"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.