Sermon Cloud

1. Welcome to our Community Education series on Staying Strong when the Economy is Weak. This is part two: Trusting God with Both Feet on the Ground. Each one of us is living in stories-stories handed down to us from our parents, stories deeply rooted in our culture, stories we've read in newspapers or seen on television. Some of our friends are living in stories like "The Economy is Going to Rob me of my Dreams and Ruin my Life" . . . "Only the Government Can Save Us Now" OR "My Job is My Life-I'm Scared to Death". Becoming a Christian can be described as stepping out of one story and into another. Thos of us who are Christians have accepted God's invitation to step out of those very real stories of economic decline and loss and into God's story-the story of a good and gracious God who wants to help us, who has promised to meet all of our needs, and who has included us in his unstoppable kingdom purposes. God's story begins in the Bible, but we're still co-writing new chapters in this journey with God, through good times and hard. This morning, one of our church members, Jack Befus, is going to tell us a little of his story. Let's welcome Jack.

2. That's my cousin! A wise man and a gift to Vineyard North. We're all part of a country that's experiencing an economic crisis, in the midst of a political crisis, which seems to be revealing a crisis in national character. Men and women like Jack are stepping up to provide clear leadership. I don't presume to know what the future holds, but I do know a little bit about wisdom (navigating life with skill) This talk was born out of a dual concern-Christians whose faith seems closer to fantasy than reality, and believers whose fears seem to be greater than their faith in God.

I. WISE PEOPLE AVOID EXTREMES.

A. Simple Christians confuse faith and fantasy ("The simple believe anything!" Proverbs 14:15). Too many hours listening to TV preachers seems to have convinced some of us that if we only have enough name-it-and-claim-it-and shout-it faith we can escape hardship, suffering, and loss. As if God's plan for all Christians everywhere-from Palestine to Zimbabwe-is for all of us to have great jobs, good health, live in our own houses, enjoy peace and safety and be happy all the time.

Hmmmm. "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you" (I Peter 4:12). "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4)

God's world is the real world, and in the real world, Christians often suffer alongside those who are not yet Christians. Our faith was never meant to help us escape reality. We're not escape artists; we overcomers!

B. Foolish Christians let fear paralyze their faith. ("Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves" Ecclesiastes 4:5). We say that we're trusting God, but we're living like we're on our own, like headlines are rock-solid truth, news anchors are prophets, and the best we can do is hope for some good luck.

You know you're faith is being paralyzed by fear when you start withholding your money from God and others, and you stop serving the community. Instead, you start wasting time, worrying at home alone. You might be in the room this morning, but you're no longer offering your heart to God or to the rest of us. If this is you, you've gone to an extreme. It's time to plant your right foot in reality; all of us will suffer loss and pain in this world. Jesus didn't provide us with an escape clause. It's also important to plant your left foot in faith. Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Don't let these troubles paralyze your faith

TRANS: In between these two extremes (fantasy and fear), there is a path that Christians have been walking for 2000 years, a path marked out by Jesus' follower Peter, and explained in his first letter to Christians living in exile (I Peter 1:1). Peter wrote to Christians who had lost jobs and homes in the intense persecutions that followed Jesus' death and resurrection, and the birth of the church. Many of these people were forced to leave family and friends and even their homeland behind to begin new lives in foreign countries. If you fear losing your job, your retirement savings or even your house, here's the path you want to follow. Let's read I Peter 5:6-14.

II. THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY FORWARD!

A. Check your humility meter (vv. 6-7)

1. Peter invites us to ask ourselves, "Are we so proud that we can't believe that God would ask us to suffer some pain and loss, together with Jesus, the Apostles, the early Christians, and Christians today who live in third world countries, war-torn countries, or countries like Palestine or Pakistan, Zimbabwe or Mayanmar? Are we so righteous and deserving that we ought to be sheltered from the hardships of life in this world? Do we think that God owes us an easier life?

2. ILLUS: When John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement, first became a Christian, he left a lucrative position in the music and entertainment field to begin following Jesus. His first job as a Christian was cleaning dirty oil drums in a Los Angeles industrial park. He had made hundreds of thousands of dollars as a professional musician working late nights in Las Vegas. Now his lily white hands which had never worked harder than fingering the keys on a saxophone, were scraped, stained, and sunburned. John's response was this: "I'm just pocket change in the hands of a good and all-powerful God. He can spend me any way he chooses. Why should I complain about this hardship? I'm still overwhelmed that my sins have been forgiven, I've been accepted into the family, included in the mission, and promised heaven besides". That's humility!

3. Suffering and loss doesn't mean that God has abandoned us or has decided not to keep his promises to us. God is taking this entire country through a difficult season, filled with loss and pain and confusion. Who said this was even about us? Peter calls us to humble ourselves. A sovereign God is working out his purposes for this nation, this economy. This is no set back for him or his kingdom. In fact, has it occurred to you that God may even have a hand in this test of national character. God is still in control. Can we humble ourselves enough to trust him, though our own faith and character may be tested along with others?

4. Here's how to get a clear reading on your humility. Are you working out your concerns and fears in prayer? Casting anxiety is the same as listening to a worship CD or a pastor pray. Think of your fears like musty, water-damaged carpet. This kind of prayer is focused, challenging work. Imagine yourself tearing up your fears and heaving your concerns into God's dumpster. This isn't prayer before dinner or now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep praying. This is gather-some-friends-and-roll-up-your-sleeves praying until you can move ahead with peace. When was the last time you invited some friends over for dinner and asked them to spend an hour with you, tearing up your fears and casting them into God's dumpster?

B. Stay Sharp: we're part of an unseen conflict (vv. 8-9)

1. We don't just pray and wait . . . pray and doze off to some worship music. God does have an enemy and, if he can, he will use this economic crisis and our fears to distract us from our mission, destroy our faith, or even to kill us. Jesus called Satan a liar and a murderer.

2. If we wonder how Satan might use this economic crisis to do us in, Peter uses the metaphor of a lion on the hunt. If you watch Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel, you know that lions attack the weak, the young, the sick, the careless stragglers-any animals they can isolate from the rest of the herd. While the females lead the hunt, the males use their unnerving roar to distract, redirect, and paralyze their prey with fear.

3. ILLUS: Luke 22:31-Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to have Peter for lunch (sift him like wheat). Jesus gave Satan a green light, but promised to pray Peter through this approaching test. First, Satan uses confusion and fear to draw Peter out-of-step with Jesus. Peter stumbles in the Garden of Gethsemane and lunges with his sword at a guard who is arresting Jesus. He's no longer on mission. Next, Peter begins following the mob, but now he's staying in the shadows, watching from a distance, isolated from both Jesus and the other disciples. He's vulnerable to attack. Satan then uses three different unexpected confrontations to tempt Peter to deny Jesus. Peter falls into the trap repeatedly, adding enormous shame to his fear and confusion. When the cock crows three times, Peter is at the point of giving up Jesus and the kingdom. Except for Jesus' prayer, Peter might have given up and committed suicide with Judas. Instead he disappeared into the night weeping bitterly.

The economy is weak. Any of us could lose our jobs. Who can say if some of us won't have to give up our homes. Don't let Satan use economic hardships to destroy your faith. Tell someone that you're starting to feel overwhelmed with fear and confusion. Refuse shame; there is no shame in unemployment or housing transitions. Stay close to Jesus in worship, prayer, and ministry. Stay close to the rest of us in serving and giving and sharing. Confusion, fear, and shame are human. Isolation can be deadly.

4. Christians all over the world are being tested by confusing and painful political and economic crisis, not to mention crises in medical care, educational crises, military crises, and natural disasters. Would you rather be enduring the tests being taken by Christians in Palestine who are living under a Hamas government? Would you rather be living through the tests being endured by Christians in Zimbabwe, some of whom we know? Where do you want to sit for your test-in China or Myanmar? Might as well stay put and take the test God is putting before us.

C. One More Time: Stand Firm! (v. 10)

1. The God called us and got us started on this journey is not going to abandon us in the midst of this difficult stretch. He's going to bring us through this. So, Peter echo's Paul's challenge in I Corinthians 15:58-STAND FIRM (v. 9), STAND FAST (v. 12). It's only a matter of time before going to bring together the missing puzzle pieces, strengthen us to persevere, help us settle down, and rebuild a solid foundation under our lives.

2. Stand firm, stand fast, declare what you believe! Are your family members and friends getting clear signals from you? "I'm trusting God . . . we're going to make it . . . he's keeping his promises . . . I'm still on mission . . . I'm here to support you. Are you still worshipping and serving with the same passion you did before this storm blew up. Are you as generous with your money this year as you were last year. Put your heart, your faith, your love out there for all your family and friends to see. Resist the temptation to be quiet in times of sharing and prayer, to withhold your money, withdraw from community, to fall into a poverty mindset. This morning in worship . . . in the offering . . . in the break for greeting . . . were you taking a stand, or slip-sliding away? IT'S TIME TO GET LOUD, SPEAK CLEARLY, OPEN OUR HEARTS TO STRANGERS, GIVE GENEROUSLY, AND SERVE WITH FAITH AND VISION. ILLUS: Mark DuPont-a prophetic voice in the Vineyard has communicated, "Don't let the economic predictions tempt you to withdraw from the frontlines of kingdom ministry. 2009 is going to be a year of kingdom initiatives in which God supplies the needs of those who continue to give, risk, and push into the future.

D. Stay Close (vv. 12-14). In Paul's final greetings, he underscores the importance of family loyalty, closeness, faithfulness (Silas is a brother; Mark is a son); the church in Rome/Babylon stands in solidarity. Only a holy kiss-an exceptionally warm greeting-will do at a time like this. Yesterday I came across a magazine article from AAA, the Automobile Association of America. "A Shoulder to Lean On-Trust AAA to get you through these uncertain economic times". The author asked his readers, "Where do you go when times are tough . . . . In the midst of this financial turbulence, I invite you to turn to us for assistance". In the face of economic difficulties, we remain strong and committed to serving your needs. "You can be proud, as I am, to be part of the AAA family and rest easy knowing you can lean on us in times of need. We're here, and we're committed to you".

Would you be willing to turn to someone here, look them in the eye, and say, "If you need help, please turn to me. I'm committed to you." If not, what road are you on?

CONCLUSION- "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference". Robert Frost. STAY HUMBLE, STAY SHARP, STAND FIRM, STAY CLOSE