July 5-6 Sermon

July 5-6, 1997

Ray Jones

Drama in which Jesus is a life-giver to the woman at the well.

Jesus was always a life-giver and He challenges you and I to do the same. In Matthew 5:21, 22, He makes this statement, "You have heard it said to our people long ago, you must not murder anyone. For anyone who murders another will be judged, but I tell you if you are angry with anyone you will be judged."

I. Life - Takers

Matthew 5:21-22
21: You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.'
22: But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire.

Now what made Jesus say that? He was redefining murder in our understandings. Jesus knew that inside all of us we have this tendency to be life-takers to be murderers rather than life-givers. And as was His pattern, Jesus starts blowing away peoples' paradigm of what it meant to murder. You know you and I work real hard at keeping outward appearances. That day when Jesus spoke those words, He was speaking to a group of religious people who thought that what they were doing was right spiritually and socially. But Jesus knew that they had some hidden parts in their life. He knew that in our lives there are some places that we really don't let people see often.
A couple years ago the movie "The Mask" came out starring Jim Carrey. The movie was all about a mask that had ancient powers and this mask would reveal the truth about what was inside a person. In fact, it literally would exaggerate our innermost passions. Jesus becomes a mask for you and me, because He has this ability to look deep inside our hearts and to see what we really are like in our innermost being. And when we act out of this hidden side of our life, we become a life-taker. We don't give life. We literally become a walking gun. In fact, many of us may be lethal weapons.
So what does it mean to be a life-taker? Who are these life-takers? They are people who will look you in the eye and give you an evil glare. They are people who will literally rip your head off with a slip of their tongue. They are people who will smack you in the eyes with a slam of a door. The scary thing is you and I don't even realize we do it. We do it and we don't even understand we have done it. I do this a lot and I am ashamed of it. Guys you know what this is like, you and your wife go out to dinner and you are sitting there with a bunch of your friends. Suddenly you just feel this urge to tell one of your wife's most embarrassing moments. You get about two sentences into the story, your wife gives you this look. You know that look. That look that says, 'if looks could kill you would be dead' and 'where are you sleeping tonight?'

We become life-takers, not aware of it. We were talking about this at design team on Tuesday night and Mel McWilliams, who works with my team on SoulJourn, said "man this subject really hits me hard."
I said, why?
"It just happens to me sometimes. I just do stuff that I don't realize." She said, "I was driving home from work, and I had an awful day. We had been coming here to Ginghamsburg about 3 weeks and I was involved in Vital Christianity and I barely had enough time to run home, pick up my husband and get here for dinner and the class. I was driving up here and I was just venting. I was so mad, I couldn't believe people treated me that way at work. All of a sudden I looked in my rearview mirror and these lights are flashing me and horns are honking at me. I said to myself 'why are these people irritating me? Why don't they just get a life?"
And her husband looked over and said "Well, Mel, it probably has something to do with your doing 50 in a 65 mile zone. You know, just pull over." So, she moves into the other lane to let the cars pass. Without looking, she gave them a wave or a hand gesture. You know what I am talking about. And she did this without thinking.
So they get up here to the church and they get out in the parking lot and her husband looks over. Guess what happened! The car she flipped off was there in the parking lot. But wait, it gets better. They got up to their Vital Christianity class and the people she flipped off were sitting at their discussion table.
See, we do that and we don't even think about how we take life from other people, but the reality is that it's hard to hide what is inside. And eventually it comes out. And when we take a moment to stop and really think what causes us to act out of our emotions, what causes us to act out of our feelings, we suddenly realize we have a lot of unresolved issues.
Look at Mike Tyson. I mean biting the ear of Mr. Holyfield. They are calling it the 'bite' of the century. Some people said that he bit off more than he could chew. But that bite that he made out of Evander's ear, that wasn't the result of that head butt that apparently happened in the second round. It was the result of a lot of unresolved issues that he never addressed - his marriage difficulty, his divorce, his other relationships that went sour, his time in prison. You see what happens if you don't take time to resolve them. They begin to eat away at you and they begin to destroy you and then you destroy others.

II. Life - Givers
But you see Jesus had a different plan. Jesus had a plan to change the world through life-givers and Jesus calls you and I to give life. That is why we are here. We want to be a life-giver. So, what does that look like? Well, a life-giver is one who compliments you on your proposal, even before you have to ask an opinion. A life-giver is one who does the dishes without ever having to be asked. A life-giver is one who lets another person have the parking spot even though they were there first. A life-giver is one who in golf says 'nice shot' even though you didn't make it past the women's tee. You see it takes a lot of initiative and you have to be very intentional about this, but being a life-giver is so much more than just being nice to other people. A life-giver recognizes the potential that lies in other people.

Matthew 16:18
18: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

Look at Jesus and Peter. Jesus was looking for a right-hand man. He looked at Peter and what did He see? Someone who was eager. Somebody who was impulsive, somebody who was quick to speak, but slow to think. Literally Peter became a walking gun. But Jesus saw potential in his life and instead of speaking words of hatred when Peter denied Him and abandoned Him, Jesus spoke words of hope. He looked at him and said "I am going to build on your rock and through me we will change the world."
But you see a life-giver not only recognizes the potential that lies in other people, a life-giver is the presence of God in the lives of other people. Look at the story of the woman at the well in John chapter four. Here Jesus is talking to this woman even though she has a bad reputation, I mean she had been around. She had been used and abused and the only reason she had come at that time, was because she wasn't welcome at any other time. Jesus talked to her knowing she had a bad reputation. And even though she was from a different background, even though she came from the other side of the tracks, Jesus realized the potential and the promise of God was in her life. And while everybody else was speaking condemnation, Jesus came to her and spoke words of kindness. He spoke words of acceptance, He spoke words to her that gave her life.

John 21:17-19
17: He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
18: Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go."
19: (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me."

And finally, a life-giver is one that empowers others to do what normally they think they could never do and never have the opportunity to do.
You see that's the beauty of our Club House ministry here. It takes kids who are in the inner city and gives them the opportunity to see the world to be world-changers, to be life-givers themselves. To give them opportunities they may never have in their lifetime. It changes their world. That's the beauty of the new ministry that we are starting here called Building Bridges. It is a ministry that teams with teens who are currently in the probate court system. And, occasionally, these teens are taken and they are paired together with mentally handicapped children. When these teens walk into the room, the mentally handicapped kids start clapping for them. For many of those young men and women it is the very first time anyone has ever been excited to see them. For many of those teens, it is the very first time that anyone has ever wanted to be with them. It is the first time they ever had hope. It is the first time they have ever experienced life.

III. A Matter Of The Heart
So what are you and what am I? Are we life-takers or are we life-givers? It becomes an issue in our hearts. Because what is in our heart, we will feed. And what we feed will grow and eventually will become what lies deep inside our hearts.

Psalm 51:10
10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

The Bible tells a story about a young man. Only one man that God ever called a man after His own heart. His name was David and the cry of his heart was simply this - God create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. You see that was God's desire for David. And that's His desire for you and I. To give us a clean heart, to give us a new heart. To give us a new spirit.

Clip from "Dead Man Walking" showing Susan Sarandon reminding a young murderer on death row in prison that no matter what, he is and always will be a son of God.

There is a great movie called "Dead Man Walking." It is a powerful movie. It is probably not something your kids should see, but it is a very moving movie that tells the story of a convicted killer that is about ready to face execution by lethal injection. In response to a letter, he receives a 'Spiritual Leader,' played by Susan Sarandon, to help him in his last days. She literally becomes life to this man who is about to die.
'You are a child of God,' Those were words of life for that man who had become a life-taker.
We are children of God. There are times that we take life. God speaks to us and gives us words of life. You know what, there is no way we can ever become a life-giver on our own. That's why you and I need to be honest with ourselves and admit that inside our hearts and in our lives there are some hidden places. There are some places that we really don't want people to see. Jesus came that we could have life. And if you and I are honest with God and admit that there is that hidden side that strips us of the power to be life to others, He's promised to give us life. All we need to do is ask. Ask Him to begin to transform our lives and to give us a clean heart and a new spirit deep inside.
What do you want to be? A life-giver or a life-taker? It all depends on what is in your heart. We have a great opportunity to experience One Who has given life for you and me. We've got a great opportunity to experience the power of life that Jesus intended us to live.