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Please pray with me and for me,
Father God in this world; this fast pace world we call home, may we remember our priorities. May we remember at the end of the day it is not a title of this world that matters; it is the touch of a love ones hand, a kiss, a kind word spoken. Amen
This morning we’re going to continue our series,
Jesus’ Bucket List: Things I Must Do In My Life
Last Sunday at the end of the sermon I challenged you for the coming week to invest wisely not in the stock market of this world, but in the hearts of those you love for the dividend will be worth more than you may ever know.
Sunday afternoon Barbara Cornelius and I were leaving Oakwood Village where Barbara assisted me in serving communion and a resident of Oakwood Village who had been in the church service approached me and told me how much the message meant that I shared with them, which I had shared that morning in our service. The lady then went on to tell me her husband is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and even though he is confused she goes and eats with him everyday for he is on her daily bucket list and she wants no regrets when he dies or if she dies first. She wanted to make sure there was no compromise at the end of the day with her husband for even though he does not know who she is, she knows who he is and he is her priority.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
We need to remember, “It takes one breath to enter this world and one breath to exit this world and every breath in-between is a gift from God.
Bucket List #3 (continued):
Jesus wanted to be very rich,
How do you define the word “Rich?” ABC News stated that Bill Gates lost 18 Billion, but was still the world’s richest man. Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last years ranking, 373 fell off the list- 355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died. There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.
If our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was on television today He would not be selling ‘What Would Jesus Do’ wrist bands, or asking people for money. Jesus would not be selling clothes and jewelry with His initials on it to make a buck,
Sadly we live in a society where when people get great ideas, or they do something, they see dollar signs. When Jesus had great ideas, Jesus saw people, for Jesus knew that being rich was about a whole lot more than just having money.
From: THE BIBLE IN CONTEMPORARY LANGUAGE (The MESSAGE)
Listen very carefully to the tone of this parable, Luke 12:13-21
Someone out of the crowd said, “Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance.” Jesus replied, “Mister, what makes you think it’s any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you? Speaking to the people, Jesus went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least little bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” Then Jesus told them this story” “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life.’ Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods – who gets it? That’s what happens when you fill your barn with SELF and not with God.
Basically Jesus calls the man on the carpet and tells everyone to watch out.
For many times we can start sheering for those wrong things again! An individual’s life does not consist, or is not defined, by the abundance of
things they possess. Life is not about money.
Let me ask you a question. What does a dead poor person and a dead rich person have in common? They’re dead and nothing else matters.
Now Jesus isn’t saying one cannot have money; Jesus is against money 'having
you'. Did you catch Luke 12:21? Listen very carefully,
That’s what happens when you fill your barn with SELF and not with God.
On your bucket list what are you filling your life with? The Pharisee’s theme song, “O LORD MY GOD HOW GREAT I ART!” Or, “HERE I AM
LORD. IT IS I LORD AND I HEAR YOU CALLING IN THE NIGHT. I WILL GO LORD IF YOU LEAD ME. I WILL HOLD YOUR PEOPLE IN
MY HEART.”
Bucket List # 3 (a.)
Jesus knew: to be rich you have to know who and whose you are.
Listen to what happens as Jesus pours out His final public teaching in the Temple as it speaks to the power of us all understanding our identity.
Matthew 21:23-27
And when Jesus entered the Temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Jesus as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men? And the chief priest and the elders argued with one another, “If we say from heaven, he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men, we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet.”
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
What Jesus is illustrating in this Scripture is that when we get messed up in our lives. When we get messed up in things whether it is money and or materialism, we tend to find our identity in things instead of finding our identity in whose we are. We tend to validate our worth instead of letting our worth validate us.
THINGS
WHOSE WE ARE
Our house Our greatness
Our car
Our self-sufficiency
A child of God
Our money Our status
Okay just the way I am
Our alibi
Our independence
At peace with myself
The greatest peace we can find in our lives is when you don’t try to prove anything to anyone; you’re simply able to be yourself. It’s when we try to have more that we get in trouble.
I am always amazed when I see people play the money grab game. For the game they step into a device that looks like a phone booth and is airtight.
Air is blown into the device that blows money around so the contestant must grab as much money as they can and stuff it into their clothes and or hold onto it. When the machine stops what money they have on them is theirs to keep. One contestant was holding all this money and as they went to grab more money they dropped what they were holding just as the machine stopped and the contest was over. In greed they lost everything instead of being thankful for what they had in their possession.
Do you remember what Jesus said about financial worries?
Luke 12:22-24
And Jesus said to His Disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious
about your life, what you shall eat, not about your body, what you shall put
on it. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God
feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
Then Jesus went onto say, Luke 12:25
And which of you by being anxious can add a cubic (a stage of growth) to his span of life?
Do you worry about every little detail and how every little thing is going to
get done or what you deserve to receive for what you have done? OR do you place your worries, your concerns, in faith in the hands of God?
You see, Jesus wanted to teach us all something.
Bucket List #4
Jesus wanted to teach those around Him to learn how to dance.
Jesus’ whole life was about helping others to learn how to dance; to stay in step with the music that is playing. Jesus wasn’t all caught up in being the center of attention in the dance. Jesus wanted to share His gifts from His Father with those He met in His life.
On the dance floor of life where are you? Are you wanting to be the center of attention, or wanting to help those you love and meet to better themselves?
Is your bucket list about your gifts, how great you are, or sharing your gifts in humbleness? Share so others can not only better themselves but what you teach them leaves a lasting impression on their heart of: “I CAN DO THIS BECAUSE SOMEONE BELIEVES IN ME!”
They say those who can’t do, teach. Those who have life experiences are the best teachers for they have had to learn to dance, fall, and get back up again.
To learn to dance ,some more not for the world but for their own self-pride and survival. To work toward perfection, not in ego, but in fulfilling one’s dream. Matthew 5:48
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Bucket List #4 (a.)
Jesus knew to do this requires having a great dance teacher.
I met a man, not from this church family, who was talking about his life and how long he had lived. The man looked me in the eyes and told me in terms of football he was entering the last half of the fourth quarter of his life and it was time to share and enjoy life as he did not have any time to waste.
In the game of life, of football, what quarter of the game of life are you in? How much time do you have in your bucket list to share with others so that they may be a better dancer in the dance of life? Listen to what Jesus did, knowing He was in the last weeks of His life.
Mark 12:28-34
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 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. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to Jesus, “You are right, Teacher, you have truly said that he is one, and there is not other but he; and to love with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask Jesus any question.
It is from wisdom and life experiences that we learn and know and are challenged to pass onto generations so they may know in their lives.
Bucket List #4 (b.)
Jesus knew that you can’t boogie when it’s time for a slow dance.
It is from wisdom and life experiences that we learn and know and are challenged to pass this onto generations so they may know in their lives what we know as Jesus taught and shared with those around Him.
What are you doing in your lives to pass on what you have learned? One of our past District Superintendents shared that he and his family like the modern contemporary Christian music and they had gotten away from the traditional United Methodist hymns and traditional Christian music. It wasn’t until they moved to Springfield and attended worship at a United Methodist Church that they appreciated what they forgot as they sang the traditional worship hymns every Sunday. Now they want to make sure their children and grandchildren are exposed and appreciate the traditional Christian hymns. They have made the choice to keep the tradition alive and pass it on.
In your daily lives what are you doing to keep the traditions in your life, in your family, alive and passing it on for present and future generations? What are you doing so they may learn and pass it on for generations to come?
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name means, “anointed one.” The next event in Jesus’ life was Jesus was anointed.
Matthew 26:6-13
Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper a woman came up to Jesus with an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on Jesus head, as He sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for a large sum, and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to the disciples, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world what she has done will be told in memory of her.
VIII OF IX
Years ago an individual who I worked with died. They ate, walked, talked, slept, and vacationed their business, which they owned, 24/7. One morning they got up to get a second cup of coffee and right in front of their spouse and children died of a massive heart attack in the kitchen of their home. I stood and watched as the widow and children stood at his casket and cried tears of sadness and anger because everything was his priority but them. Their dad died whom they did not know; her spouse died whom she used to know in years past. Now it was too late and they were left wondering whom the man was laying before them and in his grave.
In your life what are you doing to anoint the ones you love with your love, with your memories? Is your bucket list to be important and known in the community or to be important and known among those you love and live with day in and day out? Will the final words be from those you love? “Thank you for being good to me and loving me. I will miss you.” OR, “Goodbye I wish you had time for me when you were alive.”
On your daily bucket list what is your choice of priorities? You can only keep what you release into the kingdom of God. You can only keep the love in your heart that has been released from the one you love. What is your choice? To be well known in the community or in your own home? In the end who will stand at your side and appreciate you? The one who has used your name for a job? Or the one who has loved you for you, husband, wife, daddy, grandpa, grandma, in their heart?
One can only hold onto what you release into their heart and soul.
Such as on the night of Jesus betrayal as He sat in the Upper Room with His disciples and Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, blessed it and said, “Take, eat, this is my body broken for you. Eat this often in remembrance of me.” After supper Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and blessed it saying, “Take, drink, this is my blood of the New Covenant shed for the forgiveness of sins of many. Drink this often in remembrance of me.”
On this world communion Sunday, the table of the Lord has been set for all to come and receive the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To receive the body and blood of Christ one does not have to be a member of this denomination for the body and blood of Christ is to be received by all. Come and join your brothers and sisters in Christ around the world and receive.
In this coming week remember Acts 10: 37-38
…the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
In this coming week, how can you go about anointing those you love with your presence in their heart so they know they are not alone? What is on your daily bucket list to accomplish to better a love ones life not in riches of this world but in the richness of their heart?
Remember: To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
Let us pray,
Father God may we not be so caught up in who the world thinks we are that we forget those who know who we are. For the richest persons in this world are not billionaires in the bank but billionaires in the hearts of those they love. Amen
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