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"Go, Expand Someone’s World” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – January 18, 2015 Centenary United
I Samuel 3:1-10; John 1:43-51 This morning we
are going to consider what a remarkable door-opener the word "yes" can
become. In fact, as I look
back on my life, the word "yes" opened one universe after another that I
would not have experienced by ignoring various invitations.
I would not trade any of my experiences for anything.
All of them contributed to the composite individual that I have
become. For instance,
when I was in high school, a close friend said, "Why don't we take
Personal Typing?"
I agreed. This skill
has helped me with term papers and book reports for school.
Today, typing helps me when I write my sermons. During my college
years, this skill helped me to get summer employment with the Agency for
International Development.
Later on, while I was attending Wesley Theological Seminary, I was able
to work during the evenings in the Correspondence Section of the White
House. Another friend
invited me to help her teach Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and
that opened a ministry at one of my former churches that lasted for
years. We certified hundreds
of people as well as the mandatory, annual recertification of
Physicians, Nurses and
Ski-Patrols. That "yes" led
me to becoming an Emergency Medical Technician.
I invited a young woman to take the same course with me and her
"yes" eventually led her to becoming a leading physician at In our Old
Testament lesson today, we find a young boy, saying "yes" to God and
following a sequence of life-events; Samuel grew up to become a Judge of
Israel. Later,
he anointed David to be the first King over his nation.
In the Gospel
of John, we meet Nathanael who said, "yes" to Philip's invitation to
meet Jesus. He soon became a
disciple that was known for his honesty and sincerity.
That "yes" caused both men
to enter a door that was not there the day before, and suddenly their
world became dramatically transformed.
Saying "yes"
puts people into a territory that may be completely unfamiliar to them.
A number of horizons, comfort zones and boundaries melt away as
their worlds expand by encountering different personalities,
life-styles, values and responsibilities.
This process causes our smaller worlds to become highly integrated
universes that mold us into becoming a one-of-a-kind individual. One evening some years ago, I was interviewing a couple that had
asked me to perform their wedding ceremony.
One of the questions I immediately ask couples is, “How did you
two meet?” That question
frequently generates more colorful stories than you can imagine.
The sequence of events in this case did not disappoint me. The couple met
in a college classroom setting.
Both sat in the front row but across the room from each other.
The young woman began noticing
the guy at the other end of her row. He had a delightful, innocent,
playful spirit and he had a talent for making the other students feel
comfortable with him. She
wanted a chance to meet him.
Every week she moved one row closer to him until finally she was sitting
next to him. Every time he spoke
or laughed, she tried to catch his eye.
Nothing happened. One day she
decided to follow him as he left the class.
She found him outside talking with some friends.
She lingered hoping to engage him in conversation.
He finally looked at her and
spoke. He said, "I don’t
feel like going to my next class."
She responded, "Okay!
Why don’t you and I hang out together?"
Absolutely nothing happened.
It was as though her question did not register with him.
She repeated herself, "Why don't you and I do something
together?" He said, "Okay.
Would you like to get some soup?"
"YES!" she exclaimed. This is as
close as anyone can get to describing what it was like when God was
trying to connect with Samuel.
Samuel did not have a clue what was happening until Eli, his
caretaker, offered guidance on who it was that was calling him.
This
groom-to-be confessed that the disconnect between the two occurred
because she was one of the most attractive women he had ever seen.
He had noticed her but he felt that she was way out of his
league. He was completely unaware that she had been working for weeks to
find a way to break into his world.
She said, "I have never been this aggressive in my life but I did
not want this wholesome guy to get away without an opportunity to get to
know him."
A number of
couples have stories that are equally as unique as this one.
Such stories illustrate how the power of a simple invitation can
change our lives. Twice she
said, "Why don’t you and I hang out together?" Nothing would have
happened between the two without that "yes" coming as a response. That
invitation led to an engagement and finally their presence before me.
We had a wonderful time together that evening.
While most of us do not consider
ourselves as change agents, we really do not know what effect an
invitation from us will have on another person until we extend one.
As I mentioned earlier, every "yes" that I made expanded my world
enormously. Jesus asked us
to say "yes" to inviting others to meet him.
This is what Philip was doing when he introduced Nathanael to
Jesus. Life will become
transformed the minute our "yes" allows us to leave our smaller worlds
behind. Once a
congregation had a bring-a-friend-to-church Sunday.
A woman wanted her best friend to accompany her to church for
this particular service. Her
friend declined saying, "I don't have any time for that stuff.
I had Jesus Christ jammed down my throat when I was attending
college and I said, 'Never again!'"
She pleaded and pleaded.
Her friend weakened and said, "Okay, but just this once.
Then, there will be no more bring-a-friend-to-church Sundays for
me! Have I made myself
clear? Repeat my words back to me
just so we are both clear." The Sunday was
beyond anything her friend had imagined.
There was no altar call, no pleading for money, no
how I found Jesus testimonies,
and no bleeding heart, tear-jerking illustrations.
There was joyous singing and a sermon that would have impacted
anyone regardless of what they believed.
An added bonus was that she found a number of her friends had
been a part of that congregation for years.
The ice had been broken and
her world began expanding.
The fears from her college years quickly dissolved.
Eventually, with the passage of time, she found herself providing
leadership for one of the church's committees.
Someone like Philip had said to someone like Nathanael,
"Come and see. I want
you to meet my pastor and experience what we do in our community and
world." Her friend had the
same response. She became a
disciple too. Sometimes God
cannot break into our lives until someone like Eli helps us to interpret
what is happening in our lives. If
God cannot connect with people because they spend all their energies in
the secular world, sometimes we have to invite them to where God
routinely connects with people.
Why? Because when
people enter a church, they come with some expectation that is different
from getting into their car, turning on the radio and driving to work. We never know
what may be going on inside of someone even though they have been in our
lives for awhile. In the book,
Chicken Soup For the Soul" author Jack Canfield tells a wonderful
story that illustrates how miracles happen while we remain unaware that
anything significant is taking place. One day after school a young man happened to be walking close to another boy who accidentally dropped everything he was carrying on the sidewalk. Seeing this, he thoughtfully stopped to help his classmate pick up the articles and then the two walked together. During the walk, they got to know each other a little better and the one said, "Would you like to come to my house and have some ice cream?" The other boy said, "That sound great. Sure.
The years passed and the day
arrived when both boys were graduating from high school. As they were
getting ready to close one chapter of their lives and open another, the
one boy approached his friend and said, I need to tell you
something that I have been holding inside of me for two years. Do you
remember the time when you stopped to help me pick up my things that I
had dropped on the sidewalk?
You invited me to come home with you to get some ice cream.
Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so much stuff that
afternoon? The other boy said, 'No, I never gave it a thought.'
I had just broken up with my
girlfriend and my world had completely unraveled over her and a number
of other things that were happening with my parents. I had cleared out
my locker for the last time. I knew where my mother kept a bottle of
prescription sleeping pills and that afternoon I was on my way home to
kill myself. You prevented that. You entered my world at just the right
time and offered me ice cream. I would not be here today had you not
stopped to help me pick up my stuff. I wanted you to know that you saved
my life. Our experience may not be
as dramatic as saving someone's life, but when we are thoughtful toward
each other, love sometimes directs us to reach out to one another at
just the right time to make a difference in the size of their world.
Extending an invitation by Philip
completely transformed Nathanael's life.
A number of us have experienced our worlds expanding because
someone extended an invitation and we responded with a "yes." Getting someone to say "yes" to going to lunch with us or going to church with us -- we never know what God can do when our interest in another is guiding our invitation. Think about this as we enter our week and then act on it. Go, and expand someone's world. |