Close Encounters- Even the Smallest

Gifts by Vicki Gravatt
This week Pastor Aaron talked about God’s math (scary!).  He shared how the God, who created the universe and everything in it, multiplies our efforts for His purposes.  I’m always startled when I see something I’ve touched, even in a small way, bear fruit.  I shouldn’t be surprised when I follow God’s lead, and get involved in what He is doing, that good things happen.  However, I’m often guilty of thinking that I have nothing He needs, so I give exactly that – NOTHING.  I let opportunities pass me by because I’ve let the lie that I have nothing to give.

Do you think that?  Do you think that you have nothing to offer the God of the universe and His creation?  I fight that battle all the time.  I think Satan likes digging in to our insecurities and telling us that we have nothing of value.  Of course, like everything Satan says, it’s a lie.  Even if it’s a lie we heard from someone influential in our lives, like a parent, spouse, boss, sibling, or teacher, it’s still a lie.  God’s word tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  Satan HAS to tell us we’re not, because if we believed and understood how powerfully gifted we actually are, we would be an unstoppable force for Jesus and I think that just might scare Satan.
The Bible tells us that we each have a part to play.  Some people’s gifts jump out at you instantly.  They are typically the first people you notice when you come into a church, the greeter, the music team, and pastors.  After you see those folks, you may hear about a mission trip, or a serving opportunity that seems like its way over your head.  But God promises each of us a gift we can use to further His work on earth.  It is also clear that no gift is more important than another.

And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. (1 Corinthians 12:16-18)

It’s evident that when the Holy Spirit gives a gift, he also gives us passions in our lives that when combined with our gifts, bear fruit.  Serving out of gifts and passions often feels like a privilege rather than service, or work.  I keep going back to Matthew 11:29-30  “ ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
God has not called us to go and do things that make us miserable.  According to Ecclesiastes 4:18  “ …. that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor….”  Did you hear that?  He wants us to find SATISFACTION in our labor – I love that!  There is freedom in that!  WE have so many choices given to us. If you have a gift of teaching, and a heart for children, then you would be most effective serving in KidsQuest, while someone with a gift for prayer would be better suited to a quiet room praying for the needs of others.  Similarly a person with a gift of mercy would be more drawn to serving those with health issues, while a person with a gift craftsmanship is better suited to our Tool Box experience. 

All of that is not to say that we don’t serve in ways that aren’t totally connected to our area of giftedness.  I remember a time when I served in the nursery.  That may not shock some of you, but many of my closest friends will tell that I’m “just not good with other people’s kids”.  I love kids in general, and I enjoy them one on one, but you get me in a group of them and start to come unglued!  When you put me in a room with more than 4 children, words like overwhelmed, frazzled, anxious, barely scratch the surface of the state of my mental health.  But there was a need, so I jumped on board, asked God for some supernatural inner peace and love, and I proceeded to chased toddlers once a month for a year or so.  Looking back, it was a great experience and has made me appreciate the folks who ARE gifted in that way, even more.

If you aren’t sure what your gifts are, please call the church office.  There are dozens of resources for discovering, refining, and using the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  What can you give to God to multiply?  Even the smallest act can be multiplied for incredible impact.

Close encounters- Lead the Dance

Learning to dance means you need to know who is leading and who is following. In your encounter with God, who is leading and who is following? At times, it is good to do a check and ask yourself if that is true across the board, every area of life, or just where you want him to lead.

Read Psalm 5:7-8
- Whose love gives us permission to come into his presence?

- What does it mean to bow down? How does that look in your relationship with God?

- How do you need God to lead you across the dance floor of life?

Take a listen to this song- “Because of Your Love”- http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=994147

Dear Lord,
Today, because of your love, I come into your presence and I take your hand. Lord, may you lead me as I dance and move in life. I want you to lead and I want to follow. Help me live that out each day. Jesus Name Amen.

Close encounters- Battle of the Dance

Read Genesis 3:1-13
- Who disrupted the intimacy of the garden?
- How did it happen?

Right after we see this beautiful interchange in relationship with the Trinity, where the Father and Holy Spirit share with Jesus their power and love, we read Mark 1:12-13 (entire story is found in Matthew 4:1-11).
- Who tried to disrupt the intimacy of the Trinity?


Which means Satan tries the same ploy with you and me. Disrupt the intimacy we have in relationship with God and others. Tim Keller (Kings Cross) shares it this way, “We look at Adam and Eve and say, ‘What fools – why did they listen to Satan?” Yet we know we still have Satan’s lie in our own hearts, because we’re afraid of trusting God – of trusting anybody in fact. We’re stationary, because Satan tells us we should be –that’s the way he fights the battle.”

Any time you feel yourself pulling away from the dance with God or others, learn to recognize that is part of the battle. Part of Satan tempting you to do life on your own. If God is in relationship and is never alone, then why do we believe it would work for us?
May you hold onto this truth, another quote from Tim Keller, “What (Jesus) has enjoyed from all eternity, he has come to offer you. And sometimes, when you’re in the deepest part of the battle, when you’re tempted and hurt and weak, you’ll hear in the depths of your being the same words Jesus heard: ‘This is my beloved child – you are my beloved child, whom I love; with you I’m well pleased.’”

Close Encounters- the Dance

In Mark we first encounter Jesus when he is going to be baptized. Take some time and read Mark 1:9-11.

- Who were the characters within the story?
- How did they interact with one another?

“Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relating with one another, uplifting one another, sharing love and power with one another.” Aaron’s message- Close Encounters- the Dance

C.S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity, “In Christianity God is not a static thing . . . but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance.”

- What does it look like or mean for you to see your relationship with God as a kind of dance?

Take a look at this dance by one of our Packer favorites, Donald Driver in DWTS- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fM03bC549g&feature=share

How would your relationship with God be different if it had a similar dynamic, energy filled life?

Dear Lord or do I call you dance partner,
I’m not too sure about this whole dance thing. This week, would you open my eyes to what you want to show me? Help me embrace this encounter with you as an intimate dance. May you lead me towards a dynamic, pulsating relationship with you and others.
In the Power of Your Name Jesus, Amen

Rock Solid

Don't have much experience building especially foundations. But I do remember building a “go kart". I use that term loosely because it was me and some neighborhood boys who found all this scrap wood and I had left over wheels, probably not much more that 6". Well we thought we could build something that could roll, as long as we were going downhill and someone gave us a head start push. So as I sat on it for the test run, (it was my wheels and I was the smallest, I got to go first), Jeff gave me a push, the wheels bowed out and I sunk in the middle. Needless to say, our design was flawed, we had no frame. We had no support, no structure.

When I read the parable of the wise and foolish builder, I think of that. Take a read of Matthew 7:24-27:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash."

The first obvious observation is where are you building? Not just your life- do you believe in God? But each area of life. It's not good enough, to simply say I have God as a part of my life. To have a solid foundation, we need to say each area of my life has God as its foundation.

Today, where do you need to strengthen your frame, your foundation? Is it in your family, workplace, responses, finances, truth, forgiveness, grace? Where do you need to establish a rock solid foundation?

The other observation that is so valuable about this story is that everyone gets wet. The storm impacts each builder. And that is true of you and me. Folks, our strong foundation doesn't exempt us from the storm, it provides protection, weathers us during the storm. I know that because of the many storms I have faced, the hurricane force winds or the blizzard. They were translated in marital storms, financial hurricans, moral floods, abuse type winds, miscarriages, and failure.

Folks, I have been learning; growing in asking a new question, not why the storm? But what do I need to do to button down the hatch and secure myself to my rock solid foundation? For me storms come and go in life, today I want to know that I am holding onto the presence of God and that his footings of love, truth, grace and forgiveness are my foundation. I want to be walled in by peace, hope, joy, patience as we endure the storm. Folks, it isn't about believing in the things of God, it is hearing and putting them into practice.

Today, what foundation do you need to make rock solid? And the storm that you are in today, what are one of God's secure promises do you need to hold onto and put into practice?

Beyond the Wrapping- Gift of Gifts

Gift giving comes in a variety of forms doesn’t it? I mean the easy gifts to give are to the ones you truly love, where there is an excitement and anticipation to give the gift. Even white elephant gifts can be fun because of the humor or story that goes into the time. But you know white elephant gifts aren’t the best gifts you have given or received. Then there are the gifts you feel obligated to give. It could be a boss, co-worker, distant aunt, or even a friend you didn’t know you had that type of friendship with and they got you something. Gifts, especially around Christmas can be a funny thing.

That’s why I find it interesting about the gifts that were given by the Magi. The Magi searched for “the eventual King of the Jews” as to pay homage to a literal King, but through their expedition, through their journey they found something very different. And I believe we can learn a lot about giving gifts from the caravan of Magi and company who gave three gifts to baby Jesus.

It’s not what the gifts represent as much as what we can learn from the gifts given. I think the first thing we can learn from the Magi is in Matthew 2:11- “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. . . . .” The Magi gave themselves. They humbled themselves, they bowed down and worshiped a baby, even though they were brilliant, affluent, creative men, they were Magi. But when they saw the baby Jesus, they gave themselves and humbled themselves at the feet of Mary. That is what we need to learn and carry with us, what does it mean to “give ourselves” to others? What does it look like to humble ourselves and give ourselves to those in our life? I believe it isn’t simply something we learn from the Magi, but this is exactly what God did for us. He gave himself for us in the form of a baby, His Son. This Christmas season, take some time and challenge yourself to give yourself to someone; spouse, kids, parents, co-worker, friend, teacher. Don’t worry about the how yet, simply think through and challenge yourself with the “who.”

The next part of the Matthew 2:11 says this, “Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Each of these gifts are gifts of value, gifts of significance. Not only that, each of them the Magi knew how to gather or make the gifts, so they were invested in the gifts they gave. The final thing we learn from the Magi visit is that they gave gifts of value. I’m not talking about the Christmas list; I’m not talking about giving the I-pad, jewelry, Super Bowl tickets, or a new Lexus.

With the backdrop of the first response, “giving yourself” to someone, the gift of value needs to come from who you are. And that is where we slam on the breaks and say I don’t think so. Because when we look inside to who we are, we don’t see a gift of value, we see a white elephant gift, we see garbage. We believe because of the difficult experiences and relationships we have gone through, who we are at the core isn’t worth it, isn’t significant. And why would we give anyone that we love, garbage, give them the “yuck” of what we see and feel.

To be able to give out of who we are, we need to have a transformed foundation. We need to believe the truth of who we actually are. This is who you are,

“I am God’s handiwork, fearfully and wonderfully made, created in His image for such a time as this.”

Say this to yourself.

That isn’t some New Age mumbo jumbo or a rerun of Stuart Smalley from SNL, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it people like me.” No, this statement is the truth and promise of God’s word. I am God’s handiwork (Ephesians 2:10), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), created in His image (Genesis 1:27), for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). When that is our foundation, our lives change and our relationships change. We no longer have to live out of the garbage; we get to live out of the rich significance of who God says we are.

Which means when we answer the question, what is your gift of value you need to give someone in your life this year? It changes. We give out of who God has created us to be, so maybe the gift of value you give isn’t about the list or pretending or performing. The gift is actually; Creativity, passion, joy, forgiveness, insight, grace, ingenuity, truth, impact, detail, compassion, craftsmanship, service, listening ear, love, patience, wisdom, time and maybe treasure.

I’m not asking you to give something that you haven’t experienced or that isn’t who you are. I’m asking you to give yourself to someone out of the foundation of who you are. I believe if we begin to do that, we will be transformed and the people in our lives will begin to be transformed in ways that are far different than we have experienced. And that this Christmas you will begin to live beyond the wrapping of Christmas.

Today, who are you going to give yourself to and what gift of value are you going to give them?

Beyond the Wrapping- Gift of Presence

Have you ever wondered- would Jesus have coffee with you? Think about it. Y our favorite coffee spot; could be Exchange Bank Coffee House here in Plymouth, WI or Starbucks or even your back porch. Would Jesus sit down and have coffee with you in the morning or in the afternoon and share life? Would he have an "I Love Bill" coffee mug? In honor of you of course.

I believe that is one element of what Jesus wants to do and promises to do in your life. And why he came, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel… which means… God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

God with us, doing life with us. Walking with us, challenging us, wrestling with us, correcting our path, loving us and spending time with us. Not only does he say he will come and be with us, he promises he will stay. John 14:16-18- “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

The beauty in Jesus coming is the expression of love, sacrifice, and the fact that he never leaves us. He gives us a gift of the Holy Spirit to be our companion, our guide, and our hope. How may this Christmas season lead you into understanding more of who Jesus is by way of his Gift to you, the Holy Spirit.

I would encourage you this season to take some time and pour two cups of coffee, one for you and one for Jesus and spend some time with him. He longs to spend time with you. Share, allow him to be your companion, your guide and your hope today and everyday. (highlights from Pastor Bill McCaskill's sermon on December 11th, 2011 to listen to it in it's entirety follow this link- http://www.newlifecommunitychurch.us/messages)