Loyal, OK

 
Pastor Leon Seaton

To Be Like Jesus--Authentic

"Are you for real? "

Matthew 7:15-23

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name; and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!'
 

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Matthew 16:13-15

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

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Definition of Authentic:

- genuine and original; not false or copied, as opposed to being a fake or reproduction
- trustworthy: shown to be true and trustworthy
- valid: legally valid because all necessary procedures have been followed correctly
 

We like to think of Jesus as gentle, kind, understand, loving and totally accepting. And He is… However, that did not keep Him from boldly speaking the truth, as we heard in our scripture for today.

Jesus asked His disciples a powerful question one day… “Who do men say that I am”… and “who do you say that I am?”

This morning I want us to ask ourselves an equally powerful question. Who do you think you are? Stan Meyer suggests that every believer should ask himself a question like the question a pastoral search committee asked a candidate, “If you were to come here as our pastor, what three themes would we likely hear repeated in various ways in your preaching and teaching?”

To paraphrase him, what things are vitally important to you? Meyer says that we have three aspects to our lives (His article is reprinted at the end of this message.)

We have an:

Authentic Self

Passionate Self

Gifted Self

Our authentic self is what we believe ourselves to be. Not what we wish we were, but what we are. For instance, the things that excite me are helping others, encouraging others, preaching and teaching. I have to be needed by someone or I would shrivel up and die.

This may not be the way you see me, but it is how I see myself.

How do you see yourself? God sees you as extremely valuable. He created you, gifted you, and has a work planned for you to do.

Sometimes we get discouraged and wonder how God could love us… we doubt if we are worth anything at all. Trust me; God does not see you that way!

Perception is everything. Watching the Lomega girls' basketball team win the state championship yesterday was thrilling to us. However, for the losing team it was very discouraging. As they received the silver ball – second place – it looked more like a funeral wake.

Why? Being second in the state is quite an accomplishment. Just ask the 10^th place team. They were sad because their focus was on the gold ball. Later they will be able to appreciate what they accomplished.

We also have a Passionate Self. This defines the things in our lives that really excite us. My wife is off to Germany this coming Saturday so she can spend time with our daughter-in-law and two of our grandchildren. She is excited!

Your passion might be the Lions Club, farming, basketball, and teaching – whatever it is that “lights your fire.”

Our passions point to our internal sense of purpose. As believers we need to have a passion for spiritual matters – things of eternal value.

Finally, there is our Gifted Self. Everyone in this room – or reading this message on the Internet – has God-given gifts that God intended for you to use to bring Him honor and glory.

Many of us are too modest to claim our gifts, but that is a mistake. God provides the gift – we provide the time and energy and courage to develop that gift.  How can we know what our gifts are?  It isn’t that hard!  Listen to what people that love you have to say about you. Your friends may tell you that you are a “natural” at certain things. And that is probably your gift!

(Gossip and complaining are not gifts!)

Some people are artistic, some are athletic, some are visionaries; others are really structured. Listening to what others say about you may help you define your gifts.

At the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9 KJV), we will be rewarded by God for our faithfulness in developing and using our gifts.

In my meditation and prayers for this week I have been seeking God for ways to further develop the ministry of our church. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit I have cut my hours with hospice back to 12 hours a week so that I will more time and energy to devote to the church.

Sometimes it appears that a good public school may be more effective in what they do than many churches are in what we do. Of course it is easier to track what public schools do. They take written exams… Our exams are often personal tests that we tell no one about.

A good school offers the students a chance to perform. They have debate teams… A/V training… basketball… speech contests… sports kings and queens… driver’s education… drama.

This church does drama – our Christmas plays are awesome… but we need to do more. We need a class in “Applied Christianity” where we look at the needs of the community and seek ways to meet those needs.

It would be wonderful if someone in this congregation would offer to do our monthly newsletter… Our Sunday school classes are not well attended… I was disappointed recently as I looked at our Women’s Fellowship attendance. Everyone in the room were already attending when I started pastoring in 1995.

Please understand that I am not complaining. To be authentic is to be genuine. This morning I am speaking from the heart!

A survey in 1987 compared the worst discipline problems in public schools in the 1940s and the 1980s. In the 1940s the worst discipline problems in public schools were: talking; chewing gum; making noise; running in the halls; getting out of turn in line; wearing improper clothes; not putting paper in wastebaskets! Some of the worst problems in the 1980s are: drug abuse; alcohol abuse; pregnancy; suicide; rape; robbery; assault. Newsweek, January 5, 1987.

If you think that some of these problems are not found in this area, you have not been keeping up with the news. Church, there is still a lot to be done!

By definition, to be a Christian is to be an imitator of Christ.

When you learned how to drive you imitated your teacher. You did not say to the highway patrolman that tested you – “Well, I know that is what the book says, but I’m not going to do it that way!”

Now you may not obey the rules, but you are careful lest you be caught!

God expects us to live out the life of Christ every day – and so do the unsaved. As a matter of fact, so does everyone in the church.

Satan is committed to making sure you fail.

It’s your choice!

That's inside us comes out in our work relationships. In a large city a businessman became fond of the little boy who shined his shoes every day. He did such a good job that one day the businessman asked him, "Son, how come you are so conscientious about your work?" The boy felt complimented. He looked up to the man, and said, "Mister, I'm a Christian and I try to shine every pair of shoes as if Jesus Christ were wearing them."

The businessman saw something genuine in the shoeshine boy. Soon after that he began reading his Bible. When he decided to be a Christian himself, he credited his decision to the little boy who shined every pair of shoes "as if Jesus Christ were wearing them." That's a blessing.

March 2, 2008

Finding Your Voice

A Call Committee once asked a candidate, "If you were to come here as our pastor, what three themes would we likely hear repeated in various ways in your preaching and teaching?"  Clever question! It is asking the pastor about his or her core values and purpose.

The question belongs also to every baptized Christian. We all have a unique, particular and urgent theme we must say or do with our life. It’s a message that must be spoken, a crusade that must be undertaken, a passion that must be explored, a help that must be rendered in the world around us. Indeed, the challenge of growing up is to “find our voice” in the midst of many voices. How is our voice in harmony with the voice of Christ?

Your Voice: To find your unique God-given voice is to discover your way of expressing yourself, of giving back, of serving others and expressing your faith. It grows out of three understandings of your “self”:

• Authentic Self: Authenticity begins with knowing yourself—what you believe yourself to be (not what you wish you were) when you are at your best. It is to know what excites your mind and drives your passion. Authenticity is about who you are in private, but its real test is how it is lived out in public.

• Passionate Self: Passion can be about particular ideas and possibilities, things we hold beautiful and right, aspects of life and community. They are the kinds of things that not only wind our clock each day, but cause the bell to ring as well. It can be baseball or ballet, justice or jogging, kids or clouds. Our passions point toward our internal sense of purpose.

• Gifted Self: All have gifts to give—the capacities, talents and skills that are both natural and learned. Your best gifts are often those that cause others to say you are “a natural.” Some people are artistic or athletic, some are visionary or highly structured, and some have a highly developed sense of movement, media, or management. For some it is a skill, for others it is an attitude or trait. Listen to what others say are your best talents and abilities.

The congregation can be the place where we encourage one another in discovering our life themes and finding ways to express our voice and the voice of Christ in the world around us. How does the voice of Christ come through our voice? The congregation can be where values are formed and the self matures in a sense of selflessness and discipleship. The congregation can be the launching pad for our service within the world and for the sake of the world God loves.

Questions to Ponder

1. What are your three life themes? What is your unique voice in the world?
    

2. What activities of the congregation contribute to spiritual formation, mentoring, and the shaping of disciples?
    

3. How can your congregation celebrate the way members live out their discipleship outside of the congregation?
    

Writer: Stan Meyer - Copyright © 2005 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
May be reproduced for local, non-sale use provided the above copyright notice is included. E-Tips, Division for Congregational Ministries - Evangelism. www.elca.org/evangelism