Gtcotr/ss120819
Thanks
for all of the Happy Birthday wishes. Today I am 65 years old. In all my days I
never imagined how young 65 was and how good it feels to be this age. If I
would have known just how good it was going to be, I would have avoided
worrying about it.
I
have a place-marker memory of myself at about the age of 10 or so, in the hot
summer, cut-off jeans, no shirt, barefooted and up to my ankles in the hot dirt
of a freshly plowed Irish potato patch beside that little 900 square foot farm
house where I was raised. It was potato digging time and I was running my
fingers through the dirt like a pitchfork, finding the hidden potatoes to put
into piles alongside the middle-busted rows.
It
was hot and I was dirty, we had no running water but there was a well at the
end of the garden. I remember seeing a scissor-tail bird fly over and I jumped
up and threw a small potato at it. 55 years later, I still see that little boy
in my mind, and I am amazed at all God had planned for him. God’s plans were
sure, as sure and as certain as that very moment in time … I just couldn’t see
it from there.
Yet,
in my heart there was a yearning, not even a dream, but an invisible excitement
for life. There was some spark of adventure that made me want to get up each
day and run out of the house to find what the day was going to bring. God knew
my destiny, I sure didn’t, and perhaps I still don’t … but at 65, I want to
tell you that I can still feel that excitement and I can’t wait to see what the
Lord will yet do in and through and for and with my life.
This
morning I want to thank my mom and my dad for the gift of life. There is no
greater gift. I am, because of them. Who I am and what I am is a work in
progress, but the fact that I am was a gift from my parents. For that and the opportunity
it gave me to know Jesus, I am truly thankful.
One
of the constant hungers of my life has been a hunger to learn. However, I
wasn’t born with the study gene and I’m not a natural reader. Consequently,
I’ve always done much better in situations where I can sit and listen.
Lectures, sermons, movies, books on tape and even people reading to me have
always been my go-to for education. When nothing else is readily available I’ve
learned to get into a quiet place and read out loud to myself. There is bound
to be some documented learning disability I could be diagnosed with that I am
unaware because I haven’t heard anyone say it yet. Lol.
This
brings me to my childhood Church experience. Occasionally, as a pre-teen, I
attended the First Baptist Church in Simms, Texas. There were probably 40 to 50
in attendance on a good Sunday. I went to meet up with two friends so I would
have someone to play with after Church. We sat in a Sunday School class, just
us three boys, listening to Mr. Lenoy Johnson read from the quarterly. He was
missing a thumb and it was interesting to watch how he held that little book.
After
Sunday School it was time for Church. Us boys would sit on the back row and be
boys. Sometimes one of the older ladies would come and sit with us so she could
shush us as needed. But there were two parts of the service I looked forward and
paid attention to: The singing and the story telling. I liked it when we had a
preacher who told stories from the Bible. Looking back I realize just how much
truth I learned as a young boy from those stories. A good story seems to set me
to thinking.
One
of the first sermons I recall hearing that stuck with me was about The Sermon on the Mount. The preacher painted such a
picture of Jesus on a hillside. It is still one of my favorites. I tried to
remember just how many times the preacher said “Blessed”. You know the part in
Matthew 5 where Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor; the meek; the hungry; the
pure in heart; the peacemakers.” Well, I kind of got stuck right there and
didn’t hear much else he said that day. I wanted to know the number of
“Blessed’s”. I tried to remember but couldn’t and finally found a Bible and
counted them … there are 9 … Jesus said “Blessed” 9
times in that one sermon.
Through
the years, when I think about being blessed or think about wanting to be
blessed, my mind goes back to that place and I remember Jesus gave me 9 ways to
get some of those blessings.
Those
of you who have traveled with me to Israel know that we always stop and take
whatever time needed to go up on the Mount of Beatitudes and read the whole
Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5, 6 and 7. It is one of the most powerful,
picturesque and productive things we experience together in the Galilee. As
well, I’ve led groups of Baptist Pastors from our local communities and other
members of the Clergy from around the nation on their introductory pilgrimages
to the Holy Land. Each time we stop and take turns reading this powerful sermon
out loud together. It is always a moving time for everyone, especially for me.
It takes me back to when I was a boy. The picture that preacher painted in my
mind looks much the same in person. Perhaps that’s one thing that made me love
to tell stories … just like the one I just shared. Life has been mighty good to
me.
And,
I thank my parents for giving me life. Life gave me the chance to know Jesus
and Jesus gave me the chance to really live. In light of the blessings I have
enjoyed during these past 65 years, allow me to share three things from that
Sermon on the Mount that helped to shape my life. I know these three things can
help shape your life as well.
1.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are
the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
·
I don’t know anyone who is perfect. Early on
I imagined showing mercy was one of the easiest things to do to be blessed by
Jesus.
·
It has not always been easy, but it has paid
off.
·
Start growing a crop of mercy today. You’ll
need it.
2.
Matthew 6
a.
33 “But seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you.
b.
34 “Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for
the day is its own trouble.
·
Why worry? Worry adds nothing to your life
but stressful moments and sleepless nights.
·
Be prepared but you won’t worry about the
outcome.
·
Don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow.
·
Keep seeking what’s best for the Kingdom and
stay right with God.
·
If God is worried about it … You don’t need
to worry.
·
If God is not worried … You don’t have to
worry.
3.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
·
Don’t forget to ask – Ask God.
·
Do your part and seek – Seek God.
·
Don’t’ be afraid to knock – Knock on Heaven’s
Door.
