“See You at the Finish Line” (Hebrews 12:1-3) - Encore Sermon Series VI –

Fog of Life

Florence Chadwick was an American swimmer who was the first woman ever to cross the 21-mile-wide English Channel both ways. But on July 4, 1952, Chadwick attempted something never done before. She had set her goal to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began this historical journey and had spent about fifteen hours swimming, a thick, heavy fog set in. All she could see was a wall of fog. Chadwick was afraid she was swimming in circles, and began to lose hope. Finally, in desperation, she did something she’d never done before. She asked her safety crew to pull her into the boat. She was done. But then, Chadwick soon discovered that she had stopped swimming less than half a mile away from the shore. At a news conference the next day she said, “All I could see was the fog.…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”

Can you relate to Chadwick’s words? Have you ever got so tired and weary because you don’t see the shore? Have you ever felt like you just wanted to give up because you don’t have the strength to stay afloat any longer? The truth is that sooner or later everyone of us in this room gets tested by the fog of life. At some point in our life some of us have to go through a fog of worry and depression. Some a fog of unemployment. Some a fog of financial uncertainty. Some a fog of difficult relationships. And all of us eventually have to go through a fog of disruptive moments of aging, health problems, and loss of loved ones. As we are lost in the fog of life, where can we find a source of strength to stay afloat and keep moving forward?

Today’s passage says that our faith journey is like running a race. But it’s not a 100-meter dash. It’s a marathon. In the short distance race, speed is important. In the long distance race, perseverance is what leads to success. That is why Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Victory in the Christian life comes through perseverance. Since our faith journey is like a marathon, we don’t see the whole path. We don’t see the finish line. So oftentimes, on the journey we may feel like we make no progress and will never make it. We may feel like the loneliness and hopelessness will settle in like a thick fog on us forever. But praise God! We are not left running our race in the fog. The author of Hebrews tells us two proven ways to stay the course and finish strong.

Look to the Cloud of Witnesses

First, we are to look to the cloud of witnesses. We are to remember that we’re not alone in this race. Today’s passage begins this way: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” (12:1a) We’re not the only ones to take this journey. In the previous chapter, Hebrews 11, often called the “hall of faith,” we meet a great group of witnesses who have run this same race before us. They ran into the same problems that we have today – slowed down by the weight of life, struggling with their own brokenness and sin problems. But they have finished their race by faith, not by sight. Think about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph!  Even within these three generations, there were a lot of problems and brokenness, such as favoritism, sibling rivalry, hatred, deceit, and incest. They lived a hard life. For instance, Jacob summarized his life this way: “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult” (Gen 47:9). But all of them have fought the good fight, have finished the race, and kept the faith! How? It was possible because they were surrounded by the cloud of witnesses – their ancestors of faith. When Isaac was in trouble, he remembered how his father, Abraham, overcame and followed his paths. When Jacob was going through the darkest valley, he remembered the God of his father, Isaac, and wrestled and prayed through the night. Their examples give us encouragement. And now, like spectators watching an athletic contest in an arena, these heroes of the faith are watching our race and cheering us on!

But we don’t have to always go back to the OT to find “heroes of the faith.” We can find them today right around us and among us — right in our family, right in our small groups, right in the pews on any given Sunday morning. We Christians are meant to make this journey together and encourage one another. Though we may deal with different problems, basically we run the same race set before us. As we see powerful examples of faithfulness around us, we are encouraged and strengthened. Like many of you, I greatly miss our dear brother in Christ, Chip Wilde and our Christian fellowship. During one of my visits to his place right after he had decided not to pursue any cancer treatments, I asked him, “How are your holding up?” He showed me one of the picture frames that is his mother’s prayer. By saying this prayer daily and remembering how his mother had finished the race strong, he was encouraged and able to hang in there to the end:

 

“Thank you, Lord

For this food Thou has given us.

Bless it to our good.

Help it to build us in spirit

as well as strength.

Thank you for your guidance

and many blessings through the day.

Guide us, keep us, and help us

to stay close to Thee.

In Thy name we ask it. Amen.”

 

All of us in this room are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. And we are called to be a “witness” to one another. The author of Hebrews says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (10:24-25, NIV) Let us encourage one another. Let us run our race with perseverance!

Look to Jesus

Second, we are to look to Jesus. As we face life challenges – storms and fog of life, we get weary and reach the point that we just want to give up, because we don’t see the shore, the finish line. Jesus’ disciples were the same. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for you to free Israel and restore your kingdom?” Here they were saying, “Lord, I am tired and weary. I just want to skip this part of life and get to the end and see God’s glory now.” But basically, what Jesus said to them is this: “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. But what you’ll get, what you’ll need is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to keep going and finish your race strong.”

When storms come and a thick fog sets in, what we need most is Jesus – His Word, His Spirit, His Presence. At one Christian Conference a Chinese pastor who had spent 18 years in prison for his faith gave his testimony. The authorities in the camp put him to the hardest and dirtiest work – emptying the human waste cesspool, because they knew he was a pastor and a Christian. But they didn’t know in those years how he actually enjoyed working there. In the labor camp all the prisoners were under strict surveillance 24/7 and no one could be alone. But when the pastor worked in the cesspool, he could enjoy the solitude. He could be alone and could pray and sing to the Lord as loudly as he needed. The guards kept a long way off because of the strong stench. One of his most favorite was “In the Garden.” He always liked this hymn, but he didn’t realize the real meaning of this hymn until he worked in the cesspool. There, he knew and discovered a wonderful fellowship with Jesus. Again and again he sang this hymn and felt Christ’s real presence with him:

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses;

And the voice I hear falling on my ear;

The Son of God discloses.

And he walks with me, and he talks with me,

And he tells me I am his own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known.

The pastor said, “Again and again as I sang this hymn in the cesspool, I experienced the Lord’s presence. He never left me or forsook me. And so I survived and the cesspool became my private garden.”[1] So let us fix our eyes on Jesus!

Look Up, Lift U[p

As I close, I want to go back to the story of Florence Chadwick. Two months later, Chadwick stepped off the Catalina shore once again. The same thick fog set in, but this time was different. She swam from Catalina Island to the shore of California in a straight path for 26 miles. She made it because she said that while she swam, she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind. Although she couldn’t visually see the shore, she never lost sight of the shore in her mind. Are you weary and tired? Are you lost in the fog of life? Then, remember you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses cheering on you. Be encouraged. Look up and lift up. We are now much closer to the finish line than we think. Let us never lose sight of where we are headed. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Let us run with perseverance – one step at a time. The One who called us is faithful, and he will bring it to completion. So I will see you all at the finish l

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[1] Gordon MacDonald, The Life God Blesses: Weathering the Storms of Life That Threaten the Soul (Thomas Nelson, 1997), 226.

*Dorothy Wilde's Prayer

“Begin with the End in Mind” (Luke 12:13-21) - Encore Sermon Series V -

The Habit 2

Author and businessman Stephen Covey found that effective people had something in common. He wrote a book titled “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Among those seven habits, the habit 2 is this: “Begin with the end in mind.” In his book Covey invites us to stop and imagine our own funeral. So now imagine the people closest in your life – your family, your friends, your coworkers, and your church family members – speaking at your funeral about your life. What would you want them to say? What character would you like them to have seen in you?[1] At the end none of us really care about what we did, but who we were.

This past week we had Bill Conway’s memorial service. And as of this past Thursday, Chip Wilde has been in hospice care at home. So I have been contemplating death a lot recently. Some of us may not be afraid of death. But most of us in this room are afraid of dying process – becoming a burden for our family, losing control of our movements, forgetting recent events and the names of visitors, and the list goes on. How and when we will die is unpredictable. But still we need to be prepared. How, then, do we prepare ourselves for death? In today’s passage we find one negative role model who is not prepared at all. But through this parable we learn about the important spiritual principles of how to prepare ourselves for death.

Live Each Day as If It Were Your Last

The first principle to die well is to live each day as if it was your last. The rich man in the parable fails to recognize the brevity of life. He thinks that he can live forever. He acts like he would live forever here on earth. He says to himself, “I will build bigger barns for myself. And I will have plenty of good things laid up for many years” (vv. 18-19). What does God say to him? “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (v. 20) Life is short. The Bible says, “Do not boast about tomorrow. Do not say ‘I will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, start a business, and make money.’ What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes! Instead, make it a habit to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15, my paraphrase). We need to make it habit to say from our hearts, “Lord willing, I will do this or that.” We need this kind of humility, which comes from a deep recognition of the brevity of our life. How can we have this humility? We can cultivate this sense of humility by having a daily quality time with God. In our prayer closet we hear who God is and who we are. Otherwise we can be so easily preoccupied with our own well-being just like the rich fool in our passage.

Several years ago when I just began in pastoral ministry, my family and I had a chance to attend the UMC Korean pastor’s family retreat held in Washington DC. During one of the services one pastor who was about to retire shared his story with us. He grew up as a pastor’s kid. His dad was a small church pastor for life in Korea. When he was a teenager, he was ashamed of his father and his church. When he became a pastor, his only goal was church growth. He made every effort to grow his church. He had been so preoccupied with the church work for more than 30 years. Recently, as he was praying and preparing for his retirement, then he realized what really matters. He realized what God really wanted was not for him to make the church bigger, but for him to be a better husband, a better dad, a better son, and then a better pastor. At the end not “do” goals, but “be” goals remain. How about you? If this is your last day of your life, how are you going to live?

Live Each Day as If It Were Your Birthday

The second principle to die well is to live each day as if it’s your birthday. In his book, Here and Now, Henri Nouwen asks the following question, “How do we prepare ourselves for death?” Then he answers: “By living each day in the full awareness of being children of God, whose love is stronger than death.”[2] I paraphrase his words this way: “Live each day as if it’s your birthday.” Celebrating a birthday reminds us that God’s love and life are stronger than death, God’s light is stronger than all the darkness. That is why we celebrate a birthday. God made us for one purpose: to give us love. God gave us one vocation: to give others love. 1 John 4:11 says, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” We were born to be loved and to love. In today’s passage the rich man was already a beloved child of God, but unfortunately, he failed to recognize this. He failed to spread love and blessings that he had received to others. Instead, he found his identity in material possessions and hoarded things just for himself to be secure.

Summer is a busy time for the Hans to celebrate birthdays. Esther’s birthday is on June 24^th, then Abe’s on July 7^th, then Grace’s on July 30^th, then Joyce’s on August 13^th. Celebration after celebration. Every time we celebrate a birthday, we do not say, “Thanks for what you did or accomplished.” Instead, we say: “Thank you for being you. Thank you for being born and being among us. Thank you for walking with us on this earth” I don’t know about you, but for me, I am so easily preoccupied with my own agenda and struggles. I am so often tempted to hear all other voices that pull me in different directions, often into despair. But as I celebrate a birthday, it reminds me of what really matters in life. Celebrating a birthday reminds us of what on earth we are here for. We are here to be loved and to love. Living each day as if it’s our birthday means choosing to receive each day as God’s gift and live out as God’s beloved children. In Christ we are born anew each day. This is the day that the Lord has made for us to be – to be together. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Live for Eternity

Last but not least, to die well is to live for eternity. What does it mean to live for eternity? The Apostle Paul expounds it this way in Colossians 3:1-3, “Set your hearts on things above… Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” How do we set our hearts on the kingdom of God? I think one of the good ways to cultivate this mindset is to regularly stop and think about the day when we give an account for ourselves before the Lord. In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren gives us a vivid image of the day for settling the account. On that day God is going to ask us at least these two questions: “What have you done with my Son Jesus Christ?” and “What did you do with what I gave you?”[3] What would be your answer? Are you ready to answer?

A few years ago Joyce and I had a chance to attend worship service at one of my colleagues’ church. His wife was a professional painter. She took us on a brief tour of her studio. All of her paintings were so inspirational, but there was one particular masterpiece standing out to me. The title of the painting was “Urgency of It.” In this hourglass there is Jesus in the upper part, the earth in the lower part. You see the time is running out. The day is coming. There is urgency to preparing for our death because our times are in God’s hands. Today may be the day. Tomorrow may be the day. We don’t know. But what we know is now is the time to prepare ourselves for death. For me personally, I often think about the day of settling the account. When I get to heaven, when I meet my Jesus face to face, I have one thing I really want to hear from him: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” That would be enough for me. That would wipe all my tears from my eyes and repay all the toils of life. My prayer is that all of us in this room may be well prepared and hear the same words of affirmation. Let us be faithful. Let us keep serving one another. Let us keep loving one another. And let us be joyful. The Lord is near. Amen.

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[1] Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (Free Press, 2004), 97.

[2] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Here and Now (The Crossroad Publishing, 2006), Kindle Location 1419 of 1705.

[3] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Zondervan, 2012) 37-38.

© Nicole DeClerck-Murray,

Urgency of It

“Finding Peace in the Storm” (Revelation 19:6-16) - Encore Sermon Series IV -

The Perfect Storm

Have you heard about the word, “the perfect storm”? Here the word “perfect” is not used in the sense of ideal, but in the sense of combining contributing factors. When we go through a layoff plus a recession. One illness after another. A divorce plus death of a loved one. We may handle one challenge, but if two or more trials come at a time, it’s enough to make us feel overwhelmed and wonder, “Will I survive?” “Who will deliver me from all this?”

I don’t know about you, but for me, the Book of Revelation is a go-to book when I go through the valley, because it tells me how the story ends. It helps us to see things from an eternal perspective. So now I am again reading it. In particular, today’s scripture (chs 19-20) is one of my favorites. It tells us the secret to perfect peace in the midst of the perfect storm in life. God shows John (and us) the great salvation vision in these two chapters. John’s salvation vision is composed of two elements, two very different images – a meal and a war.[1] On the surface, these two images seem to be in conflict with each other, but in a deeper level, they are complementary to one another.

Communion

First, John tastes and sees God’s salvation as a feast. John hears the voice of a great multitude, saying, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, because the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready” (19:7). And he also hears the angel saying, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (9)

Suppose you are invited to a wedding banquet. What’s happening there? You meet people – your family, relatives, and old friends. You meet bride and bridegroom. You enjoy good food and each other’s company. There is laughter, joy, celebration, intimacy, fellowship, communion. That’s the image of God’s salvation.

We often hear this question, “Are you saved?” Though it’s an important question, it may mislead us to interpret salvation as a past act. But salvation is more than just a ticket to heaven. The Bible refers to salvation as the line, not the dot. The Bible refers to salvation as an ongoing process, deepening relationship with Jesus, journey to restoration of God’s image. So the Bible says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Salvation not in the sense of earning or shaping with our own strengths and performances, but in the sense of deepening our relationship with Jesus and perfecting our love for him by God’s grace. And this mainly happens at God’s table – the marriage supper of the lamb, every time we come and have a meal and fellowship with him. For my family, every Saturday we enjoy Pancake Breakfast. I am a host. I get up early, knead dough, thaw blueberries, brew coffee, bake pancakes, set the table, play classical dinner music, and then invite the family. We all look forward to it. There we pray, we talk, we laugh. There our relationship grows, our love grows, our trust grows. There are times when things get rough. When this happens, all the table fellowship we have had day after day, week after week, becomes the solid rock and foundation to get through this. In the same way, God is our host. He prepares a table and invites us. As we come to God’s table – both Holy Communion and our daily meals with him – over and over again, our relationship, our trust, our love for him grows. That becomes an unshakable refuge in times of trouble. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Salvation is communion with God.

War

Then, John sees another vision of salvation. He sees the Warrior Jesus riding on a white horse, leading the last battle against the evil forces. Here in Revelation 19:11-16 we see salvation as a battle. Here we see Jesus’ names and his description. His name is Faithful and True, the Word of God, King of kings and Lord of lords. And then John describes Jesus this way: his eyes on fire, his head with many crowns, his mouth holding a sword, his hand holding a scepter, his feet treading out the grapes. We should read this symbolically, not literally. Symbolically, his blazing eyes, many crowns on his head, a sharp sword from his mouth, a scepter in his hand, grapes under his feet portrays Jesus as the Warrior and the King in majesty, power, authority and justice, coming to destroy the powers of evil.

And we see the armies of heaven, the church, were following him, riding on white horses (14). What we can learn from this salvation vision is this: the safest place is on the battlefield, because it is there that Christ is active, leading and fighting the battle himself. Danger here is all in the not-fighting, avoiding or running away from it. One time Pastor David Ross, a representative of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Korea, led a youth camp for Korean-American junior high school students. As a part of the retreat practice he took the students to Harlem in New York and did some street evangelism with them. After the retreat, Pastor David received an overwhelming number of phone calls of complaint from the parents. They said, “How dare you take my precious children to that place? Do you have any idea how dangerous place Harlem is?” David calmly answered, “The most dangerous place is not Harlem but a comfortable couch in front of the T.V. and computer. There the enemy leads our children into temptation.” Salvation is a battle in which we must take sides and engage with the enemy every day. Christ calls on us to join his campaign.

Communion on the Battlefield

As a host, Jesus presides over a meal and feeds us. As a warrior, Jesus fights a battle with us and for us. A meal and a battle. Psalm 23 follows the same pattern. The Good Shepherd Jesus makes us lie down in green pastures, and he leads us beside still waters – the meal. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for Warrior Jesus is with us – the battle. Then we read this:

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies

The meal and the battle at the same time. A perfect peace in a perfect storm. We ask, “Is it possible to have a perfect peace in a perfect storm in our real life?” The answer is YES. Our God is able.

The incredible faith story of Horatio Spafford proves this truth. He was a devout Christian. He was a prominent Chicago lawyer, whose business was thriving. He owned several properties throughout the city. He and his beloved wife had four beautiful daughters and one son. Life was more than good — it was blessed. Then, the perfect storm came. It began with the tragic loss of their son. Not long thereafter, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed nearly every estate investment he owned. After this, Horatio decided to treat his wife and daughters to a much-needed escape from the turmoil - a boat trip to Europe. And he was planning to join them shortly after taking care of his business. Just a few days later, he received a dreadful telegram from his wife, "Saved alone." The news was that family's ship had wrecked and all four of his daughters had perished. Horatio was on his way to meet his heartbroken wife, passing over the same sea. He was broken down in sorrow, weeping and mourning and praying. It was then he experienced the perfect peace that words cannot express. Then he wrote:  

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. 

Are you weary? Are you in the middle of a perfect storm? Host Jesus calls you to come to his table. So come and eat. Be nourished and live! Warrior Jesus calls you to come to join his campaign. So come and fight the good fight of faith. Never give up. Hold your positions and stand firm in the Lord. Then, surely goodness and mercy ("perfect peace") shall follow you all the days of your life and forever. Amen. 

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[1] Read Eugene Peterson’s Reversed Thunder (HarperCollins, 1988. pp. 151-67.) for more details.