Today we are thinking about the lives of loved ones. I always look forward to this annual service because I need an occasional reminder of how much I appreciate a lot of people that are now separated from me by death or distance. Some of you have brought names that will be displayed on the screens and I hope everyone jots down names of people on your bulletin for whom you want to give prayers of thanks.
We also think about loved ones and people we admire because we appreciate the effect they have had on our lives. And today we are going to think about how we can be people who have a good effect on the lives of others.
Many people want to be a person of character. They want to lead a person to a relationship with God. They want to be a dependable neighbor. They want to be a citizen who helps to make a great community and nation. And yet, most of us are surrounded by our comfort zone. We are easily scared into retreating to where we feel more safe. We’ve pictured it today as though we are wearing a huge balloon. We hear about opportunities to help but that balloon around us keeps us from getting close enough to do any good.
I want to tell you about a guy that changed my life. I did not know him that well. I was never at his home in New Jersey. He was 20 years older than me. I think we met five times.
Thom Hopler had worked in Kenya and then came back to the East Coast to work will college students and staff. I was in my first year on staff and Thom knew things about culture and Christians that I needed to know. He was the first person to point out to me that the leadership team in Acts 6 represented a culturally diverse group and that Christians were first called that in Antioch because they were cross culturally diverse, yet in a one group.
I was in Boston with Thom for student training. He was writing a book and couldn’t handle all the speaking requests. And then at the camp, Thom had a sudden heart attack later that day and died at age 48.
There are so many parts of life that we will not understand until we get to heaven. And so I have no answers for why God allowed such a sudden transition. But Thom knew the secret of having and impact and being an influence. The secret was more than good speaking skills and interesting ideas. The secret was more to do with going beyond his own comfort zone. He had made that commitment and it allowed people like me to get close enough to him to be changed.
Today, we look at one of the most famous of Scriptures on faith and what God expects of us. It is essentially a call to each of us to go out and be saints, just like some of the people we are honoring today. Let your heart be open and ask God to get you beyond your comfort zone with the comforting help of God’s spirit.
This passage helps you be a saint in 3 easy ways. Well, maybe not easy, but understandable. The AAAA steps out of your comfort zone are, accept the big picture, accept some discomfort, accept some anointing, and await future answers.
Accept the big picture. I am naturally drawn to the big picture and this is partly a feature of personality. Some of us are drawn to the details and others are drawn to the forest made from those trees. Both kinds of people are needed. But we all need to see that God has started a new kingdom among us and fully intends to restore justice and peace in the world and get humans and creation again in peace with God. Hebrews chapter 10 looks the wonder and power of God’s plan. The writer points out that any sacrifices we make are reasonable given how greatly God will use them and how victorious God will be.
Let’s say that two of you both have big projects at your jobs that will require extra effort and real sacrifice. You will both be getting home late for the next two months. But in one case, the boss shows you that the extra work is to prepare a new department and you will be promoted and get a 30% pay increase. Now the second boss – not the same company, has told the other employee that the extra work will be needed simply because it has to be done. No bonus. No affirmation. No comp time.
You see, Christians often act as tho we work for the second boss. We don’t get motivated by the big picture. We’re not even sure we believe in the big picture. So it just feels like God is trying to make demands on us and we are already busy. So we tell God, sorry, no witness to a neighbor, no help with the homeless, no sacrificial giving. If you accept the big picture, you will feel like you are on a winning team and then its easier to go outside your comfort zone.
Accept some discomfort. Thom Hopler was able to have an influence because he placed some things above his career. Spending time in Kenya was scarcely the method for fame and fortune, but his insights into culture came because of the Kenya experience. I’m not really that happy to stay overnight at someone’s home as I get older. Do any of you feel that way? I’ve just had a variety of cold rooms, uncomfortable couch convertibles, and messy bathrooms in my lifetime. When I was in Guatemala three years ago in someone’s home, I was so cold that I put on my winter coat in the night, looked around the room for anything else I could add, even the rug in the bathroom. But Thom was willing to stay in our homes as he taught. At that point, many more places could invite him because there was no hotel or meal charge.
What is there about your life where you can accept some discomfort so that the good news of our faith can have an effect? Accept the big picture, accept some discomfort.
Accept the anointing. Believe that God is going to use your discomforts and efforts and anoint and multiply them. This is another of those faith ideas. If you are really turned off by God’s demand that we use faith, I can understand that. Its totally wrong, but I can understand that. As a matter of fact, if you are not going to use faith (the assurance of things hoped for) and you refuse to believe that God will use you and bless your deeds, then you might as well not attend church. God has ordained faith, trust that God will use us, direct us, Protect us – this the fundamental method that God uses to work.
Our tragedy is that it conflicts with our comfort zone. If you step out on faith and do something, you’ll look like a fool. If you really step out and accept some discomfort and God is busy and doesn’t see, it could even be dangerous. And if you accept the big picture, and accept the anointing and God does nothing, it could really harm even your trust in God.
Those things are all true. But faith is still the way that we get rid of the comfort zone enough to get close to enough to others to have an impact. When I go to Cambodia, I need a car to visit churches. And I take a suitcase with my clothes. And then the water is bad so I drink a little hot tea in people’s homes, but I bring along bottled water which is expensive. And mosquitoes there can have malaria so I prefer not to accept invitations to stay overnight. And the militias are dangerous at night, so I prefer to return to a city with governmental protection. And half the hotels for foreigners do not permit Cambodians inside so I have to make careful choices. I have this huge list of things to give me a comfort zone against violence and illness. But the more that I accept everything on that list, the farther I am pushed from my friends. I got a mosquito bite last year in Siem Reap and my first thought was malaria.
Without faith, you will not get close enough to someone who needs you to make a difference. Our comfort zone is built to keep us safe from others, and saints are people who get close enough to others to be vulnerable and effective.
And lastly, you may have to await answers. Perhaps you will be in heaven before some of your projects are completed. Thom’s book was never published while he was alive. A group of us worked with his wife to read the manuscripts and pull it together. Thom died in 1978. And if you google his name, there were more hits than I could follow.
We need saints to build a strong church. We heard about Eileen Gibson last Sunday. I just realized that she gave $2,000 over the summer for Cambodia, almost as though she knew that she had to prepare for heaven. Who is the saint who will take her place? Its someone in this room. God is calling us to do the work of saints and join the list of Hebrews 11. Accept the big picture, Accept some discomfort, Accept anointing, and await the answer. Are you the person we are waiting for?
