April 27, 2008
The Rev. Dr. Dennis E. Morey, Pastor

Sermon: "The unknown"
Scripture: John 14:15-21

Did you ever want to see a movie only have a friend tell you the ending before you saw it? There is a part of us that likes the unknown. We don't want to know how the story ends until we get to the end of the story. There is a certain enjoyment to having the situation unfold and draw us into it until we live through it with the characters until the end.

Building suspense, making us want to know what is coming next is part of the writer and movie maker's craft.

There was a certain appeal of the unknown that drew some of our ancestors west away from the comforts of civilization.
There is something that draws some to explore outer space or the intricacies of the human body. The joy of being the first to make a discovery is their motivation and nothing can detour them.

But when it comes to our personal life, the unknown can be frightening.

The surgery wouldn't be so scary if you knew the outcome would be a total success.
You wouldn't be afraid to sing a solo if you had some guarantee that it would go well.
You wouldn't be afraid to say, "I'm sorry" if you knew the other person was going to say it too.
You wouldn't hesitate to invest your savings if you knew the amount would increase.
You wouldn't be afraid to eat that bacon cheese burger if you weren't afraid it was going to settle in your blood veins.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have no fears?
All we need is some kind of guarantee.

We may try to read the Astrology column, consult a fortune teller or even come up with a new method of telling the future, but sooner or later we have to come to the conclusion that there is a lot about the future that is unknown, and for the most-part unknowable.

The Scripture for today, in fact that whole 14th chapter of John, is about Jesus trying to reassure the disciples that if they stay on the way he has made, they will remain connected to God.

This lesson is for us as well. If is from our relationship with God that we learn to trust, and it is from that trust that we can face even that which is unknown.

This God we have come to worship sees the big picture and all that we cannot see. We trust God to work in our lives for our good and for the good of God's Kingdom.

We don't always understand why things happen in the order they happen, God does understand and even when things happen in life that are out of the order God has designed, still God can take care of them.

One thing for sure, this God we worship loves us so much that he actually sent his Son in the form of a human, Jesus, to come to earth to teach us about God's love and then to die as the payment for our sins.

With that much invested in us, surely our God has good things in mind for us and invites us to make good decisions that would benefit our relationship with God and thus bless our lives.

When we were created we were created with the freedom to choose. God could have programmed us to only serve him. Instead God wanted a relationship with those who would choose to know him, so we are given choices to make.

When we are faced with choices and we don't know which way to go, a good test would be to ask, "How will this enhance or damage my relationship to God?"

God's grace has reached out to us and done for us what we could not do for ourselves, erase the record of our sin.

I read a story about a man who died and made it to the gates of heaven.
He was told by an angel that he needed 100 points to get in.

He began his recitation of good deeds.
"I have been faithful to my wife of 57 years. Not even once did I ever even consider cheating."
"Good, that is worth 5 points" the angel replied.
"I went to church every Sunday and I even sang in the choir"
"Good that is worth 2 points" the angel said
"I left my million-dollar-a-year job and built, funded and worked every day in a soup kitchen in the inner city feeding the poor and the hungry for more than 20 years."
"Good, that is worth 2 points" said the angel.
The man replied, "At this rate I will never get in except by the grace of God"
"Right" said the angel. "Come on in"

Often we hurry and worry through life as if we must depend upon our own goodness to achieve our connection to God.

In reality God's plan is for us to depend upon God's grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit to open doors where God can use us best.

What are you worried about today?

What is it that burdens your heart?

Where have you placed your faith in dealing with that?
Are you first counting on doctors, or neighbors, or family members or a lawyer?

What it is that keeps you up at night, or worries you?

Does your faith in God's grace have any influence on that? Have you chosen to let your faith speak to that matter? Have you chosen to talk to God about it in prayer and can you trust God to lead you to the solution God has in mind?

Jesus' disciples were hearing the news that Jesus was going away. Their hearts were heavy. The work that needed to be done was too great. They did not know where to begin in facing such a challenge.

Jesus said he would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit would help them sort out the issues and know which direction to take. They would be continually guided by what Jesus had taught them.

In our day, we hear those words of Jesus, "I will not leave you orphaned, alone to face the world on your own." Jesus said just as surely as he was connected to the Father, and we are connected to him, we too are connected to the Father. He said that those who love him will make choices in line with what he has taught.

When we do that, Jesus promised that he and the Father will come and dwell in our lives.

Friends we are not on our own. We are not here trying our best to some how muddle through with the least amount of damage until the end of our days and then hope somehow that we live on somewhere in peace.

Jesus promised, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." That is the kind of peace we all long for. That is the kind of peace we crave, that is the God-shaped void in us that cries out to be filled.

It is that void in us, that emptiness that makes the future look so scary. Once we decide to fill that God-shaped void with God and understand that our faith, our trust is in the infinite grace of God, then we align our lives with what Christ taught and he gives us the peace we so desperately need.

Is there some great unknown in your life that is worrying you? Can you trust your friends for advice, can legal counsel bring you calm, can your best effort be trusted with that situation?

While those things may help, they cannot bring the peace within us that can come only from making sure our own behavior lines up with the teachings of Christ as we learn to ultimately trust in God's grace in every situation.

In this life there are no guarantees. The unknown is always waiting to overwhelm us, but God's great love is stronger than even the heaviest burden and the scariest unknown.

A little boy was trying to move a very heavy rock.
His father watched as the little boy pushed and pulled and struggled but the rock would not budge. His father asked, "Son are you using all your strength?" The little boy replied, "I am. I really am."
"No you aren't" said the father, "You haven't asked me to help."

Are we relying on God's strength in trying to move that heavy rock in our lives?

CHOOSE: Homepage • Worship • Sunday School • Sermon
Children • Youth • Women • Men • Older Adults
Calendar • Contact Us