#005 - Many Cups

APRIL 2016 - SERMON

I want you to think with me because, ultimately, through our combined thinking, we are going to find some common ground immediately. Now, let’s think together, and I want you to remember a time when you had to make a life-changing decision—a decision that altered the course of your life down an entirely new path. Now, I want you to remember the particular feeling you had when the time came to embark on your new journey. I want to narrow down these feelings into very broad categories. 

Was the feeling one of fear? Like fear of the unknown? Apprehension is another way of saying this. That is a common one. 

Was the feeling excitement? Perhaps excitement about a new sphere of influence, new work companions, or new lifelong friends? 

Was the feeling regretful? It's like having too many amazing choices. That is not as common as the first two, but we sometimes regret leaving something behind.

I think the last one could be resentment or anger, bitterness at the ashes and shambles you may have left behind. Divorce can be awful, and new beginnings after a breakup can be difficult. Apathy falls into this category because not feeling anything can be just as detrimental as feeling everything.

See how traumatic decision making can be for some? 

There is always good news, though. 

Jesus Juke.

You can say that if you hold strong to God's convictions, the ending is always the same. I’ve found in my own life that the more I hold true to my personal convictions and less to God's convictions, the outcome is always negative.  

If we turn the negative into the positive, then any decision you start with God will end with God. Sometimes, there are lots of options. Other times, they’re hidden opportunities, hidden being the operative word. Making the most of a hidden opportunity is enough for a later talk. 

Right now, I want to discuss decision-making, and in particular, what Jesus says about choosing wisely. It all starts with emotions or your convictions in life. I promise that I will not use bullet points or kitschy slogans to promote this message but an honest approach to a story found in Matthew 7.

Creative sermon naming.

For those amateur biblical scholars, you may know that Matthew 7 is the last chapter of Jesus’ most famous sermon. It is delivered on Mount Sinai and is therefore called the incredibly creative name of the Sermon on the Mount. But first, some background.

The previous chapters have been nothing but middle fingers to the establishment; he has been changing the old Mosaic law that the Jewish people have followed for thousands of years. As he drew near the end of his talk, many people thought that he couldn’t possibly have any other bombs to drop. Then, he talks once again about how you should treat others. 

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” [Matthew 7:1-5, ESV]

Then goes on to use more metaphors. 

6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. [Matthew 7:6, ESV]

Decisions can only be made once you can remove all distractions. In this context, I’m sure we can see that Jesus was talking about judging others and humility. I believe that any decision should be first considered with an attitude of humility. 

Humility wins every time all the time, for a person is never ridiculed for being humble.

Philadelphia neighbors.

When you move into a new job, neighborhood, or season of life, it should not be about what you can personally gain from the situation. It should be about the service you can provide to the new community to which you will belong. The same can be said about joining a community of believers known as your local church. Ecclesiastica is the biblical concept that defines a group of neighbor-loving Christ followers who impact the local community. 

In the Matthew 7 context, remove the proverbial plank in the eye to humble yourself and help others. Use your experiences to encourage greatness in those around you. 

Isn’t that the best way to start thinking about decisions? 

Jesus then gives more wisdom that can be applied to decision making.

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8, ESV]

So, in addition to humility in all decision-making, prayer is another important aspect. Jesus goes on to say:

9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. [Matthew 7:9-12, ESV]

Of course, Jesus, who teaches metaphorically, shows us that God will give to those who ask from a humble and contrite heart. A heart filled with a love of God and the love of others. One that was mentioned in Mark as the greatest commandment.

29 …. “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [Mark 12:29-30, ESV] 

Since the Lord our God is one and gracious and loves humanity unconditionally, he rewards those who ask with good gifts. However, Jesus provides a caveat if they heed the greatest commandments and approach the altar of God with complete humility. 

Prayer with humility is the cornerstone, if you will, of healthy decision-making. Seeking the creator God with a contrite heart is the best way to ask for help in making up your mind.

Gatecrashing the old covenant.

Jesus continues in the chapter…

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.14 Because [How!] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. [Matthew 7:13-13, ESV]

It’s like Jesus wrote the first book on making choices, but ultimately, choosing Jesus is the ultimate life-changing decision. He makes it clear why you should choose him! But that is enough for an entirely different message. Let’s continue with the third thing Jesus said, which can be applied to choosing wisely.

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. [Matthew 7:15-20, ESV]

So choose wisely!

Lost in Oz and the Last Crusade.

After you have gotten into the mindset of humility and have prayed, while not intending to rhyme, you must survey. You have to take the spiritual temperature of the situation and use your powers of perception to see if the tree is a good or bad tree. Just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz was asked upon reaching the land of the munchkins, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” 

Sometimes, life presents you with a plethora of options, normally following a time of drought. They are presented before you, and each path seems like the right one. It is up to you to decide and discover the hidden dangers or the pros and cons of each decision. Choosing the wrong one could put you face to face with some unexpected challenge—a challenge you could have prepared for had you surveyed the situation properly.

Since I love movies and their use to illustrate complex biblical analogies, I want you to consider the movie franchise Indiana Jones. If you asked my parents when I was growing up, I would have been obsessed with Indiana. He was the coolest non-superhero I knew, and the young Harrison Ford became my early role model. I’m sure you remember the famous climax of the original series The Last Crusade, where Indiana is presented with a plethora of cups, each with their own horrific way of taking life away from a person who dared drink. But one cup gave everlasting life. 

Decisions, decisions.

It is easy to say I know where you’re going, but I want you to consider Indiana's decision. His father lay dying; he needed to save him, but at the same time, he was possibly sacrificing himself as well. The knight guarding the cup gave the most haunting line after the previous participant made an awful decision.

“He chose poorly.” 

Unfortunately, we know the downside of decision making all too well. Most, if not all, of us have made a decision that ended poorly. This is the bad news, but we all know that the good news is a cheesy Gospel pun. 

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ [Matthew 7:21-23, ESV]

So far, I have given you three things that will help you make decisions: humility, pray, and survey. Jesus gives us the last in the way of dramatic foreshadowing. For any decision to be the will of God, you must first place God at the center of your life. I know this may not be a new thought to some, but if you follow this formula, Jesus is saying, how can good not come from it? If you consider God and the connectivity of God to the point where total strangers are connected to one another by God, then what we decide should naturally be influenced by God. 

However, seeing something as ordained by this benevolent and heavenly being isn’t like getting blinded on the road to Damascus. It can be like losing something incredibly valuable and gaining ten thousand more. I believe this passage illustrates this concept, though you are allowed to disagree. 

So with God at the center, after you do all things, Jesus ends…

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.[Matthew 7:24-29, ESV]

One last verse to leave you with is:

26 Ponder the path of your feet,

And let all your ways be established.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left;

Remove your foot from evil.

26 Keep your eyes straight ahead;

    ignore all sideshow distractions.

Watch your step,

    and the road will stretch out smooth before you.

27 Look neither right nor left;

    leave evil in the dust.

At times, it is necessary to make clear the path for others and, when the time is right, to lead the way down this newly forged avenue.