“Dare to Play”

Sunday, 5/25/08- Matthew 6:25-34

from Dangerous Wonder by Michael Yaconelli

Introduction: One of the most memorable years of my schooling was when I was in fourth grade. My teacher let the students build forts around their desks. So my friend and I constructed an enclosed fort around our desk, complete with a door to enter, and a window to see out to the teacher. We also had to install our own light so that we could see, and my friend brought in his sister’s easy bake oven and coke dispenser. It was pretty cool. Needless to say we were very popular in the class with that easy bake oven.

Now you might think that this would be a bad strategy for a teacher; that the forts would keep the students from focusing on school. But as far as I can remember, we all did fine. And of course there was the threat that if we didn’t pay attention and do our work, we would have to take down the fort.

Could you imagine doing something like this in a business office? Of course we laugh at that, because a grown adult would never do anything like this! As we continue our series from the book “Dangerous Wonder,” I want to talk this morning about how we as adults need to dare to play a little more.

I. Jesus’ Playfulness- (Matthew 6:16, 28, 7:9-10, 26)

a. Playful words- Illus. Craig McNair Wilson for years had a one-man

drama show. He would travel around performing what he called “The Fifth Gospel.” Craig would play all of the characters himself (the disciples, Jesus, Pilate, the blind man…). And one of his favorite parts was reenacting what he thought might have happened when Jesus and the disciples took a break to wash off in the Jordan River. As they were washing off, John reaches down to the riverbed and picks up a handful of mud. He then precedes to throw it at Peter. SPLAT; a direct hit! So Peter picks up his own mud pie and throws it at John. But John ducks and it hits Jesus right in the middle of his forehead. At this point everybody freezes. Thomas leans over to Peter and says, “Now you’ve done it, you just hit the Son of God in the head with a mud pie.” Jesus looks at each disciple, but when he gets to Peter, Peter refuses to look Jesus in the eye. Then to everyone’s surprise, Jesus picks up some mud and throws it at Peter, and everybody breaks into laughter.

Of course we have no record of anything like this taking place, but it could have, because Jesus knew how to play, as well as pray. Jesus knew how to laugh, as well as cry. Jesus didn’t take Himself too seriously. You cannot read the Sermon on the Mount without getting a hint of Jesus’ playfulness:

· In regards to fasting, Jesus says in Matthew 6:16- “Do not look somber as the hypocrites do.”

· He also had comments about worrying; Matthew 6:26-28, “Look at

the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.”

· In talking about prayer, Jesus said in Matthew 7:9-10, “Which of you,

if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?”

· In regards to building, Jesus talked about how a foolish man was one who would try and build a house on the sand.

b. Playful stories- Jesus’ words are filled with playfulness, irony,

metaphor, and hyperbole. Many times when He was talking in this way, there must have been a twinkle in His eye. Jesus’ words were not somber, smothering, or threatening; they were colorful with fun stories that left His listeners wanting more.

In His book “Living the Message,” Eugene Peterson points out how powerful a playful parable could be:

“Jesus’ favorite speech form, the parable, was subversive. Parables sound

absolutely ordinary; casual stories about coin and seeds, meals and coins and sheep, bandits and victims, farmers and merchants. And they are wholly secular: of his forty or so parables recorded in the Gospels, only one has its setting in church, and only a couple mention the name of God. As people heard Jesus tell these stories, they saw at once that they weren’t about God, so there was nothing in them, threatening their own sovereignty. They relaxed their defenses. They walked away perplexed, wondering what they mean; the stories lodged in their imagination. And then, like a time bomb, they would explode in their unprotected hearts. An abyss opened up at their very feet. He was talking about God; they had been invaded!” (p. 13)

In the midst of talking about serious issues of salvation, and sin, and hell, and discipleship, Jesus did it with fun and playful stories. I know that this concept is hard for some people. People have difficulty thinking about Jesus as anything but serious. They think that Jesus was here with a purpose, and therefore had no time for play. But if Jesus was fully human, along with being fully God, there had to be playfulness in Him. God has created us with a spirit of fun, and the ability to laugh. There is no reason why this wouldn’t be true of Jesus as well!

II. Is Play Frivolous- (Mark 2:1-12)

a. Play breaks down barriers- When I meet someone, I usually don’t

tell them I am a minister at first. This is because people tend to act differently once they find out I am a minister. They start to be careful how they talk and how they act. Sometimes they exhibit guilty behavior, or they just avoid talking to me, afraid that I might confront them. I like to let people get to know me first before I share with them I am a minister. When I do it this way, people can experience me as a normal person; a person who loves to have fun, and laugh, and play.

Just like people think that Jesus was always serious, many people think that ministers are always serious. But anyone who knows me knows that I love to laugh and play. I enjoy getting to know the children and youth of the church, and finding fun ways to interact with them.

EX. There have been several times when some of the high school guys have challenged me to an arm wrestling contest. And they are surprised at first when I accept the challenge. And they are even more surprised when I beat them! J Not too long ago, at the picnic we threw for the women and children of the Women Shelter of Long Beach, I had a chance to play with them as well. It was after the picnic was over, and we were getting ready to wrap everything up. Some of the youth were playing football. And so I walked over to them and asked if I could play. Not really dressed to run around, I became the permanent quarterback (which meant I was the quarterback for both teams). I had a great time with them, and I think they enjoyed my playing with them as well!

I hope that these times of play helps me to have opportunity to be a friend and maybe a confidant to the youth. I hope they see me as a person who enjoys life, and wants to share my love and wisdom with them.

Play can change the environment so that you have better connection with

people. Going back to that picnic, it was fun to see the moms come and bring their kids. We had lots of food, and the people enjoyed that aspect of the picnic. We had face painting for the kids and a couple of others kinds of games. So the kids were playing and enjoying the park. But then we had some time for family games. They weren’t anything fancy, just the spoon and ball relay, the balloon toss, and a scavenger hunt. But as the games went along, you could sense a different feeling take place. People were laughing and smiling and interacting more. And after the games, there was more talking and connecting with people!

b. Play is an expression of God’s presence- People in Jesus’ time

knew how to play. Play isn’t a new concept. In the second chapter of Mark, verses 1-12, we find a delightful incident in the life of Christ. Jesus was teaching at a person’s house, and Jesus had attracted so much attention, that the house was full. Verse 2 tells us: “there was no room left, not even outside the door.”

A group of men had brought their friend, who was a paralytic, to Jesus so that he could be healed. But of course they saw that there was no way to get to Jesus. Not wanting to let their friend down, they decided to try and go in through the roof! (They were going to tear apart someone else’s roof to get to Jesus). This action could be seen as immature, irresponsible, silly. But when they get the man to Jesus, Jesus doesn’t rebuke them for their actions, he honors their behavior. He was impressed by their faith and their ingenuity.

Now think of it in this way: what if our church was so full that people couldn’t get in, but they really wanted to get in? And what if they cut a whole in the roof and repelled down? Most of us would be upset that they destroyed our roof, as opposed to being concerned with the fact that they wanted in that badly. We would get upset and rebuke their behavior and chastise them instead of desiring to minister to them.

We need to take life less seriously, and understand that play is an expression of God’s playfulness in the world. The opposite is that a lack of playfulness and laughter is a clear sign that God is absent in our lives. Play shouldn’t be seen as an escape; it is a way to release the life-smothering grip of busyness, and, stress, and anxiety.

Have you ever wondered why God gave us a spirit of playfulness? Have you ever wondered why God has given us the capacity to laugh? And further more, have you ever wondered why we squander these opportunities away? While it is good to have serious discussions, and deal with issues, and take care of business, it is equally important to laugh and play.

It is imperative in life that we not let ourselves get overwhelmed by the demands of life. It is imperative that we not forget that while we must be responsible as adults, we don’t forget that there is another important side to life; play. But not just play as an adult would play, but play with the reckless abandon and silliness of a child. No holds barred play where you can laugh, and joke, and not even necessarily follow all of the rules.

III. Make Room for Play- (Isaiah 59:2; Matthew 27:46, 18:12-14;

Hebrews 4:16; Luke 19:10)

a. Playing people into the kingdom- While it is very true that people

need Jesus, if you have noticed, people don’t seem all that willing to talk about this need. Maybe a better strategy would be to find ways to play with our neighbors and friends and thus build relationships with them. I have seen this strategy work well for churches. I know that when I was at a church in Camarillo, we had a softball team from the church. Some of the players on the team were not a part of the church, but in time many of them came to be a part of the church.

While it probably wouldn’t be fitting to break out in a game of “Capture the Flag” here during worship, it is important for us as a church to find ways to play together. Don’t you think people want to hear laughter as well as “Amen”?

As a parent, if I made my children always be serious, and spend all of their time on schoolwork and study, and never let them play, what do you think would happen with them? There would probably come a time when they would rebel and would disassociate themselves from me. I think the same is true of God. If people think that God always wants us to be serious, and study the Bible, and not laugh and play, then they disassociate themselves from us.

I know that my relationship with my children grows deeper and stronger when I spend time playing with them, and going for bike rides, than if we just sit and talk or watch TV together. Play allows us to interact and have fun and enjoy each other. And when this happens, it is more likely that the serious talks and the time for work will happen more readily.

EX. There is a story of a family that was going through some financial struggles. As Christmas was approaching, they decided that they couldn’t afford to buy gifts for each other. So they decided to do gift coupons for each other; coupons of service. And so they wrote things like this: “This coupon is good for one time of doing the dishes when you don’t feel like doing the dishes.” OR “Behind on your laundry? No problem. Present this coupon to me and I will gladly do your laundry (good one time only).” And from the parents: “Anti-grounding coupon. Good one time only, present this coupon and your grounding will be forgiven.” The family says that this was the best Christmas that they ever had. In this family’s playfulness and creativity, they discovered that God was hiding in the “poverty” of their financial situation.

b. God plays hide and seek- You might have felt like God is hiding

from you from time to time. And in a sense this is true. Our sin can keep God from our presence. As we are told by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Our sin creates a barrier, a wall, between us, and God because God cannot be in the presence of sin. And so our sin causes God to hide His face from us. Just like with Jesus, when He took our sin upon Himself when He was on the cross, and God hid His face from Jesus. That is why Jesus cried out in Matthew 27:46, “… ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

To overcome this, we must admit that we have sin, so that we can then move to confess our sin. When we confess our sin, God cleanses and removes the sin and the guilt, and brings us to a place where we can come into the presence of God. That is why the writer of Hebrews can tell us in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

And yet, the struggle can be that when we are in our sin, we find it hard to seek after God. So along with hiding from us, God also seeks us out. God actually plays a little hide-and-seek with us! The Bible is clear that this is true. In Luke 19:10 we read these words from Jesus: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus made it clear that one of His purposes of coming to this earth was to seek out those who are lost.

God does not like it when His children are lost. That is why He told the parable of the lost sheep. Let’s hear Jesus tell it in Matthew 18:12-14, “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

I don’t mean to make light of this subject of sin and salvation. But I do think that in the midst of all that goes on, there is a playfulness about God as He reaches out to us in love. God isn’t just a serious God. If He were a serious God, then He wouldn’t have humbled Himself and taken on the form of human flesh and live among us, and put up with us!

Conclusion: Later today a number of us will be going to see the movie “Chronicles of Narnia.” You might wonder why the evangelism committee has encouraged these “movie outings.” It is because it is good to have fun together; and movies can be fun and adventurous. But there are also times of good discussion when we meet afterward and share a cup of coffee together.

Life shouldn’t only be about play; there obviously needs to be time for seriousness. But I don’t think people in general, and definitely not the church, err on the side of too much play. The truth is that we don’t play together enough. I hope that as you leave here today, you take with you a picture of a laughing and smiling Jesus. Which reminds us that we have a laughing, smiling, and playful God, who wants us to laugh, and smile, and play. It is truly good for the soul! Amen.

"Living Beyond"

(from the book “Dangerous Wonder,” by Mike Yaconelli)

Matthew 4:18-22

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Introduction: The discovery of electronic gadgets (like computers, cell phones, blackberry’s, and on and on) have helped us in many ways. But in some ways, they have hindered us as well. If you look at kids today, they have computer games, television, and video games, but they get bored more easily than ever. I think this is because they are not challenged to use their imaginations.

I remember back when I was a kid. My cousin and I would get together quite often, and we would have great fun with our imaginations. At one point, we imagined that one day we would build a submarine. We even drew up plans for it. We also loved playing a game called “Stratego.” But even more than the thought of building the submarine, or playing the game, it was the hours of planning and dreaming that we enjoyed so much! This morning, I want us to think about “wild abandon;” about abandoning ourselves to the adventure God has for us.

I. Beyond Carefulness- (Matthew 4:18-22, 10:39;

John 6:35, 66-68, 9:5, 10:11)

a. Follow Me- In the beginning of His ministry, Jesus sought out

those who He would have follow Him. In this passage, we see that Jesus was walking by the lakeside; and as he walked he called Peter and Andrew, James and John. Theologian William Barclay says of this encounter: “It is not to be thought that this was the first time that he had seen them, or they him. As John tells the story, at least some of them were already disciples of John the Baptist (Jn.1:35). No doubt they had already talked with Jesus and had already listened to him, but in this moment there came to them the challenge once and for all to throw in their lot with him.”

Jesus gave a call to these fisherman to follow Him. Now as we read this passage, we know it so well that it doesn’t make the impact that it should. Here we have 4 fisherman, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These men are not educated, or influential, or wealthy, they are fishermen, and all they know is fishing. But Jesus is asking them to go beyond what they know.

Astonishingly, they abandon their careers, their families, and their futures to follow Jesus. Why? All because Jesus said, “Follow Me.” But why would these men give up all that they knew to follow Jesus into what they didn’t know? Because somehow these men knew that life with Jesus is the life they needed. Somehow they knew that they were unsuccessful in achieving what God had created for them. Somehow they knew that they had a greater purpose for their life and for God.

In Matthew 10:39, Jesus would later say: “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” In other words, for us to really live the life God has for us, we have to abandon ourselves to Jesus so that He can lead us to the place we need to go. As long as we are trying to control our destiny, we will fail to find it. These fisherman realized this, and immediately left what they knew to a life of wild abandon. They were abandoning themselves to the One who would never abandon them.

The truth is, most of us have lost touch with the childlike experience of abandon. We believe in Jesus, we love the idea of what Jesus wants to do in the world, but we are not willing to abandon what we know and what we are doing to really follow Jesus. It is too impractical to abandon our life in this way. We want security; we need security; we cling to security. This life of abandon is not secure.

Abandon is definitely unpredictable. As we seek to follow the rules of this life, how can we give ourselves over to abandon? How does Jesus’ call fit into these rules of security? They don’t, and so that makes us very nervous and unsettled.

b. Okay to make mistakes- If you analyze Jesus’ ministry, you will

see that Jesus led people to go against the stream of the normal, and even go against some of the rules of the day. [Jesus healed on the Sabbath; Jesus touched lepers; Jesus talked to women; Jesus included foreigners.]

Don’t get me wrong, rules are important. Jesus thought rules were important too. He affirmed for the people that they needed to pay their taxes. But there were many religious rules that Jesus broke Himself, and encouraged others to break. In living a life of “wild abandon,” Jesus wants us to understand that there are times when it is good to go against the norm, and break the rules that would keep us from accomplishing the call of God on our lives. [Christianity is more concerned with following Jesus, than with following rules.]

Remember back when you first said “yes” to Jesus. You didn’t know the rules; all you knew was Jesus. But maybe the longer you have been a Christian, you have felt like there were many rules that you were being taught. The church as a whole is concerned with people following the rules. But this is why church has become a religion, and we have forgotten that it is a relationship. First and foremost, being a Christian is about believing in Jesus, and following the call of Jesus.

In many ways, the rules are placed there to help keep people from making mistakes. But mistakes are a sign of growth. Often times we learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. When we follow Jesus, and live a life of wild abandon, we will make some mistakes. If there is ever a place that welcomes mistakes, it should be the church.

Going back to Jesus and the disciples, we see that every time that the disciples started to establish rules—no children near Jesus; nobody could touch Jesus; Jesus shouldn’t talk to the Samaritan woman; don’t waste expensive perfume—Jesus rebuked them for this. In essence, Jesus was saying: “Don’t you get it, we aren’t substituting religious rules for your rules; we are substituting religious rules with Me!” Jesus is saying that we need to follow His rules.

c. The rule maker- The religious leaders accused Jesus of breaking

the rules over and over again. And it was true, Jesus did break the rules. They wanted Him to know that He shouldn’t be healing on the Sabbath, touching lepers, or forgiving adulterers. But Jesus COULD break the rules, because Jesus is the RULE MAKER. He alone decides what rules are true and what rules are nonsense. That is why we should follow Jesus with abandon to wherever He takes us, because He lets us know what is right and what is wrong. Whatever rules we do have should come from understanding who Jesus is and what Jesus wants us to do.

In many ways, this sounds alarming; doesn’t it? It might even sound hazardous. But if you understand “faith,” then you know that it is reckless to follow Jesus wherever He goes. But it is about following where Jesus goes, not where we want to go. It is very wrong to seek a destination, make some rules, and then try to get Jesus to follow us. Following Jesus with “wild abandon” is an adventure, and so you need to fasten your seat belt for the ride. When you are walking in faith, you should feel your pulse start to quicken. There is intrigue, and nervousness, and thrills.

This must have been very difficult for the people, because they knew Jesus as a child; they had played with Jesus. And they knew Jesus’ parents. And then Jesus one day says to them: “I am the bread of life…” In fact, Jesus made many “I am” statements. (I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd, I am the way, the truth and the life.) And this was significant, because the people knew that this phrase “I am” was the name God gave to Moses; to them Jesus was a blasphemer.

In John 6:66 we are told: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” The rule maker became a rule breaker. No wonder so many started to leave Him; to follow Jesus became a dangerous adventure. Why didn’t everyone leave Him? In John 6:67-68, we have this discourse: “‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” / Even though it was dangerous, Jesus had the words of life.

Peter knew he had to abandon the safe life to follow Jesus, the One who could give him real life. But others couldn’t: the rich young ruler couldn’t abandon his riches; the Pharisees couldn’t abandon their religion (except for Nicodemus); Pilate couldn’t abandon his power…. What is it that you have trouble abandoning for Jesus? Your schedule? Your money? Your fear of making a mistake? Your theology? The expectations of others?

II. A Life of Abandon- (Mark 5:25-34; Luke 21:1-4)

a. Jump first, fear later- The truth is, most people are afraid to

follow Jesus with wild abandon. To do this, we need to become more like a child. Sound familiar? Jesus said this, didn’t He? We need to become more like children. Children have no fear. That is why you have to watch children so closely. They will follow a ball out into the street, run towards a pool, or do a number of other potentially dangerous acts without thinking. Most kids have this rule of life: “Jump first, fear later.”

In many ways, when it comes to following Jesus, we need to have that rule as well: “Jump first, fear later.” That is what Jesus calls us to when He says “Follow Me.” Jesus doesn’t want us to be afraid. He understood that in this world, no one is safe. We have to take risks to accomplish so many things. Jesus knew that to follow Him meant that nothing in your life would really be safe. But also knew that He would be with us all the way.

We get so excited when somebody finds Jesus; as we should. But the Christian life needs to be about more than just finding Jesus; it is also about following Jesus. The Christian life isn’t just a one-time decision that is made, but an every day adventure that is lived. But as we live with fearlessness, we will find ourselves in a place of peace, joy, and abandon.

EX. As I was writing this sermon, I started to wonder where I have followed Jesus with wild abandon. And as I thought about it, I recalled how I answered my first call. It started in December, 1995. I had sent my Personal Information Form out to several churches seeking a call. I got an invitation from a church in Pueblo West, Colorado to come for an interview. So Tami and I went out to spend a few days with them. The first night we had a dinner with some key people in the church. The next night we had an interview with the committee. Here is the part of wild abandon. The committee asked us to step out of the room for a few minutes. I could sense that they were going to offer me the job. If they did, and we took it, it would mean moving out of state, away from all of our family. When we came back into the room, sure enough the committee offered me the job, AND WE TOOK IT. The next day we went house shopping, AND BOUGHT A HOUSE. In the period of 2 days, I had a call to a church, a new state to live in, a new house to live in!! WILD ABANDON.

b. Examples from the Bible- When we follow Jesus with wild

abandon, we feel the thrill of living out the calling God gives to us. Even more, we discover the peace of doing what God wants done. We see this in the Bible with story after story: In Mark 5:25-34 we see the story of a woman who had a lifelong blood disease. This woman had heard about Jesus, and the many people He had healed. She believed that He had great love and power, and believed that if she could just touch Him, she would be healed. So with wild abandon she pushed through the crowd, oblivious to the ridicule and anger of the crowd, and she touched Jesus, and was healed.

OR Luke 21:1-4, where we see a widow who came to the temple every day to give her small offering. Let’s read what happened: “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ²He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³’I tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’” Jesus saw what this woman was doing, and how others were judging her for the little she gave, and wanted them to understand that it took great courage and abandon for her to give in this way.

Storyteller Bill Harley tells the story of a children's T-ball game he witnessed a few years ago. On one of the T-ball teams was a young girl named Tracy, who ran with a limp and couldn't hit the ball to save her life! Every game she would swing and swing, but couldn’t hit the ball. Sometimes she would hit the tee, the ball would fall off, and everyone would yell “Run.” But she always got put out at first. On the occasion of her team's last game, Tracy did the unthinkable, or maybe the law of averages caught up to her. She hit the ball! The ball went up the middle, past all of the fielders (of course in T-ball, after the first few minutes of the game, all the outfielders start to encroach on the infield, so there really aren’t any outfielders). Tracy's coach began hollering for her to run the bases, and she landed on first base, only to be told to keep on running. She rounded second base, and the fans stood to their feet and cheered, urging Tracy to head home! As she neared third base, however, Tracy noticed an old dog that had loped onto the field and was sitting near the baseline between third plate and home. Moments away from her first home run, Tracy stopped. Her coach was yelling encouragement to her to run home. There she stood with a dilemma; run home, or give the dog some love? To everyone’s surprise, she knelt in the dirt and hugged the dog. She never made it to home plate, but the fans cheered for her anyway. To Tracy, love was more important than winning. ("All Things Considered," National Public Radio, 7/11/95)

We see in this story a girl who cared more about love than about the rules and expectations of others. Tracy lived out the stories we read in the Bible; people who were willing to go against the rules and expectations of others.

Conclusion: Every day we are challenged in this way: live our lives according to the rules and expectations of others, or live with the wild abandon to which Jesus calls us. In ministry we are called to do this as well. If the church continues to live according to the ongoing expectations of how things have always been done, then we will never experience the work Jesus wants us to do. We have to be willing to hear the CALL of Jesus on our lives, and in our church, so that we can experience the thrill of ministry to which we are called.

It is always risky to follow Jesus. That is because Jesus usually takes us out of our comfort zone. But when we are in our comfort zone, we get lazy and unimaginative. When we are in our comfort zone, we fail to listen to the voice of God. When we are in our comfort zone, we get stuck into following the rules and expectations of others, and forget to live and love as Jesus did. Let us go after the One we love, Jesus, who bids us to come with wild abandon. Amen.

"A Mother's Challenge"

Psalm 13:1-6

Sunday, May 11, 2008 (Pentecost/Mother’s Day)

Introduction: Those of you who have children know that a special day in your child’s life is when they say their first word. Often times the first word is something like “momma,” or “dada,” or maybe even “NO.” But then there comes a time when maybe you wished they couldn’t talk; that is when they learn the word “WHY?” You know what I’m talking about. Children get to this stage somewhere around 2-years-old, and they can’t stop asking why. You tell them something, and they ask: “Why?” Then you give them an answer to their “Why,” and they ask “Why” again!

Now, we might think that they ask this question because they want to know the answer, but more than wanting an answer, it is about being in relationship. This banter back and forth between their asking why, and your trying to answer, is really about their growing in their relationship with you.

As we continue our series on the book “Dangerous Wonder,” by Mike Yaconelli, I want us to think this morning in 3 realms: the realm of our relationship with God; the realm of being a mother (or one who cares about kids); and the realm of the Holy Spirit (since today is Pentecost Sunday).

I. Dare To Ask- (John 9:1-3; Luke 10:25-37)

a. Not so tame- Asking questions is really about being in a healthy

environment. When there is a safe, healthy environment, kids will feel the freedom and the joy to ask questions. It is really about having a childlike curiosity. In C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series, Aslan the lion (who represents Jesus Christ) is described as a “not so tame” lion. The reason we have lost our childlike curiosity is that we have become tame; domesticated. We are COMFORTABLE in our faith, and no longer see it as a mystery. We are content to follow a system of beliefs, instead of understanding that faith is really about having an uncomfortable encounter with God. And in this encounter we need to ask questions.

Could you imagine being one of the 12 disciples? These disciples got to walk with Jesus, and watch Jesus, and ask questions of Jesus, and learn from Jesus. But, it was uncomfortable at times. Last week we read the passage where Jesus calmed the storm, and the disciples were filled with terror at seeing Jesus having power over the wind. They saw Jesus remove an evil spirit from a man. They saw Jesus attack the Pharisees for their lack of faith. They saw Jesus challenge them for their own lack of faith.

But we also see the disciples taking advantage of being able to ask questions.

In the gospel of John, chapter nine, Jesus and the disciples are walking along when they see a blind man. The disciples then ask Jesus: “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” NOW, you need to understand that at this time they believed that if something was wrong with you (you were blind, or leperous, etc…) then you must have sinned for this to have happened.

Jesus responds to them in verse 3: “‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’” How wonderful it is to see the disciples asking questions, and Jesus answering them. Much in the same way that a mother disciples her own children.

b. Four Assumptions- When children ask questions, they are not

afraid to interrupt, irritate, or persist until someone responds. Children are daring in this way, because they don’t know any better. This doesn’t change until we teach them the inappropriateness of behaving in this way. And so, in our desire not to be rude, we also shy away from asking the questions. There are at least 4 reasons why this is true.

1^st assumption: Often times we shy away from asking questions because we assume we might get embarrassed. You’ve probably heard a teacher or a coach say: “No question is a dumb question.” That may be true on the teacher’s part, but not on the part of those around us. We might want to ask a question where the answer is obvious, or when the answer has already been given, but we don’t because we don’t want to be embarrassed. IT CAN BE EMBARRASSING TO ADMIT YOU DON’T KNOW SOMETHING. The question that the disciples asked Jesus in John 9:2 could have been seen as embarrassing. Why ask Jesus that? You see, in our world, image is more important than knowing the truth. But like children with their mothers, we need to be willing to ask questions, even if they might embarrass us!

2^nd assumption: A second reason we shy away from asking questions is that we assume that our questions will make others uncomfortable. OR, that our questions will cause others to question, and maybe even lead some to doubt. Questions force us to think, to struggle, to interact with truth. So, questions can make you uncomfortable, and in fact, in some ways, should make you uncomfortable. Our questions about God and faith need to be reawakened.

3^rd assumption: A third assumption that we make is that questions can be dangerous. If we ask too many questions, the resulting answers might cause us to have to change. We might have to be accountable for truth, once we know it, and then act on it. Like the man in Luke 10:29, who asked Jesus the question: “Who is my neighbor.” Jesus then told a story about how anyone who has a need, is their neighbor, and that we should “love our neighbor as ourselves.” We cannot stifle our curiosity just because it might lead to change.

4^th assumption: A fourth assumption is that questions can be “right,” or “wrong.” We probably have all had the experience where we asked a question, and were told that we were asking the wrong question. Meaning, that to ask this question meant you lacked faith or were trying to be rebellious. We have told our kids to “believe what they’re told,” and so we seek to be this way in our faith for fear of being “wrong.”

If Jesus can’t stand up to our questions, then He isn’t the truth. If the Bible can’t stand up to our questions, then it isn’t the truth. If God is afraid of our questions, then what kind of God is He?

II. Risky Curiosity- (John 16:15)

What we need to understand, if we are going to live with Dangerous Wonder,

is that there are no “wrong” questions. When people are hungry for God, every question is “right.” Curiosity is the unknown fruit of the Spirit. Didn’t Jesus tell us, in both John chapter 14 and chapter 16, that when He left, the Holy Spirit would come to us? And we see on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit coming in power. And so the Holy Spirit is with us, and fills us, and brings God’s presence and understanding to us. As Jesus tells us in John 16:15- “All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”/ But how can we know if we don’t ask? How can we discover if we are not curious?

After Jesus was resurrected, Jesus spoke to the disciples, but Thomas was not there. Thomas didn’t believe at first. Maybe he thought the disciples were hallucinating because they missed Jesus so much. He wanted to see Jesus himself. And so Jesus comes back a week later and speaks directly to Thomas to responds to Thomas’ questioning. JESUS WELCOMES OUR CURIOSITY!

a. Courageous faith- First of all, curiosity requires courage. If you

are going to grow in your faith, you must be willing to ask questions even when they threaten everyone around you. Faith is more than believing; it is an act of courage, a bold grasping of God’s truth. Faith is at times a wrestling match with God, an intense struggle where we are trying to squeeze out every bit of knowledge from God that we can. The courage to be curious shows our real hunger for God. We need to come to God with our questions without fear. People might be afraid of our questions; institutions might be afraid of our questions; but God is not afraid of our questions. We need to be more courageous, like the children who are unafraid to ask their mother’s questions anytime, anywhere.

b. Lonely faith- But along with courage, being one who asks

questions can also put you in a lonely place. Just look at Thomas. Think about the frustration the disciples’ must have had with Thomas. They probably scolded him: “What do you mean you don’t believe us? Jesus was here. We saw it with our own eyes!” But Thomas wanted this Jesus experience just like they had, and he wasn’t going to believe until he did. And yet, we see that Jesus showed up for Thomas. Even though Thomas might have isolated himself from the other disciples, Jesus wasn’t going to leave Thomas hanging.

People who ask questions often isolate themselves. It can make people uncomfortable with us, or afraid of us, or cause them to not understand us. “Why can’t you just accept things the way they are?” they might wonder. However, even if our questions chase others away, they attract Jesus. Why? Because Jesus wants to answer our questions; Jesus wants us to understand, and by understanding have a stronger faith.

c. Unknowing faith- Remember back when you were a child, and you

had a question about something, but were afraid to ask? What happened is that you came up with your own answers. Because you didn’t know, you made up your own answer. To get the real answer you needed to seek out someone who knew the answer.

The ancient church fathers used to talk freely of “unknowing.” It was their belief that we could learn as much about God in what we didn’t know as in what we did know. Our inability to answer all the questions becomes an opportunity to learn more about God. And so instead of making up answers, there will be times when we need to accept that we don’t know the answer; but God does. And in this unknowing, we will experience the presence of God.

Sometimes a child will ask you a question you don’t know the answer to. For them it is okay that you don’t know the answer, because they know they have you with them. And so in the midst of the challenge of answering the question, your presence is enough. Just having God’s presence with us should be enough as well!

III. The Wonder of “Why”- (Matthew 14:23; Psalm 13:1-6)

Have you ever been at the point in your life where your soul was weary?

Maybe it is weary now. Usually this happens when your life is so busy that you actually “put your soul in danger.” When this happens, you need to find a way to mend your soul. And the best way to mend your soul is to go on a retreat. Unfortunately, retreats can be very expensive, AND you have to find the time and the means to go on one. The good news is that you can experience this retreat for your soul in other ways.

a. One day retreat- In doing a one day retreat, you could do it with others

(we will be having a one day retreat here at the church in June), or you can do your own retreat. There are many retreat centers around where you can utilize their beautiful surroundings to go and be alone with God. Or you could go to the mountains, or sit at the beach. We are fortunate in Southern California to have many wonderful places to be able to go, within a couple hours of driving. During this retreat, you should seek to let God touch your soul and draw out your stress and worry. We see Jesus doing this in Matthew 14:23- “After Jesus dismissed the disciples he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray…” Jesus took the time to go and be alone with God.

When you are with God, you should take some time to talk to God, take some time to listen to God, take some time to sing praise to God, and maybe even take some time to journal your thoughts. It is an amazing practice to put down your thoughts and prayers on paper. Once your thoughts start flowing, you will surprise yourself with what comes out. This is a good time to ask God the hard questions, like we see the Psalmist doing in Psalm 13:1-2, “How long, O LORD Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?”

b. Meditation- Another wonderful practice is to meditate. This can be done

as often as daily, or maybe just once a week. It is fairly easy to do, because you can do it in just a short amount of time. In as little as 20-30 minutes, you can quiet your mind and spirit, and let God minister to you. This is not a time to talk, as much as it is a time to reflect upon God’s wonder and goodness, and seek to let God talk to you. Just reading the Bible for a while is good when you meditate. Now let me explain that this is not Eastern meditation where you are trying to detach yourself from your body. In Christian meditation we are trying to ATTACH ourselves to God.

c. Disciplines- A third way to experience a retreat for the soul is to practice

the disciplines of faith. These disciplines include practices like solitude, fasting, silence, simplicity, submission, worship, and guidance. It is in the disciplines that we allow the Holy Spirit to really come alive in our lives. When we are busy, we actually stifle the working of God’s Spirit. Pentecost Sunday reminds us that God’s Spirit has come to reside in you and in me in a powerful way. But when we get too busy, we let the ways of the world weigh us down, and we get distracted from the fact that we have the Spirit of God within us. The disciplines of faith lead us to a healthier spiritual place so that we can fully connect with God. If you are interested in learning more about these disciplines, I would love to sit down and talk with you about them, or you can read a book about the disciplines. I have included 2 book titles in the outline: “A Celebration of Discipline,” by Richard Foster. “The Spirit of Disciplines,” by Dallas Willard.

I know that you’re immediate reaction is to say: “I don’t have the time. I’m

too busy.” The question I would ask back is “Why?” Why are you too busy? How is it that you can be too busy to care for your soul? Without a healthy soul, you will not be able to live a life of Dangerous Wonder. The problem is that we believe that God’s affection for us is measured by our activity. But the opposite is true. When we are too busy, then we cannot receive the love and presence of God in our lives. It is only when we slow down and ask the question: Why? That we can begin to understand. Why am I doing this? Why am I doing that? Is this what God wants me to be doing?

Conclusion: The truth is, we like children have many questions. Unfortunately, too often we won’t admit we have questions. Mothers know better than anyone, that in the midst of the challenge of having to answer all their children’s questions, there questions are the greatest opportunity they have to help their children grow in their knowledge and understanding. But even more, it connects them to a deep and secure relationship with their mother.

I want you to picture for a moment that you are standing next to a raging river. It is beautiful, because rocks are jutting out of the water, and trees are lining the river’s edge. It is a windy day, and so you can feel the mist of the water spraying. As you stand on the edge, there is a sense of fear. The wind is strong, and it wouldn’t take much to blow you into the river. If you fell into the river, you wouldn’t have much of a chance to survive. While the river could be life threatening, the mist is refreshing as it blows across your face.

As you leave today, I want you to know that Jesus is there to meet you and me in the crashing waters of our questions. And even though there is a sense of concern that these questions will lead us to the edge of doubt, Jesus drowns out our fear, because He is truth Himself. As Jesus says in John 14:6- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” Jesus is standing just beyond our questions with open arms. Let us walk into His arms with confidence and assurance. Only then can we live out our faith with Dangerous Wonder. Amen.