1 The Next Step Acts 14:8-18 Rev. David Hutchinson Sunday, November 11, 2018 Have you ever NOT gotten what you wanted? How about when it comes to a REACTION from another person? Have you ever NOT gotten the REACTION you wanted - - or expected? Or have YOU ever had YOUR reaction to someone - - misunderstood? So are we all - - somewhat familiar with what I m talking about? Some examples: We laugh - - and someone thinks we are laughing AT them. We are quiet and satisfied - - and someone thinks we are sulking. We tell a joke we think is funny - - and no one laughs. I remember once in a foreign country - - complementing a man on his hat. / I said I liked his hat - - and then he immediately wanted to GIVE me - - the hat! / It was not the reaction I was going for - - I just wanted to be friendly. Now that the holiday shopping season is about to begin - - if you still go to an actual STORE - - or the MALL - - instead of going online - - stuff doesn t just sit on the shelves anymore. / Lights and sounds are triggered by motion detectors as you walk by. / People bombard you with offers of free samples. / I was once lured in by a woman describing the wonders of the spiral slicer - - which could be mine - - if ONLY I bought her set of kitchen knives. I ve even seen a personified Christmas tree - - with a eyebrows and a moveable mouth - - which sings carols as you pass by. / Does any of this really make people buy stuff??
2 In a store parking lot recently - - a man approached me with a clipboard and political flyers - - and I looked straight at him and said, Yea, what next!? He was a bit put off. It was not the reaction he had wanted. But now that the election is behind us maybe we can take a break from some of that. For a while My point is: is what we are doing - - getting the reaction we want? In this morning s scripture reading - - from the book of Acts - - Paul and Barnabas preach to the people of Lystra. / They even perform a miracle healing. / The crowds are overwhelmed - - and so they praise Paul and Barnabas. / They say: The Gods have come down to us - - in the likeness of men! They bring offerings to the Temple to be sacrificed to the gods. Which is NOT - - the reaction - - Paul and Barnabas wanted. They did not want to direct attention to THEMSELVES. They wanted people to see the wonder - - of the one - - living GOD. Maybe the good news is - - they DO have the ATTENTION of the people of Lystra. But it is not quite the reaction they wanted. So the question is: What NEXT? What is the next step - - after an encounter - - in which there is a misunderstanding? What do we do now - - or say now - - to move forward? Maybe part of the answer is - - about redirecting attention. Once we have thanked people in your life - - or looked to people for answers - - THEN - - thank God - - and look to God.
3 This is the situation Paul is in. / And I think it is interesting to look deeper at this. Paul s reaction in this situation reminds me a little of something my friend Mike did once. / It was in an airport - - back when you could still meet people as they got off the plane. Several of us had created a big Happy Birthday banner to hold, and we planned to shout happy birthday as we saw him in the crowd. / Make a BIG deal of his birthday: publically. But Mike didn t really like people making a big deal of his birthday. He never did. In fact this took place on the evening of his birthday. / Because he had timed the flight so he would get back late and miss the day so no one would throw him a surprise party. Well, he was one of the last people off the plane. / We had coaxed a few strangers to join us by this time. / As we shouted and waved and he saw us for the first time - - he turned around and headed back into the plane. / Which you couldn t do now days either! Like Paul and Barnabas - - Mike did not want the attention of the crowd. But for Paul and Barnabas there s more to it than modesty. They knew from the reaction - - that they had failed to communicate what they wanted. It was not the reaction they had wanted. And the issue really - - is about understanding the real nature of God. God - - is NOT like - - human rulers and kings. And God - - wants us to act differently too! Not to puff ourselves up - - but to put God first - - others second - - - - and ourselves third. God is not just some bigger better stronger - - human-like ruler.
4 God is different. And God wants US - - to act - - different. James Baldwin told a story about a king called: king Canute - - which makes a similar point. / King Canute - - ruled in England - - long, long ago King Canute, like many leaders, was surrounded by people who were always praising and flattering him. / O Canute - - you are the GREATEST! - - there NO one like YOU. And so on One day the king grew tired - - of these foolish speeches. He was walking on the SEA shore and one of his officers was passing by. He decided to teach him a lesson: You say I m the greatest - - do you? You say all things obey me - - do you? Oh yes, yes sir, they all said. Bring my chair down to the water! And the kings chair was brought at once - - to the water s edge. Put it as CLOSE to the water as possible, the king said. The king sat down in the chair - - and asked, Do you think the TIDE will STOP coming in if I give the command? / I see the TIDE coming in - - what do you think?? The officers were afraid - - no one dared say NO to the king. Ocean tide - - come no further!!, shouted the king. But the water - - continued - - and surrounded the king s feet. Turn back you sea! he shouted again.
5 The officers stood by - - more puzzled and afraid - - as the king was submerged in water up to his waist - - and sat there in his chair. Well my friends, he said, I seems I do not have as much power as you believe. There is only ONE king - - the one who rules the SEA - - and holds the OCEAN in hand. I suggest you reserve your praise - - for THAT ruler - - and that God. This is the message Paul was trying to communicate in Lystra. Direct your attention to God. And if you do - - amazing things will happen. The people did NOT react the way Paul wanted. At least not at first. But he kept at it. Paul claimed this NEAR fiasco - - for good. How can we do similar? How can we keep at it - - and redirect life s mis-steps? Things don t always go the way we want. But then what? What is the NEXT step? This is a question - - and a lesson - - from Paul for this morning. I remember a Thanksgiving dinner - - years ago. It could have been a fiasco - - if we had let it. We were all sitting around - - talking about safe topics. The table looked beautiful. It was pleasant - - and a little boring.
6 Just as we were getting ready to eat - - the family dog - - started to run toward - - the TURKEY! / A quick thinking relative - - TACKLED the dog - - just in time! It saved the Thanksgiving dinner. And it gave us all something much more exciting to talk about! When we are overwhelmed - - with what life has dished out - - then what? How can we help others - - in times like that - - to hear the GOOD news? Communication - - is part of the story. In difficult times - - we have to KEEP communicating! Rather than like we sometimes do - - to stop - - because it s difficult. Paul keeps trying to communicate. Paul keeps TRANSLATING - - until the people GET it. Life - - and God - - are MORE than you think! As I was thinking about - - communication - - and translation - - I came across a version of Psalm 23 - - by a Native American. Maybe a good thing for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday... I ll read it in a minute. / You might want to turn to Psalm 23 in your Bible and follow along. / It goes like this: Great Father above a shepherd chief is. I am his and with him I want not. He throws to me a rope and the name of the rope is love. He draws me to where the grass is green and the water is not dangerous. I eat, and lie down, and am satisfied. Sometimes my heart is very weak and falls down.
7 But the shepherd lifts me up and draws me into a good road. His name is wonderful! Sometime - - it may be very soon - - it may be a long long time - - He will draw me into a valley. It is dark there, but I will not be afraid. Because it is between those mountains that the Shepherd chief will meet me. The hunger I have in my heart all through this life will be satisfied. Sometimes the love rope is a whip, but afterward, he gives me a staff to lean on. He spreads a table for me with all kinds of good food. He puts his hand on my head, and all the tired is gone. My cup is full and runs over. What I tell you is true. / I do not lie. These roads are the way ahead.. They will stay with me through this life and after. And after I will go home and sit with the Shepherd chief forever. When we experience a SPARK of faith - - what will we do NEXT? When we are thankful - - will we remember to thank God? These are stewardship questions as we dedicate our ledges this morning. How can we take the next step into a future - - with God? Paul took heart - - and kept at it. May it be so - - for you and for me. Amen
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