November 8-9, 1997

Mike Slaughter

Where Has Time Gone
Last Saturday I spent some time with friends from high school. I haven't seen them in a long time. We're starting to look old - I couldn't believe it! I said to one guy, "Where did you get the gray beard?"
Last Saturday I spent some time with friends from high school. I haven't seen them in a long time. We're starting to look old - I couldn't believe it! I said to one guy, "Where did you get the gray beard?"
Time becomes more important. Do you know what I’ve started asking myself now that I'm approaching that 50's age? Do I have enough time left to do what God sent me to do? Do you ever ask yourself those kinds of questions? Do I have enough time left to do what God sent me to do?
This Wednesday night the leaders of the church were here and we danced. We did the country line-dancing thing. I have discovered that it is harder to dance now than it used to be. It's like we get stiffer or something. We become less flexible.

Psalm 123:1-2
1: A Song of Ascents. To thee I lift up my eyes, O thou who art enthroned in the heavens!
2: Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he have mercy upon us.

Dance is about rhythm, isn't it? It's about hearing God's beat. Turn to Psalm 123. What does the word Psalm mean? It means song. Life is a spirited dance. Here's the music. Here is how we hear God's beat if we're going to keep dancing. "To you I lift up my eyes." It's an attitude of posture through which we go through life. "I lift up my eyes to You who are enthroned in the heavens." No, it doesn't mean location or address in the cosmos, it means place of authority in our lives. "To You who are enthroned in the heavens. As the eyes of the servants look to the hand of their master. As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress. So our eyes look to the Lord our God until he has mercy on us." To hear the beat you have to look up.
And the music is about service. The rhythm is about service, that's where life is - in service. The world will tell you that life is in success. Once you pass the age of 40, success becomes pretty empty without significance.
To hear the beat, to hear the music you have to look up. Hey, the world is full of noise. It's hard to hear sometimes. There are major distractions. Have you been in the middle of any distractions this week? So the Psalmist says, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits for the Lord, in your word I put my hope." We live in an age of media distraction. We were raised with Rin Tin Tin, Howdy Doody, Ed Sullivan and the Wonderful World of Disney. We are bombarded continually with stimuli. We have so much information and noise going into us that TV has changed the way they edit TV shows. Watch any television show like NYPD Blue, cameras aren't held still anymore because they'll lose your attention. Edits are done in four seconds or less. Count - go 1001, 1002, 1003 - you won't get to 1004 before there is an edit or a movement of the camera.

I. Look Up
Last week Carolyn and I spoke in Toronto, Canada, at a national seminar to church pastors and church leaders. One speaker was speaking the truth of God, but apparently not moving fast enough for some of the listeners, and one third of the audience got up and walked out. We could not believe it. You see the world is moving so fast, it is so loud and there is so much stimuli coming into your life that you can not hear the music. So what happens when you cannot hear God's beat? Here's what God says: "Be still and know that I am God." See it is so important that we take time to look up so that we can hear the beat. If you can't hear the beat, you can't dance! You see worship is about alignment. Jesus said that you and I can't live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. We've been told that it is about success and competition. Life is not about success. Here's life: seeking God, looking up. We can't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. So worship is taking time to look up and listen and align every area of our lives with the thoughts of God.
It's like God saying, "Mike, put those dishes in the dishwasher, it would help Carolyn." Okay, Lord, I'm busy, but... You see, aligning every area of your life. "Make the bed." Oh, I'm in a hurry Lord, but..... Worship is about living from every word that comes from the mouth of God. Worship is about humility. You know, sometimes we experience a little bit of success and we need an attitude adjustment in our lives. Worship is about distinguishing the difference between the Creator and the Creature... and I am the creature not the Creator.
God is about that song, Almighty God. We seem to forget that sometimes. Sometimes, we think that God is someone on our level that we can argue with. No! I lift up my eyes to you, almighty God. Do you have a sense of the almightiness of God? If you don't, you need to worship more. Almighty God, to You I lift up my eyes.

Romans 12:1
1: I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

You see worship is about offering. Now, I don't mean a symbolic act or coming in here thinking, "Well, here's my money; I did my thing for God." Worship is more than just a symbolic act. Romans 12:1 says this: "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice." God doesn't just want an hour of your time or some of your money. Do you know what a living sacrifice is? Worship means that I renew that commitment at the beginning of the week to make myself available wholly to God. That's what a living sacrifice is. It's not just my money or part of my time. I make myself totally available to God.

Worship As First Act Of Service
Worship is not a spectator sport. Do you know that? That's why we started today by saying: Get on your feet. Get up and make it happen. Worship is about looking up. And then, what do you do when you look up? You reach out as servants to a master. God is doing something in this church and I'm excited about what's happening. I think that it's going to be what the old timers call 'revival' and it will break loose in our lives. Real change, not just coming to church or growing big. God doesn't want us to grow fat, he wants us to grow up.
We don't come here to be entertained. I lift my eyes to the Lord. You don't sit. You get on your feet and then you go out and make it happen. I lift my eyes as a servant to a master and then I reach out to meet the needs of others. You cannot look up into the face of the almighty God and be a spectator. When you hear the music, you've got to go out and dance. Dancing is serving people. Do you know what was one of the most incredible acts that Jesus ever committed? He did all kinds of incredible things. But here is the thing that blows me away: The Son of God - washed feet.

II. Reach Out
John 13:12-14,17
12: When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
13: You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.
14: If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
17: If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them

Let's read it in the Bible. John 13:12 - After Jesus washed their feet, he said to them, "do you know what I've done to you?" Now that's a pretty amazing thing to think about. You meet the Creator of the cosmos in the person of Jesus Christ and He gets down and washes your feet. "Do you know what I've done? You call me teacher and Lord and you were right for that is who I am. If I, your Lord and teacher, have done this to you then you should go." The first act of service is worship and taking the time to look up to God. What is the second act of service? Serving one another.
Look at verse 17 with me. "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do these things." It's not about coming and sitting. You see here is the dance of life. When I take time to look up and hear the rhythm, then I can go out and dance. That's what it's about. You are made to serve, did you know that? I loved it when Tom Tumblin taught us last week. Didn't Tom do a great job? He told us that when you do acts of generosity, scientific studies have shown that endorphins are released in your body. Do you know what endorphins are? Endorphins are those hormones that are natural mood elevators. God made you so that you shouldn't have to depend on alcohol or marijuana or any of those kinds of things. What makes you feel good? Service. Then why are you depressed? Why do you think that you need marijuana or you need several drinks to relax? Because you’re sitting on your behind. Get up on your feet and make it happen. You are created to serve.
John Kennedy, Jr., the president's son, just in this last year started a new magazine called George. He wrote a great editorial in this month's issue. He wrote about Mother Teresa and told about the time he was in Calcutta and he went to meet her. Immediately, she grabbed him and commandeered him to drive her to the airport in Calcutta so that she could pick up a shipment of clothing for the poor. Now, I have been there and it is the worse place to drive on the planet! If there are five lanes, then there are twenty cars next to each other trying to get through those same five lanes. Now here's what John Kennedy wrote: "It was thrilling to help her. I mean how many times have you jumped at the chance to drive someone to the airport through some of the worst traffic in the northern hemisphere... I felt like it was God's work." Isn't that neat. It was exiting to go through this hassle of a traffic jam in the northern hemisphere because it felt like God's work. Now, do you know what? His mom was married to Onassis. I'm sure this guy has enough money for life. But money can't buy endorphins. No matter how much money you have, you can't buy endorphins. You've got to get up on your feet and make it happen. Did you know you don't even have to go to India to make it happen? Serving is about simple acts of sharing what you have, wherever you are.
Elaine Collins is on our house keeping staff here at the church. Listen to what she says: "I was through cleaning and we were setting up for Saturday's evening services." She came in and she'd had an argument with her husband and she is pregnant. She said, "I know my emotions are high now. I really, really just want to leave them all and leave them on their own and go somewhere that's just me." And we talked and I told her that I didn't think that God wanted her to do this, that she needed to take time to talk to Him and calm down first. It was really kind of neat the way God worked it because we sat on these little tiny kids' chairs in a peaceful room - in the middle of a dirty room - and we just hugged each other and talked. It was just last week that I ran into her again and she gave me a big hug and she said, "You'll never know what it meant that I ran into you and that you loved me and told me so."

Simple Acts
Do you know what service is? You don't have to go to India. It's giving what you have where you are. It's being available. Do you know how many times we're too busy doing things that we're not available? Do you know that Jesus comes to us in the least likely of these? Jesus said: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was in prison and you visited me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was sick and you came and comforted me." And you say: "Jesus, just when were you doing any of this kind of stuff? We never saw you." He said: "Inasmuch as you've done it to the least one of these aggravations that come into your life, you have done it unto me."
You don't have to do anything big. It's just taking what you have where you are and giving it in the name of Jesus. Do you remember the kid who gave Jesus his sandwich and what Jesus did with it? Jesus took the simple act of this kid's commitment to service and fed over 5000 people. Do you know what's key about that kid? He was standing close enough to Jesus to hear Jesus make the request. Too many of us are hanging out there at the edges. We can't hear clearly what Jesus is asking for. You can't hang out at the edges or you’ll miss Jesus’ call. Do you know what it's like when you come here to worship and I remind you and you remind me to take the time to lift your eyes and look up? You hear things more clearly, don't you? You go: "Oh yeah, how did I forget that?" You forgot that in the noise. You forgot that in the aggravation. But somehow this boy was standing close enough to hear Jesus say "food" and he had some.
Do you know that there is a great need in this church right now for people who are willing to befriend teenagers in small groups? To become small group leaders in the lives of teenagers? We have more teenagers than we know how to bridge into a relationship with Jesus Christ. You say; "Well, I don't know how to be a small group leader." You know how to be a friend, right? Small acts of service - giving what you have where you are.
Do you know what you call a person who says yes to needs, to serving? You call them a solution finder. There are too many excuse makers. Jesus said to Philip, "Philip, how are we going to feed all of these people?" Philip said, "I don't have enough money. What I make in six months wouldn't feed all of these people." It's not taking what you don't have. Andrew, who was standing close by, wasn't an excuse maker. He was a solution finder. He looked around and all he found was a boy who had a lunch. He bridged this boy to Jesus. Do you know that one of the best things you can do is to bridge another person to Jesus Christ through acts of service?
The other night my son, Jonathan, and his friend were in my house. They are high school boys - I looked over at them and said, "Guys, who is the best Sunday school teacher that you ever had?" Both of them have been in this church all of their lives - almost sixteen years. And you know, both of them instantly pointed back five or six years and said, "Ron Brandt." Do you know who Ron Brandt is? Most people I've asked don't. But I'm glad my son knows who Ron is! When asked who Ron Brandt is, he said, "He's the guy we had in fifth and sixth grade. Don't you remember, Dad? You used to drop me off at the park to play football on Saturday's. That's Ron Brandt. Remember when you dropped us at the bowling alley and he would take us bowling? That's Ron Brandt. Remember when you took us to Cassano's pizza? That's Ron Brandt.." He never mentioned what Ron knew about teaching Sunday school, but I thank God that Ron Brandt was there to give what he had to my son.
I was a freshman in college and 18 years old. Harry Whitehouse from my church called and said, "Mike, will you work with the youth on Sunday night" At 18 years old, I didn't know anything about working with kids, but I could hang out with them. And I could be a bridge to Jesus. Last month the pastors from the United Methodist Church from across the state of Ohio met here. Jim and Brent came up to me. They are now United Methodist pastors. Guess what youth group they were in? Yes, I just went and hung out with these kids when I was 18, 19 and 20 years old. When you use your time to bridge people to Jesus, you are providing material for a miracle.
Do you know the second thing this kid did right, the one who gave his lunch to Jesus? This kid was willing to place what he had in Jesus' hands. He didn't have much to offer. It was just the equivalent of two sardines and five crackers. It was poor peoples food. Anybody of any means had bread that was made out of wheat, but the poor people couldn't afford wheat, so they used barley which was a coarse bread. That's all the kid had, but he placed it in the hands of Jesus.
Do you know Louella Thompson from this church? Louella Thompson feeds hundreds of poor people out of her kitchen every month. However, her Feed the Hungry Project has just built a new brick building on the side of her house. We're going to dedicate that building in a couple of weeks. Now she started this with $15 and a simple home. But you take what you have and you supply the materials for a miracle when you place it in Jesus' hands.
Do any of you remember my friend, Steve Sjogren, who spoke here this summer? I love what he has to say. He's got one message. He goes through life with one saying. Do you remember what it was? Here it is: "Simple acts of kindness, done in love, in the name of Jesus, will change the world." People, you are made to serve.
The rhythm of life is not about success. You're not going to find it there. Too many of you over 40 have quit trying. Here is where you are going to hear the rhythm of life: seeking God. "To you I lift my eyes." And it's not in competition. Don't go there. It's in love, serving other people. Looking up and reaching out. That is, my brothers and sisters, the rhythm of life.
Do you know that you were not created to be a spectator? Did you know that I just finished writing a book. One of the facts I uncovered blew me away. The average college graduate in the US reads less than two books a year. Now get this. If you're a college graduate, you watch an average of 20 hours of TV each week. How many of those hours can you take to commit yourself to simple acts of service? What are you saving it for? You were created to serve. Now, my brothers and sisters, this is a season where we are getting honest with God... where we are listening to God... where we come together to lift up our eyes. How many of those 20 hours a week that you use to watch TV can you take to serve? If you look up and you hear God speak, what do you do? You get on your feet.
And now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of His Holy Spirit, go out and make it happen. Amen and God Bless. Have a tremendous week.

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