in your life can you see God’s goodness?  

As we wait for the future, as we wait for God’s promises, as we wait for greener grass - where do we see God’s love?

As we go through painful times of disappointment, and even despair, where can we see God’s salvation? 

Answering this question can help us keep moving forward in life and faith.  It is seeing God’s goodness that helps us have faith in God’s promises and provision, which can lead us through rocky soil to green pastures, still waters, and all the fullness of life. 


Next Steps
Rocky Soil

1. Sometimes longing for greener grass can be good.  God gives us hopes and dreams to inspire and motivate us. 
• What are some of the good things you long for? 

2. Not all the dreams and plans given to us by God are fulfilled quickly, easily, or at all.  What dreams you are waiting for?  What struggles are you walking through? 

• How long must I wait for ?

• How long must I go through ?

4. When we don’t get what we want, we can choose to feel bitter, envious, entitled or anxious. 
• Which of these feelings do you most often experience in the face of disappointment? 
• Identify a time when you experienced these feelings. 
• In what ways was this your choice? 

5. David had to wait a long time before he became King.  Those years of waiting were filled with opposition and strife.  During that time, David wrote Psalm 13.  Read Psalm 13

6. How can these three things help you wait and endure?
• Trust in God’s Unfailing Love
• Rejoice in God’s Salvation
• Sing to the Lord (Giving Thanks)

7. Where in your life today can you see God’s goodness? When you identify this: 
• Give Thanks for God’s Love
• Sing God’s Praise

The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side

The grass is always greener on the other side is a familiar saying that means no matter how good I have it, there is always something that looks better.  No matter how much I have, someone else has more, and its better, and I want it.  No matter how green my grass is, the grass on the other side of the fence always looks greener and nicer and I want that kind of grass.  The reality right now is that everyone’s grass is pretty green, but my grass has a lot of different shades of green in it thanks to the weeds, but when I look at my neighbors grass, it is all the same shade of green because they don’t have any weeds, and I wish I had that grass. 

Believing that the grass is always greener on the other side also implies that my life would be better if I had what other people have.  If my grass was as green, and lush, and beautiful as my neighbors, then I would be a happier person.  I would feel better about myself, and my neighbors would like me more, and people would respect me more, because my lawn was perfect.  But let’s be clear, we aren’t talking about greener grass here. 

The grass is always greener is a cliché we use when we look around and see that one thing in someone else’s life that I don’t have but if I had it, my life would be better.  If I just had a new car, or a new job, my life would be better.  If we just had a dog, or cat, or a child or another child then our lives would be better.  If I just had darker hair, or curlier hair, or maybe you are thinking, if I just had hair… then I would happy.  Take a moment to think about how you would fill in this blank. 

If I just had  , I would be happy.

It may not be a thing you would put in that blank, it might be a situation in life.  If I could just get out of debt, retire, get out of school, get into school, I would be happy.  The problem with this way of thinking is that it never leads to contentment and peace for two reasons.  First of all, this way of thinking always leads to wanting more.  There is always another fence, another yard, someone else’s life for us to look into, so the longing for more will never end. 

The second reason this thinking doesn’t work is that we are placing our happiness, peace and contentment in some possession, or place in life, and when we look to the world to make us happy, we will come up short every time.  We will see in a moment that even if we were to get everything that we think we need to make us happy, it will fail, and there will always be something more we want just beyond our grasp.  This greener grass phenomena not only robs us of peace and joy, but it actually destroys our life.

In the 4th century, Christian leaders identified 7 sins that they said would lead to death, we know these as the 7 Deadly Sins and they are greed, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, wrath, and sloth.  Do you notice anything about this list?  5 of the 7 are directly tied to the idea of wanting something more.  Gluttony, lust, greed, and envy, all have to do with never being satisfied with what we have, and they are defined by an all-consuming desire for more.  We want more food, more sex, more possessions, and more of what other people have.  Pride is also connected to this idea of greener grass and wanting more because it is pride that tells us that we deserve more and we should get what other people have. 

Even wrath can be seen as a desire for more because the definition of wrath talks about a revenge that is never satisfied.  In its purest form, wrath may provoke feuds that can go on for centuries.  Wrath may persist long after the person who did the grievous wrong is dead.  In other words, wrath is never satisfied.  When we are filled with wrath there is no punishment or vengeance that is ever enough. 

So 6 of the 7 deadly sins are all connected to this idea that there is always something more that we need in order to be happy, satisfied, and full.  There is always something better for us just over the fence and our lives won’t be complete until we get it.  This thinking destroys our lives, and while it is a cliché,. we all struggle with this greener grass syndrome. 


When I was pastor in Altoona, our youth group joined with a group from another church for a weekend retreat.  Doug was one of the leaders from the other church, and Doug had it all.  He was good looking, he had a lovely wife, he had three beautiful daughters, and everyone in his family sang like angels.  They would often sing together in church and they always reminded me of the Von Trapp family.  Doug was funny, loved by everyone in the church and the community, and had a strong family business. 

He had it all, and I tried hard not to be jealous or envious of him, but then on the youth retreat he pulled out a guitar and started to play and I thought, that does it, I hate him.  I know, that is not what a pastor should be thinking or feeling, right?  But the guitar playing just put it over the top because I always wanted to play the guitar, I even took lessons, but I was never very good.  I wanted that greener grass.  Suddenly I wasn’t satisfied with what I had, I wanted more. 

That night, as Doug played the guitar, I thought I was keeping my feelings well hidden, but later one of my youth leaders said to me, you’re turning a little green Andy.  And I was, green with envy.  Comparing ourselves to others and wanting what they have, thinking that if we could just get what they have then our lives would be better, and we would be happy, robs us of the joy we can find in life and fills us with attitudes that, in time, will consume us and eventually destroy us.  Envy and this greener grass syndrome is one of the ongoing themes of the Old Testament.

After God led his people out of slavery in Egypt, God wanted to be the leader of his people.  God worked through judges and prophets to lead his people, but God himself wanted to be their king.  As the people of Israel looked around them, however, they saw nations that had a real king, a human king, and that was what they wanted.  Suddenly God as their king wasn’t good enough, they wanted someone they could see and they wanted to show the world that they were just like them, maybe even better.  So in 1 Samuel 8:5b the people said, appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. 

The people actually believed that what the other nations had was better, and they wanted God to give them a king like other nations had, so God finally gave in to the people and appointed a king.  God chose a man named Saul who was an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than any of the others.  1 Samuel 9:2.  The people wanted to look like all the other nations so God gave them a king that looked better than all the other kings.  They had what they wanted, but it didn’t go well because this king was a human being, who like all human beings, was broken and flawed and filled with jealousy and envy like the people were.  His failures often led the people astray. 

Longing for greener grass was not just something the people wrestled with, so did the new king.  Not long after Saul became king, a giant named Goliath started to taunt the army of Israel.  As tall as Saul was, he was no match for Goliath, and no one in Israel wanted to fight Goliath, until a young man named David came along.  David wasn’t very old when he faced Goliath, and if you know the story, David killed the giant with a slingshot and a well-placed stone.  As news of this victory started to spread among the people, they cheered both Saul and David.  1 Samuel 18:6-9. 

So let’s think about this, Saul had everything.  He was the king, he had power, and authority, he had great wealth, and the admiration of the people.  It was even one of Saul’s own men who took down the enemy.  Saul could have celebrated what David did and given him a reward up to half his kingdom and Saul would still have had more because he was king.  But it says that Saul was angry.  Why?  Because David got a better song lyric than he did.  The song said Saul got his thousands while David got his tens of thousands, and that one thing drove Saul crazy, literally. 

It was a line in a song that slowly started to eat away at Saul’s life.  Even with all that he had, Saul wanted more.  Saul wasn’t content with power, authority, wealth, and admiration, he wanted to be the focus of this one song too; he wanted all the admiration of his people.  This jealousy, envy, pride, greed and lust for greener grass literally destroyed Saul.  Saul couldn’t get David out of his head, and from that moment on, Saul spent his life trying to kill David, in fact, it was the next day that Saul, in a fit of wrath, picked up a spear and threw it at David trying to pin him to the wall. 

The grass is always greener on the other side is not just a cliché, it is something we all struggle with and if left unchecked it will eat away at us and destroy our lives.  Like Saul, we can obsess over what we don’t have and be consumed by the thought of this one elusive thing until it destroys us, or we can learn how to celebrate it.  One of the ways to free ourselves from the greener grass syndrome is to learn how to celebrate what others have. 

If I had celebrated the fact that Doug was a good guitar player, and how that gift helped our group worship on the retreat, then maybe I wouldn’t have been so green with envy.  If Saul had been able to celebrate with David the victory over Goliath, maybe his time as King would not have been a disaster.  If we can begin to celebrate the gifts we see in others instead of wanting them for ourselves, then we can short circuit the jealousy and envy that we often feel in our lives.  When we start to give thanks for what we see in others, it begins to add joy and improve our lives instead of destroying them. 

To break away from this idea that the grass is always greener on the other side we need to learn how to celebrate what we see on the other side and what we see in others.  The second way to break free from envy and jealousy and greed is to trust God.  We need to trust that where we are and what we have right now is what God wants for us in this moment.  We have to trust that God is enough for us and that God will always be enough for us. 

It is David who gave us a psalm that helps us see this.  Psalm 23 was written by David and it says, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  The green grass syndrome is cut short when we trust that God is our shepherd because if God is watching over us, and if God is leading us, then what we have and where we are is where God wants us to be for today, and if God is our shepherd than God will be the one who will provide for us, and lead us forward.  So if God is our shepherd we truly shall no want. 

When we trust God as our Good Shepherd, there is nothing more we need or want because we know God will provide it all, in His way and in His time.  Green pastures, still waters, a restored soul will all be ours with God.  On our own, we will always want greener pastures, but as we trust God we learn to be content with the green grass we have.  On our own we will always think that what others have is better, but when we trust God, we are content, and refreshed and at peace with what we have. 

While this is easy to say, it is hard to live.  David said this and he saw the effects of envy and jealousy in the life of Saul, but he didn’t protect himself from the greener grass syndrome.  After David became King, and had been given everything he could ever want, he went out onto his roof on night and looked out over his kingdom.  He saw a beautiful woman bathing and he found out the woman was the wife of one of his top generals.  David didn’t celebrate the fact that one of his leaders had a beautiful wife, no, he wanted her for himself.  David sent for this woman, and slept with her.  David wasn’t trusting God, and he wasn’t celebrating what others had, he was consumed with a desire for more.  He wanted to have that woman for himself.

This story doesn’t end well for David.  The woman, Bathsheba, became pregnant because of that meeting and so David had her husband killed so he could have Bathsheba, and their child, for himself.  That led to great division in David’s family, and in many ways diminished David’s life.  What David’s tragic story shows us is that even if we get what we want, it doesn’t satisfy.

There will be times when we will all find ourselves longing for greener grass.  We want what others have.  We think that if we could just get that one thing – then our lives would be better.  When we find ourselves in this situation, we have three choices:

1.  We can spend our lives trying to get it and die trying. 
2. We can get what we want and then find it doesn’t satisfy.
3.  We can trust God, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, and we can celebrate all those good things we see on the other side and all around us. 

Let’s not waste this life longing for a different one, let’s not be consumed by thinking that if we could just get that one thing, then our lives would be better, and that we would be happier, instead, let us celebrate what we have and learn to trust that God is enough and let us say with assurance, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 


Next Steps
The Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side

1.  If I just had  , I would be happy.
• Fill in this blank. 
• Why is this greener grass so important to you? 
• How have you tried to get this greener grass on your own?  How did it turn out?
• If you see this greener grass in someone else’s life, how can you celebrate what they have instead of wanting it for yourself? 

2. The 7 Deadly Sins are greed, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, wrath and sloth. 
• How do these attitudes lead us to wanting more in every area of life? 
• Why are they called deadly sins?
• Which of these sins do you struggle with most often? 

3. Read 1 Samuel 18:6-11.  What do we learn from Saul about always wanting more and never getting it? 

4. Read 2 Samuel 11:1-26.  What do we learn from David about always wanting more and getting what we think will make us happy? 

5. Read Psalm 23.  How can trusting God help us not want? 
• In what area of your life do you need to pray, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 
• Read this psalm every day and make it your prayer. 

6.  What would it look like for you to trust God with the greener grass you identified in question 1?  How can Jesus as a good shepherd help you let go of this desire? 

Dangerous Prayers - Lead My Life

Today we are finishing up with the last of the four dangerous prayers found in Psalm 139.  These 4 prayers are dangerous because they expose in us things that we often try to hide or ignore.  When we ask God to search my heart it is because we know there are things that we love that we shouldn’t, and we know there are passions and desires that need to brought in line with God’s will.  We ask God to test my thoughts because our thoughts are not always pleasing and acceptable to God, and we know that too often our thinking limits what God wants to do in our lives.  Last week we asked God to seek out my sin because we know there are things in our lives that we need to confess and turn away from.  We know that it is time to stop justifying our sin by saying, it’s not hurting anyone or it’s not that bad, and start being honest about who we are and what we are doing. 

Today we pray what might be the most dangerous prayer, because while the others have to do with cleaning up our hearts and minds and confessing our sin, this prayer will require us to live differently.  Lead my life is a prayer asking God to move us into a new lifestyle where we set new goals, embrace new attitudes, and engage in a new way of living.  Once again, I want to ask you to join me reading Psalm 139:23-24.  Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. 

While this prayer is dangerous because it will mean a new way of living, it is a prayer we can make with boldness and peace because we aren’t asking a tyrant to lead us, we are asking a Shepherd.  King David, who gave us these dangerous prayers, knew God as a good shepherd.  It was David who said, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake. 

David knows God as one who cares for his people and patiently leads them to good places and along right paths, so we are praying to one who loves us and wants to give us life so will lead us with tenderness, love, and peace. 

But the way everlasting, that we ask God to lead us in, is dangerous because it will not be the comfortable way of the world and it will require something from us.  Primarily what this way will require from us is to Submit.  There is no following God until we are willing to give up control.  Asking God to lead us requires us to be willing to submit our will to God’s will and our ways to God’s way.  Even Jesus had to be willing to submit.

For Jesus, the way everlasting, meant dying on the cross.  Jesus made it clear that God’s plan would include going to Jerusalem where he would be betrayed by those he trusted, condemned by those in leadership, and crucified on a cross.  God’s way was the way of the cross, and so it was dangerous for Jesus to pray the prayer, Lead My Life, but he did.  In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, not my will but thy will be done.  Knowing that God’s will meant a painful death on a cross, Jesus still prayed, not my will but thy will be done. 

This is what we mean when we pray, Lead my Life.  We are saying, not my will but thy will be done, which means giving God the reigns to our life and allowing God to do with us what God wants to do.  John Wesley said it this way in his covenant prayer:
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

This is what it means when we pray, Lead my life.  It’s dangerous to lay our future before God and say, take me where you want me to go.  Put before me what you want me to do.  Let me have what you want me to have.  Submitting ourselves fully to God is dangerous, but it is the only way to everlasting life, and it is the only way to experience the fullness of life that God has for us here and now.  As long as we follow our own will and way, we will come up empty – it is only in following God’s way that we begin to experience the fullness and grace and power of life. 

The second reason this prayer is dangerous is because God’s will always involves Service.  Jesus said that he came to serve and not to be served, so if we are going to be led by God in the way of Jesus it will be into a life of service.  In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story about those who followed him and those who didn’t.  Those who followed Jesus were described as sheep and those who didn’t follow Jesus were called goats.  Not Greatest Of All Time, but goats as in the animals.  The sheep got to inherit the kingdom of God and the goats did not, and the difference between the sheep and the goats was that the sheep were willing to serve. Matthew 25:33-46. 

The way everlasting, the way of God’s kingdom, the way of eternal life is a life of service, where when we see anyone in need, we do what we can to help meet that need.  We feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for those who are sick and oppressed.  Before the Passover meal, when Jesus gathered with all his disciples, he was the one who took the role of a servant and washed the feet of the others and then said, I have set an example for you.  You should serve one another.  There really is no way everlasting, or way of God, without serving others because there is no way everlasting without love, and love put into action is service. 

1 John 3:17-18.  How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?  Little children, let us love not in word or speech, but in truth and action.  

So there is no love without service, which means that if the way of God, which leads to life, is a way of love, than it must also be a way of service.  What service is God leading us to consider?  What needs in others do we see?  What issues burden us?  What is God asking us to do something about?  These are the places for us to consider serving.

If you have never thought about serving in the name of Jesus, than I want to invite you to serve today.  Don’t put it off, don’t give yourself time to pull away, commit right now to coming back here at 3:00 to serve our community as we set up for the blessing of the backpacks.  Or show up at 4:00 and serve by standing in prayer for our children, schools, and community.  Or come back around 5:30 and help us tear down and clean up.  Serve today and begin to allow God to lead you in a new way of life.  You don’t need any experience or skills, just come and make yourself available to God and allow him to use you in service. 

The great thing about serving is that it not only leads to everlasting life but it leads to a better life here and now.  Serving others fills us with a sense of deeper meaning and purpose.  Serving others helps us connect with people and feel less alone and isolated.  Serving others fills us with compassion and love which brings us life.  Serving others helps lift us out of depression, improves our physical, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing and so serving in so many ways is the way everlasting.  It is dangerous to step out and serve but it will lead us to life. 

Asking God to lead us is dangerous because it doesn’t just lead to service, it also leads to Sacrifice.  Matthew 16:24-25.  For Jesus, the way everlasting was the way of the cross.  Jesus didn’t just submit to God and serve, he was willing to sacrifice, and that is part of God’s way for us as well. 

The cross for us is not going to be a physical execution, but it will mean being willing to go beyond what is comfortable or convenient in our service to others.  There are times when being led by God calls us to give up all that we have and all that we are, and the direction we are going - to go where God leads us.  For the disciples, to be led by Jesus meant giving up their fishing business and then learning from Jesus how to call others to follow Jesus. 

Some people hear a call from God that is so personal and profound that they leave behind jobs and careers and family to embark on a new path that might lead them to places around the world where there is great need.  Some people are led by God into some of the most dangerous and difficult places in the world in order to share the love and grace of God.  Some people have given financially in ways that have significantly changed their lives and lifestyle in order to follow where God has been leading them.  Sacrifice is part of the way everlasting that we have to be open to because it is part of what it means for us to follow Jesus.  We have to be willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus. 

And finally, this is a dangerous prayer because the way everlasting isn’t a destination we can always see but a journey we take Step by Step.  The first person called by God was a man named Abram, who later became Abraham.  Abraham was called by God to leave his home and go to the place that God would show him.  God didn’t point out the destination and then give him a detailed map and itinerary of the trip, it was a call to be led into new life step by step. 

God invites us to follow him step by step.  We don’t know where we will end up and that is probably a good thing because if we knew the final outcome, we might not take the first step.  If I had been told that I would graduate seminary and be a local pastor in Altoona, PA, I may not have entered seminary because I did not want to be a local pastor and I had no intention of living in PA.  But step by step God led me to a place where I was not only willing but excited to be a local pastor and even excited to live in Altoona, PA. 

The people of Israel had to leave Egypt and trust that God would lead them into the Promised Land.  They didn’t have a map.  There was no GPS telling them when they needed to recalculate.  They had to be willing to trust God.  The disciples were called by Jesus to drop their nets, to leave behind their families and businesses and communities to follow Jesus, but they didn’t know what that journey was going to look like.  If they had known that in three years it would lead them to Jesus being crucified on a cross, my guess is they may not have gone, but step, by step, God led them.  Step by step they grew and had a deeper understanding of God’s guidance and direction. 

Being led step by step is difficult and dangerous because we don’t know where it will lead, but it is the way everlasting because it is the way of God.  Faith and trust is the way of God, so any journey with God is going to have moments where all we can see is the step in front of us.  When we ask God to lead my life, we are asking God to show us the one step that is in front of us today.  What is the one step we need to take today?  What is the one decision we need to make?  What is the one act of service we need to start?  The one prayer we need to pray?  If we will take this one step, God will lead us to the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and we will be on the way everlasting, the way that will lead us into God’s kingdom, the way of life and life eternal. 

This is a dangerous prayer because it calls us to Submit, Serve, Sacrifice and to move forward Step by Step, but this is the way of God which makes it the way everlasting, the way of life and life eternal.  I invite you to pray this dangerous prayer and find life.  I invite you to pray this dangerous prayer with full confidence and peace, because the one you are praying to, is the Shepherd who will not lead you astray, but lead you to paths of righteousness and life, the way everlasting. 


Next Steps
Dangerous Prayers – Lead My Life

Pray: Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

1. Shepherd.  See Psalm 23 and John 10:1-10. 
• Why is the image of a shepherd a comforting one for us when we make this dangerous prayer? 
• Where have you seen the hand of the good shepherd leading you in life? 

2. Submission.  Each day this week pray this prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.  Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.  Put me to doing, put me to suffering.  Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee.  Let me be full, let me be empty.  Let me have all things, let me have nothing.  I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.  AMEN
• What part of this prayer is the most difficult for you?
• What one thing is God asking you to do this week in response to this prayer? 

3. Serve.  Why must service always be part of following God? 
• What service has been meaningful in your life?
• Where is God calling you to serve?

4. Sacrifice.  Where is God calling you to go from service to sacrifice?  What one sacrifice could you make this week in order to more faithfully follow God? 

5. Step by Step.  What one step is God asking you to take this week?  What do you have to do to take it? 

Dangerous Prayers - Seek Out My Sin

Today we are looking at the third of four dangerous prayers that we have been challenging ourselves to pray.  All of the prayers come from Psalm 139:23- 24 which says, Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.  These prayers are dangerous because they ask God to expose those things in our lives that we often try to hide. 

We ask God to search my heart because we know there are passions and desires that don’t line up with God’s desires and while it’s not comfortable, we need to expose them so we can deal with them.   We ask God to test our thoughts because we know we have thoughts that either go against God’s thinking and will for our lives or limit what God wants to do in us or through us.  Today we are asking God to seek out my sin. 

This is a dangerous prayer because we are asking God to expose anything in us that is inconsistent with God’s truth.  Are there any words and actions that are unpleasing to God?  Are there any attitudes and behaviors that dishonor God?  And we aren’t asking God to casually look around and see if He happens to notice something, we are asking God to really look for it.  Root it out God, uncover it, dig it up and search in all the dark corners to see if there is anything at all that is offensive, anything that is inconsistent and anything that is unpleasing.

This is dangerous because I guarantee that if we ask God to do this, God will find something.  There is something in all of us that needs to be addressed because Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  And 1 John 1:8 says, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  So we are all sinners, which means, if we ask God to seek out our sin – God will and God will then point it out to us, and once God does that, it means we have to deal with it.  There is no more hiding it, denying it or rationalizing it away. 

The reason it is so important for us to ask God to do this is because while we often see our sin and know it is there, we don’t focus on it as much as we focus on the sins of others.  Jesus said that it is easy for us to point out the speck of dust in someone else’s eye, but we fail to notice the plank that is coming out of our own.  We can see the failures and inconsistency in others easily, but when it comes to the problems and sin in our own lives, we rationalize it, justify it and don’t deal with it seriously.  The reason we downplay our own sin is because, as we heard a few weeks ago, the heart is deceitful above all things.  In other words, we can lie to ourselves about what is really going on and tell ourselves that the sin in our lives is just not that bad – at least it is not as bad as what we see going on in someone else’s life. 

To help us come to terms with what God is trying to reveal to us, here are three questions that can be helpful.

1. What are others trying to tell me about my life?  If all of our coworkers are telling us that we have become too critical and controlling, then maybe these are problems we need to acknowledge.  If our family shares with us concerns about how much we are drinking, or how many hours we are working, or how much time we spend online, then maybe we need to acknowledge some addictive patterns and behavior.  If our friends comment about how mean we have become on social media, then maybe we need to examine the attitude of our hears. 

While God can certainly convict us about what is going on in our lives, God will also use those around us to help shine his light of truth into our dark corners of our lives.  This doesn’t give us the license to go and tell others what we see going on in their lives.  We should only do that after we have given it some thoughtful prayer and examined our own lives first.  We need to ask ourselves this question as a way of examining our own lives to see if there is some sin that God is trying to reveal. 

2. What have I rationalized for too long?  What activity or behavior have I rationalized by saying, it’s not that bad or it’s not hurting anyone.  Talking about people behind their backs isn’t that bad, at least I’m not posting it all on Facebook for others to see.  Cutting corners at work or on my taxes doesn’t really hurt anyone and it’s not like it’s that much money anyway. 

While we might be able to rationalize away a lot of behavior as “not that bad” and “not hurting anyone” what we fail to see is that much of what we rationalize is inconsistent with God’s will and truth.  God seeks out and uncovers these sins so that we can overcome them and experience a deeper relationship with God and others and this won’t happen if we keep pushing it all away.  So what activities have I rationalized for too long?  What behaviors have I justified and ignored? 

3. Where am I most defensive?  When family or friends comment about some area of our life – where do we become the most defensive?  It is often these areas where we have a problem.  When people touch on an issue that we want to ignore, we get defensive as a means of deflecting a truth that hurts.  Getting defensive is also an example of pride, and maybe that is what needs to be rooted out in our life before we can deal with anything else.  Instead of getting defensive, we need to be humble and ask ourselves if what people are pointing out might actually be a problem.  So where do we get defensive? 

Asking God to seek out my sin is just the first part of this prayer, once God uncovers our sin and reveals it to us we have to be willing to deal with it.  This means we have to stop denying it and start confessing that things need to change.  We call this repentance.  Repentance means to turn and the first part of any turn is to stop going in the direction we are going.   We have to stop before we can turn, so we have to stop denying that our sin isn’t that bad and acknowledge that it is a problem that we need to own. 

Then we need to start going in a new direction.  We have to change our attitudes, words and actions.  We need to start living a new way, God’s way.  This process of change doesn’t happen overnight.  For most people the process of living a new life is just that – a process.  We commit to living a new way, make the necessary changes, find some success and then fall, but we pick up the pieces, ask for forgiveness and keep moving forward.  What we discover in this process of repentance and change is that we cannot do this on our own.  We can only make significant and lasting change with God’s help.  On our own we cannot achieve the kind of life God wants for us and when we realize this, it drives us to Jesus. 

The process of asking God to seek out our sin and the dealing with what we find points us to Jesus because we begin to see things in our life that on our own we can’t change or overcome.  This prayer is dangerous because it shows us that we don’t need Jesus just a little, we need Jesus completely. 

In Mark 14 there is a story about a woman who got to a point in her life where God had revealed just how much she needed Jesus.  Mark doesn’t give us any information about the woman, but some think she may have been a prostitute.  While we don’t know who she is or how she ended up in her situation, we do know that she got to a point in her life where she saw her complete need for Jesus because she walked up to Jesus, took a very expensive jar of perfume and broke the jar over Jesus.  She poured out the perfume as an act of worship.  Mark 14:3-6. 

The perfume represented this woman’s entire life.  It was her past, maybe purchased with money from her position as a prostitute or maybe an heirloom passed from mother to daughter, either way it represents her past and her future.  It could have been sold for a lot of money and she could have lived off of that money for years to come.  Her past and her future is broken, given completely to Jesus.  Her life is poured out as an act of confession and repentance and as a statement saying that she needs nothing in life but Jesus. 

What this woman does is an example of what we need to do when God points out our sin.  We need to be willing to be broken and poured out in an act of worship that allows Jesus to enter in.  What it looks like for each of us to be broken before God is different, and how God asks us to pour ourselves out will be unique to our situation, but what this woman does is an example for us.  We need to express our complete dependence on God when he points out our sin.  Repentance means coming to Jesus to express our complete need for God’s grace, forgiveness and strength in order for us to turn and live a new life.  Asking God to seek out our sin is dangerous, because it will lead us to be broken and poured out. 

What is interesting about this story is that the very next story in Mark’s gospel tells us about Jesus celebrating the Passover with his disciples and as part of that meal Jesus is broken and poured out.  Jesus takes bread and breaks it saying, this is my body which is broken for you.  Then Jesus picks up a cup filled of wine and says, this is my blood which is poured out for you.  The reason we are able to come and find all that we need in Jesus is because Jesus was willing to give all he had for us.  Jesus was willing to be broken and poured out not so he could find life but so he could give us life.  Jesus was without sin and yet he was willing to be broken and poured out for our sin so that through him we could be forgiven and then given the power to live a new life.  This is what we are saying every time we share in communion. 

Communion is the place for us to come and confess our sin.  This is the place to come and be broken before God and confess that we cannot live the kind of life we want to on our own.  This is the place to pour out our hearts and lives to God asking God to forgive us and to give us strength so we can rise above our sin and live a better life.  Communion is the time and the place to give to God our past and our future so we can receive from God all we need to experience the fullness of life.  It is dangerous prayers that lead us to this place because it is here that we need to acknowledge that our hearts and minds and lives are not what God wants them to be and that we need Jesus to forgive us and give us strength. 

Seek out my sin is a dangerous prayer because it leads us to becoming broken and reveals to us that we can’t live the kind of life we want to live on our own, but we can pray this prayer with confidence because God, in his infinite love and grace, has already allowed himself to be broken and poured for us.  God points out our sin but has already forgiven us in Christ Jesus our Lord. 



 
Next Steps
Dangerous Prayers – Seek Out My Sin

Pray: Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

1. What sin is God uncovering in your life? 

2. Why is it easier to see the sin in other people’s life than in our own life?  See Matthew 7:1-5

3. How does your response to each of these questions help lead you to the sin God is seeking to reveal to you?
• What are others trying to tell me about my life?
• What wrong attitudes and actions have I rationalized for too long?
• Where am I most defensive? 

4. Read Mark 14:3-9 and 14:22-26. 
• What did it mean for the woman to be broken and poured out? 
o What would this look like in your own life?
• How did Jesus allow himself to be broken and poured out? 
o What does this mean for your own life? 

5. Praying, search my heart, test my thoughts and seek out my sin, leads us all to a place of brokenness and need.  Which of these prayers has been the most challenging to pray?  Why?  Which prayer is most needed in your life today? 

6.  God uses other people to offer us perspective and support.  Who can help you see the sin in your own life and who can help you overcome this sin through their support, accountability and prayer?