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Would you change your life if you knew you only had one month to live? If you were to die today what would be your legacy? How would you be remembered? This series is meant to bring the purpose of your life into focus so you don't end your life in regret.This series of messages was inspired Kerry Shook and his book by the same name.
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One Month to Live
Thirty Days to a No-Regret Life
What would you do if you had one month to live? How would you change your life? This
sermon series is based on the book, One Month to Live, by Kerry Shook. Following is a brief
recap of each session.
Introduction: Resurrected from a Life of Regret. If Jesus had a "Bucket List" what would be on
it? In this Easter message Remy looks at what Jesus did with one month to live to challenge us
to do the same. Because of Easter - the hope of resurrection - we don't have to waste our time
trying to please ourselves with our last moments on earth. We can focus on leaving a legacy for
others.
Part One: Living the Dash. Remy gives an overview of the One Month to Live series. If we
only have 30 days we want to live as much like Jesus as we can. We want to live passionately,
love completely, learn humbly and leave boldly. This message gives you a taste of things to
come in this series.
Part Two: Live Passionately. Christine Ruth looks at how easily we lose our passion and what
we can do to recapture it with only 30 days to live.
Part Three: Love Completely. Remy returns to give us seven tangible ways to love our friends
and family so that when we die we leave our loved ones with good memories of us.
Part Four: Learn Humbly - When life is hard it's easy to spend your time complaining,
rationalizing or denying it. But with 30 days to live you can't waste a minute. Seize the moment
to let pain and hardship be your teacher. Here Remy uses the story of Peter to see how Peter
learned humbly after he denied Jesus. Instead of giving up he retooled and used his failure to
propel him to success.
Part Five: Leave Boldly by Christine Ruth. Sometimes we have trouble knowing how to invest
our life. Christine talks about having a "Popeye Moment" where you find something that really
makes you mad. God might use your anger as a catalyst to try to right the wrong in front of you.
Part Six: My Last Sermon. Remy closes out this series by imagining what he would say if he
were to die the next day and not be able to lead Cedarbrook church any more. He looks at what
Cedarbrook has done well, what he longs to see and mentions one regret that he would have if he
were to die right now.
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Resurrected from a Life of Regret
One Month to Live Introduction
By Remy Diederich
Imagine… you get home from church today and your voice mail recorder is blinking. You
wonder who would call you on Easter morning. So you push the button and you hear this
message…
This is the clinic. I’m sorry to bother you on Easter but we’ve been trying to get a hold of
you. We got the results back from the lab and we’d like to talk to you about them as soon
as possible.
Your heartbeat quickens as you call them back and the nurse says that your doctor wants you to
call him at home. Call your doctor at home on Easter. Not a good sign. Now your heart rate is
not only fast but skipping a few beats. You take a deep breath and make the call. And it’s the
worse case scenario…you’ve got one month to live.
You know, facing death has this incredible way of bringing clarity to life, doesn’t it? What may
have been at the top of your priority list the day before might completely drop off the list when
you get the bad news. And what wasn’t on your list might rocket to the very top when you hear
that your life is coming to an abrupt end.
So, what would you do if you knew that you had one month to live? After you get over the
shock…some of us would take our dream vacation with the family. Some would do the risky
things we always wanted to do but were afraid to do…like rock climbing or skydiving. Some
might party hard. But some of us would be so overwhelmed with regret – regrets over what they
had or hadn’t done - that we would just mourn their last days on earth.
I know a lot of us have regrets. In fact, maybe that’s why you came today because you read in
the paper that I was going to be talking about overcoming regrets. Well, if you have a lot of
regrets I’m glad you’re here because I want to encourage you this morning. I want to talk about
how Easter can resurrect your life of regret.
Judy’s Regrets
Every week Newsweek magazine runs an article written by a reader. A few years back a woman
by the name of Judy submitted an article about her life of regret. This is what she said…
When I was younger, I thought my past didn’t mean anything. I thought that neglecting
important things or speaking hurtful words or breaking the law weren’t important. I was
a good person…I thought time flowed over these things and covered them up so they no
longer existed…I used to laugh about my mother telling me, ―That will go on your
permanent record, ya know.‖ I thought I had no permanent record. I was young and
had a long, full lifetime in which to make mistakes and explore endless possibilities.
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I meandered around for a while, experimenting with drugs and playing the hippie. I
won’t tell you how many times I’ve been married, but it’s more than I care to admit.
Never was there a moment’s concern about the possibility of these events coming back to
haunt me later, because, in my mind, there was no later. Just now. But one day, I looked
in the mirror and I was 40. The next day I was 45. I look ahead and I see 50 closing in.
I used to have the attitude that I didn’t care what other people thought about me – it was
my life and I was going to live it. No one was going to dictate what I should do or say, or
how I ought to live my life. Life wasn’t precious to me… it was a commodity to use, a
vehicle to ride, a thoughtless roaming.
I would like to add some upbeat comment like, ―Oh well, it was worth it all.‖ But it
wasn’t worth it. I have so much waste in my past that it almost washes away my future.
I’m here to say that there is a permanent record. It lives on in the memories of all the
people you’ve come in contact with. It lives on in your own perception of
yourself,……You can’t shake it. You may be able to redeem it with great effort, but given
my druthers, I would rather have written my permanent record with forethought and
careful planning, and skipped the woulduvs, coulduvs and shoulduvs. … It affects
everything you do and everything you hope to become.
Maybe you can relate to Judy…relate to being overwhelmed with regret. And if you can
relate…how do you recover from a life filled with regret especially if you are given just one
month to live?
There’s a movie that you may have seen recently that talks about facing death. It’s called The
Bucket List. It strikes at some of these issues that I’m talking about it. Let’s watch the trailer.
So…if you had one month to live, how would you spend that month? (I want to keep asking that
question because it brings our present life into focus). What would be on your Bucket List?
Well, I’m going to give you a chance to think about that more in a few minutes but first I want to
talk about what Jesus had on his bucket list.
Did you know that Jesus had a Bucket List? I’m sure he didn’t call it that. And I’m sure it wasn’t
written down. But we know that Jesus was very intentional - nothing happened by accident in
his life. So we can look at what he did in the last month of his life and work backwards
toreconstruct a Bucket List – those things that he wanted to do before he died.
The Bible helps us with this list in the book of Luke. The first part of Luke gives us an overview
of Jesus’ birth and early ministry. But starting in chapter nine, it says this…
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for
Jerusalem. Luke 9:51
So from chapter nine through the end of the book, Luke gives us an account of Jesus’ last days,
probably his last month or so. You might not realize it because of all the stories, but there is this
sense of movement toward Jerusalem and his death.
Luke 13:22-Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his
way to Jerusalem.
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Luke 17:11- Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between
Samaria and Galilee.
Luke 18:31- Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem,
and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
Luke 19:28- After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
Luke helps us to see what Jesus did in that last month of his life.
The Bucket List of Jesus
So, if you want to know what was on Jesus’ Bucket List you just have to read what happened in
these chapters and create a list. And that’s what I did. Let’s take a look…
Immortalize My Teaching.
That means that he did certain things to make sure that his life and words would never be
forgotten…that his life would speak beyond the grave. Or a simpler way to say that is that he
made a point of ―making memories‖. So he told memorable stories like The Good Samaritan and
the parable of The Lost Sheep. And he multiplied his story tellers in that last month. Luke tells us
that Jesus sent out 70 disciples two by two to tell people about him.
Jesus also created memorable events – some unforgettable events. Before the Passover meal he
washed his disciple’s feet. Do you think you’d ever forget Jesus washing your feet or the events
that surrounded that moment? No way! And then, that same night, Jesus reframed the Passover
meal – the meal that celebrated God delivering His people out of Egypt – as a ceremony
commemorating his death. Jesus told his disciples to ―Do this in remembrance of me.‖ So those
are just a few of the things that Jesus did to immortalize his teaching and make sure that his
words lived beyond the grave.
Spend time with my friends.
I only had 30 days to live I would probably isolate myself from everyone but my closest family
members. But Jesus was with his disciples almost 24/7. Why did he do that? My guess is that he
wanted to pour as much of himself into his followers as possible. He knew that his impending
death would bring greater weight and clarity to his message than all the days before. And so,
instead of spending less time with his disciples, he spent more.
Challenge false religion and injustice.
think with only 30 days to live you’d lay low and just give it a rest. That’s not the time to pick
fights with religious powerbrokers. But Jesus knew that nothing puts people in bondage and
distorts the image of God greater than false religion. So he fought against it right up until the
end. One of the most dramatic stories was when he cleared the temple of the money changers.
The priests and the moneychangers had a scam going to rip off the worshippers in town for the
Passover and Jesus wouldn’t stand for it.
Allow a close associate to betray me.
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That’s an odd thing to have on your bucket list, isn’t it? If you knew someone was going to
betray you, why wouldn’t you confront them and prevent them from that betrayal? But Jesus
allowed it to play out because he knew that ultimately God was going to use evil for good, not so
much in his life but in the life of others. And that leads me to the next thing Jesus had on his
list…
Suffer humbly.
I’ve got to admit…suffering humbly would not be on my Bucket List. But Jesus knew that it
wasn’t just what he did in his last month on earth that was important, it was how he responded to
what was done to him.
Just think of the powerful example that Jesus’ suffering has been to millions of people
throughout the last 2000 years. In just a few days of suffering injustice Jesus taught us how to
turn the other cheek and refuse to fight violence with violence. The entire civil rights movement
was based on his commitment to suffering humbly. Jesus knew the impact that his response
would have and that’s why he included suffering humbly on his Bucket List.
Forgive my assassins.
This is what Luke tells us…
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the
criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing.‖ Luke 23:33,34
Jesus had the right to judge these guys. He had the authority to judge them. But he didn’t. He
forgave them. Jesus didn’t want to die harboring any unforgiveness in his heart. He wanted to
pass into eternity with a clean slate.
Invite others to join me.
This is amazing to me. Jesus was always others-focused, even in his last moments on the cross.
Luke tells us…
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save
yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said,
"since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what
our deeds deserve.
But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be
with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43
Take care of my mother.
Every mom has got to love that! John describes what happened at the cross…
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved
standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the
disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
John 19:25-27
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Jesus wasn’t so caught up in saving the world that he couldn’t take time to make sure his mother
was cared for.
Well, there you have it- Jesus’ Bucket List - the things he wanted to do before he died. It’s
interesting to me that Jesus didn’t go cliff diving or race camels or go on his dream vacation to
see the Pyramids when he only had one month to live. Why do you think that was? Why did
Jesus choose to do these hard things when he could have chosen an easier path?
I think the answer is simple and that is he knew that he would live again. He knew that this life
was not all there was to his existence. There was life beyond the grave. You see, when you
know that you’ll live again, it changes everything. And that’s not only true for Jesus. It’s true
for us too.
So rather than go cliff diving or take his dream vacation Jesus chose to leave a legacy. He chose
to do difficult things that made a statement - like forgive and serve and suffer - because he knew
that what he did would last beyond this life and impact millions of people for generations to
come. In fact, his final 30 days made a bigger statement than the 33 years that led up to that last
month. Think about that…His final 30 days made a bigger statement than the 33 years that led
up to it.
Resurrected from a Life of Regret
So here’s my point: Do you want to resurrect a life of regret? Do you want to make up for lost
time? Then let your final days make a bigger statement than the years that led up to it. Well, you
might ask, How do I do that? I mean, I haven’t been very successful so far. And I would say that
if you want to resurrect a life of regret you need to get a different perspective on life. You need
to reframe your understanding of not only this life, but the next life. And that’s where Easter
comes in.
You see, the good news of Easter is not only that Jesus lived again but, like the thief on the cross,
Jesus has invited you and me to live again with him in heaven for eternity. And knowing that
gives us incredible freedom – right now - in this life.
You see, you don’t have to live your final days trying to gorge yourself with every kind of self-
serving experience that you can imagine. That’s what people do who have no hope beyond the
grave. But we know better than that. We know that there’s a much better life waiting for us on
the other side. So, instead of living to please ourselves we can live to leave a legacy that will
bless people for years to come.
Isn’t that how you want to be remembered – for your generosity instead of your greed? For your
boldness instead of your fear? Do any of us want our friends and family to stand around at our
funeral and talk about how much we took instead of how much we gave – comparing the IOU’s
that we left behind? Of course not.
So instead of holding resentments you can forgive.
Instead of clinging to your bank accounts and your toys you can give to those in need.
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Instead of isolating and spending all your time alone you can spend time with people, helping
them and serving them.
These are the kind of things that leave a legacy. These are the kind of things that will make you
proud of how you ended your life.
And it’s Easter that makes this all possible. You see, when Jesus rose from the dead, he
conquered death for us. Because of the resurrection – death is no longer the end for us. It’s a
beginning - the start of something much better. And knowing that frees us to finish this life well.
Our Bucket List doesn’t have to be self-serving…trying to squeeze out every ounce of life before
we die because we think that it’s GAME OVER. Our Bucket List can be about leaving a legacy.
Now, I hope we all have a lot more than 30 days to live. But here’s the hard truth… none of us
know our final hour. And none of us get a 30 day notice. Most of us will look down on our
funeral and say to ourselves, ―Man, I didn’t see that coming! If I would have known I was going
to die, I would have made a few changes!‖
But that’s the problem – we don’t know when we’re going to die. So the smart thing to do is to
live life like you’ve got one month to live. It’s that mindset that keeps your life in proper
perspective. That means you should make a Bucket List and start working on it so when your
number comes up you are ready to go – with no regrets!
I’m going to give you some help. In your bulletin there’s a Bucket List for you to fill out. Even
while you are still sitting here today I hope you’ll put a few things down…maybe things that you
learned from Jesus like ―make memories‖ or ―forgive others‖. But I can give you more help than
that.
I want to invite you back for six more weeks because for the next six weeks I’m going to be
speaking on the topic: One Month to Live – 30 Days to a No-regret life. It’s based on the book
by the same name – as well as the Bible, of course. And I’m going to coach you on how to make
the changes you need to make so you can leave a legacy to those you leave behind.
Imagine what could happen if we all started living like we had one month to live? Think of the
broken relationships that would be healed. Think of the time and money that would be
redirected into things of value instead of things of waste. Think of the great legacy’s that we can
leave behind. And think about how good it will be to meet Jesus knowing that you finished well.
No matter how poorly you’ve lived to this point…
you can leave a legacy that you are proud of instead of just a string of regrets.
So, I hope you’ll come back next week. We have special small group studies that are set up all
around and if you’d like to join one you can register on your feedback form and then drop it in
the offering. [If you’d like to buy the book, go to our homepage and click the One Month to Live
link. www.cedarbrookchurch.net ]
Prayer:
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Jesus, thank you for your example. You poured out your life to help others. Thank you for
conquering death. Because we will live again, we don’t have to play it safe anymore. We don’t
have to live for ourselves. We can recover from a life of regret by using our final days to create
a legacy to bless others. Come into our lives in a fresh way…for some of us…that may be for the
first time. But whether we have followed you for a long time or are just beginning today, fill us
with your Spirit to live this life of yours – a life that truly satisfies us and blesses others. Amen.
One Month to Live
Part Two - Living the Dash
By Remy Diederich
Video: A man is given 6-10 weeks to live and he talks about his response to that news. He senses
a profound peace from God and his marriage takes on a new dimension.
Welcome to our new series One Month to Live; thirty days to a no-regret life. If you were here
last week I had you imagine being notified that you had just a few weeks to live but that’s what
actually happened to this man. What would you do if you were him? That’s the question that we
are going to be looking at for the next few weeks
I haven’t mentioned this before but there are over 500 churches throughout the country that are
starting this same series this morning. So, not only are WE all hearing the same sermons and
reading the same book together, but so are about a half a million other people! And all 500
churches have one goal in mind: to change your life. I hope that’s why you are here.
This series is based on a book written by a pastor down in Texas by the name of Kerry Shook. In
the introduction to his book Kerry talks about walking through a cemetery and seeing how
people’s lives are reduced to two numbers and a dash on a tombstone. He says that we don’t
have any control over when we are born. And we don’t have any control over when we die. But
we do have a lot of control over what happens in the dash – the years in between our birth and
death.
That’s so true isn’t it? Much of our life is controlled but other people and other events. But we
still control a lot of our life story by the choices we make every day. And that’s really what this
series boils down to – making choices. The whole idea of having one month to live simply
brings our choices into greater focus.
That’s one thing I like about speaking at funerals – at funerals people have a sense of their
mortality. We all know that we are going to die some day but we always think it’s in the distant
future. But when you sit at a funeral your mortality stares you right in the face. For a few brief
moments you realize that you’re not going to live forever. You could die at any moment just like
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the person who is being buried that day. And so you think seriously about your life and the
choices you are making.
But that’s not how we always think on Sundays, is it? So often we come here and our mind is on
automatic pilot…not really engaged. When we hear a sermon we often agree with what’s being
said but in the back of our mind we are saying…
Yeah, someday I really need to get serious about what Remy is talking about. Someday
when I’m not so busy I’ll definitely do that.
Or… someday when my life is really falling apart I’ll remember what Remy said and
that’s when I’ll get serious about God. Someday!
Am I right? C’mon…admit it! That’s called the Someday Syndrome. We all suffer from it.
So what this series does is to artificially manufacture a sense of urgency by having us imagine
that we only have 30 days to live. It makes ―Someday‖ today. It fast forwards us to that place in
time when we have one month to live - when we’ve got one last chance to leave this life with no
regrets. And the idea is this…if you know you’d change your life with one month to live…then
why not make those changes now…and that way you get to enjoy the benefits of those changes
for more than 30 days.
The Bible says…
You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears
for a little while and then vanishes away. James 4;14
And since our life is a vapor we want to make the most of our time. We want to make good
choices with the few days that we have left. That’s why the Psalmist said…
Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12
Or look at this quote…
It’s never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot
Well, over the next five weeks we are going to talk specifically about how to make the most of
our time here on earth. But today I want to give you an overview of some of the things we’ll be
talking about. The book is written in four parts based on what Jesus did when he had one month
to live. And so let’s look at these four things to give us an idea about how we should live if we
only had one month to live.
1. Live Passionately - make Jesus personal, not religious
First we should live passionately. This was Jesus’ outlook on life…
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind. Mt. 22:37
Jesus was fully alive. He lived with passion every day. And because of that he didn’t hold
anything back. He lived his life with all he had all the time. And when you’ve only got a month
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to live that’s how you want to live too. When you’re about to meet God it’s no time to play
games. This is the real deal. So if you haven’t made a personal connection with Jesus then now’s
the time. Today’s the day. And when you make that connection, that’s what’s going to enable
you to live passionately.
Now, my guess is that some of you here are afraid of making your faith personal. You
purposefully keep God at a distance because you’re afraid that if you get serious about God
you’ll actually lose your passion for life. You’re afraid that if you allow God in your life that
he’s going to turn you into a boring person - that he’s going to perform some kind of lobotomy
on you that will make you zombie–like – with no personality. You’ll become this person who
spends all his time at church and every night of the week will be taken up with Bible studies and
prayer meetings. You’ll have to dump all of your friends and start inviting the pastor over to play
Canasta and watch G-rated movies. And so you purposefully keep God at a distance.
But if that’s what you think, you’ve got it all wrong! You don’t know what you’re missing!
Playing Canasta with me is a riot! Just kidding. I might be overstating it a bit but my point is
that when you make a personal connection with God that’s when God really lights your fuse. It’s
like plugging a lamp into a wall socket. That lamp didn’t know what life was all about until it got
plugged in. Up until then it just thought it was a coat rack. But now it’s full of electricity and
lighting a whole room!
Listen to what one of Jesus’ closest friends had to say about knowing Jesus…
This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 John
5:11
Now, let me stop for a second here because eternal life is one of those Bible terms that sounds
spiritual but most of us don’t have a clue what it means. Eternal life isn’t just a quantity of life.
It doesn’t just refer to life that lasts forever (although that’s certainly true). Eternal life also
refers to a quality of life. It’s a life that’s not tied into the material world. And because of that
eternal life finds joy and satisfaction apart from things/possessions. Eternal life is the life that
enables you to find peace in the middle of a storm because the peace isn’t connected to the
storm. By tapping into eternal life you are able to transcend the storm and find the peace of God.
And that’s what eternal life is - it’s the life that God has and the life that filled Jesus and made
him so passionate.
So I have to start this whole series by asking you this question… what kind of life are you living?
Are you living an eternal quality of life or are you living just an earthly quality of life - where
your happiness rises and falls based on your possessions and experiences? You see, an eternal
quality of life is what’s going to help you to live passionately. And if you only have 30 days to
live, that’s the kind of life you want. And thankfully John tells us how we can tap into this kind
of life. He says…
Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have
life. 1 John 5:12
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So here’s my next question – Do you have the Son? Do you have Jesus living inside of you
because John tells us that the Son is the One who gives us this kind of life. And without the Son
you don’t have the life. You might indeed have passion, but it’s not the passion of God.
Maybe some of the guys here can relate to this. It’s like back in high school when you like a girl
and you hang out with her in biology lab or in the halls and talk to her and you really like her but
you never ask her out on a date…you never take the relationship any deeper and it just always
stays superficial. As a result - your relationship has a limited quality. It’s not bad. It’s enjoyable
to a degree. It’s just one dimensional.
But when you ask that girl out and you enter into a relationship with her you suddenly
experience a totally different quality of relationship. You’ve got passions stirring in your heart
that you never knew existed before. You just seem to come alive inside and people even notice
that something’s different about you.
That’s the way it is with God too. It’s the same thing (or at least similar!). You can come to
church and read your Bible and even pray but never be in relationship with God. You know
things about God but it’s not personal. It’s one-dimensional and superficial. It’s not bad – it’s
somewhat enjoyable - but something’s missing and you know it. You look around at other people
and wonder why they’ve got a passion for God and a passion for life that you don’t. And a lot of
times that’s because you haven’t made your faith personal.
But if you have only 30 days to live you need to get down to business. You need to get personal
with Jesus. Jesus tells us how to do that in the book of Revelation.
Hear I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I
will come in and eat with them and they with me. Revelation 3:201
A few years back I was talking about this and I put a prayer up on the screen to help people take
this step and I was surprised how many people thanked me for it. So I’m going to do it again.
I’m going to pray this prayer and if you can agree with it I want you to pray along with me.
Jesus, I want this eternal life that John talked about. I’m tired of being religious. I’m
tired of playing spiritual games. I don’t want a passive superficial faith. I want to be
actively engaged in a relationship with you. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for
forgiving me. But I need more than your forgiveness, I need a different quality of life. So
I invite you to live inside of me. Come and fill me with your passion so I can live a no-
regret life. Amen
Is that really all there is to it? Well, the hard part is in coming to the place of faith and wanting
God in your life. But yes, it is that easy to establish the relationship. Like I said, it’s as easy as
1 It might sound odd in the 21
st century that Jesus wants to eat with us. But in his day sharing a meal was a sign of
covenant love. To share a meal meant that you were in a committed relationship where all was forgiven. And in
addition to this, sharing a meal with God was symbolic of the feast of God in heaven. So this short verse has much
more meaning that might appear at first take.
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asking someone on a date. God doesn’t play hard to get! He’s been waiting for you to ask him
into your life a long time.
With Jesus in your life, you can finally live passionately. And that passion will move you to do
some exciting things…things that will cause you to leave a legacy and not a string of regrets.
Christine will be talking more about this next week.
2. Love Completely - take action instead of being passive.
Next, if you have one month to live you’ll want to love completely. John tells us this about Jesus
in his last days…
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world
and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love… So he
got up …[and] then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel
he had around him. John 13:1, 4,5
When Jesus showed the full extent of his love he served others. Now, I don’t know what comes
to mind when you hear the word love. But in Jesus’ mind love wasn’t a fuzzy feeling with
violins playing in the background. Love meant taking action to benefit someone else at his
expense.
Is that what love means to you? Do you take action to benefit people at your expense? Is that
how others would describe your love? If not then now’s the time to start. You’ve got 30 days to
transform you idea of love into an action oriented love. Start making a list of people that you
want to show your love to in the next 30 days.
After last weeks sermon someone wrote me and said that they realized how they had drifted from
a friend and they were going to reestablish that friendship in the next 30 days. That’s great.
That’s love taking action. At the end of these six weeks I’m trusting that God is going to heal a
lot of relationships because people stopped talking about love and starting doing something
about it. We’ll be talking more about this in a couple weeks.
3. Learn Humbly – obey God in problems instead of complaining.
The next thing that we want to do with one month to live is to learn humbly. Have you ever
thought about how much time you’ve wasted through the years complaining about your
circumstances? You know, you’ve got it so bad. You always get the short end of the stick, blah,
blah, blah.
What if for the next thirty days, instead of complaining about your problems, you started looking
at your problems as a tool that God wants to use to teach you to be more like Jesus. That’s what
Jesus did. Listen to this…
…even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
Hebrews 5:8
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Jesus learned obedience through the things that he suffered. That means that Jesus obeyed God
even during the hard times…when times were tough. He submitted himself to the problems as an
opportunity to learn and grow in character.
Some of us think that we don’t need to obey God when times are tough. We think that problems
give us an excuse to ignore God because we’ve got it so bad. But Jesus didn’t think that. He did
just the opposite. He seized problems as a chance to obey God because he knew that his
obedience – in the face of problems - would bring God even more honor.
And we can do the same. That means that instead of ignoring God in the face of our problems we
put him first. There’s a great verse in the book of Proverbs that has always guided me during
hard times. It says…
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. In
everything you do put God first and he will direct you and crown your efforts with
success. Proverbs 3:6
If you want to overcome your problems put God first in everything you do. Don’t complain or
feel sorry for yourself or look for pity. Obey God and you’ll be amazed how your life straightens
out.
I like the little formula that Kerry Shook’s dad passed on to him about putting God first. It goes
like this…
Give God the first of everything you have…
The first day of the week
The first part of every day
The first portion of your income
The first consideration of every decision
So to give God the first day of the week means to give God your Sunday mornings. Don’t sleep
in. Don’t sit around and wait for your sports show to come on. Don’t watch some TV preacher
and think that it’s the same as church. Put God first by worshipping God with God’s family.
Second, give God the first part of every day. That means to take time to read some of the Bible
and pray. Talk to God about your day, about what you read in the Bible, about the people you
love and ask God to help you to obey him.
Next, give God the first portion of your income. The Bible tells us that when we don’t give back
to God that we are literally robbing from God. Well, we don’t want to rob God! God says,
everything you’ve got you got from him. And so when you get paid he wants you to give back
10% of your income (the Bible calls that tithing) to honor him for his generosity to you. What
really helps me here is the idea that God overpays me by 10% and all he’s asking me to do is
give it back. It’s like an integrity test. He wants to see what I’ll do. If he gives me $100 will I
give him back $10 or will I keep it for myself? And once you see it that way, tithing is easy.
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And finally, you want to give God the first consideration in every decision you make…
the big ones and the small ones.
If you make these four things non-negotiable – if you make them automatic – something you
don’t even think about - you’ll find success. That doesn’t mean you’ll be rich and famous and
problem-free but it means that you’ll be in the center of God’s will. And that’s a good place to
be. It’s much better to be in God’s will as you face your problems than to be out of God’s will
and facing problems!
4. Leave Boldly – leave a legacy, not a string of regrets.
In the final section of the book it tells us that with one month to live we should leave boldly.
Jesus didn’t run from his fate in Jerusalem. Luke tells us that…
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for
Jerusalem. Luke 9:51
Jesus went to Jerusalem determined to fulfill God’s call on his life. He wasn’t backing down. I
see the same determination in the apostle Paul at the end of his life…
As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my
death is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained
faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. 2 Timothy 2:6-8
The point here is that we weren’t made for this life. We were ultimately made for the next life.
This life is temporary. The next life is eternal. So you don’t want to go out with a whimper and
a gasp. Like they say in sports; you don’t want to leave anything on the bench. That means you
don’t hold anything back. You give it your all. You leave this life with a legacy and not regrets,
I.O.U.’s and excuses.
So, let me ask you…If you were to die today, what would be your legacy? What would people
say about you? Would they say that you died boldly? Or would they say that you never lived up
to your potential? They lost track of you and you just kind of faded away.
We’ve got a couple teams leaving for New Orleans here soon and there’s a guy down there that
is working hard at leaving boldly. His name is Craig Cuccia. He’s owns a fantastic little
restaurant called Café Reconcile where he trains people to learn job skills so they can work their
way out of poverty.
Craig was a successful contractor when his priest took him on a trip to Jamaica. When he saw all
the hurting people there he came back home and decided that life shouldn’t be all about him. It
should be about helping others.
In a recent article Craig said this about his journey…
After about 8 months of meeting with [my priest] and talking, we came to this reality that
he wanted to do something, and I was sort of searching for what my next level of call
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was, so I went to a neighborhood called Center City, which is where Café Reconcile is
now…it just became clear to me that Center City was where I needed to be. … we opened
a homeless center next to the church, and then he developed a thing called the Good
Shepherd Nativity School, as well as open Café Reconcile. That was a tremendous
experience for me. I say some days I’m just sitting back, watching God’s hands work. But
everyday you’ve got to show up and do what He’s asking you to do.
I try to stay tuned to the right way to go. The diving board of faith gets higher and the
dark hole you’ve got to dive into gets deeper, but you’ve just got to dive off and trust that
God catches you along the way…God can use anybody anywhere anyhow, and it’s up to
us to open the door and let him use us. Catholic Digest 2008
God can use anybody anywhere anyhow… I think that includes you. So what do you say? Are
you willing to open the door and let God use you? Are you going to leave this world boldly,
having done something to help others or will the rest of your days be about survival, taking care
of your own needs and building your own kingdom? I hope you want a legacy and if you stick
with me here over the next few weeks I’ll coach you on how to do that.
Just in case you are here for the first time, I want to invite you to join us in this series.
Hear the sermons.
Read the book.
Join a small group.
And let God change your life.
I’m not asking you to quit your job.
I’m not asking you to give away your money.
I’m not asking you to sell your house and move to Africa.
I’m just asking you to commit the next five weeks to living like they were your last weeks on
earth.
Some of us have trouble turning our lives over to God. That’s understandable. So this is the trial
size version. Turn your life over to God for five weeks. Dive into this thing for five weeks and
just see if you aren’t a better person after it’s all over. What have you got to lose? But just
think…when it’s all over, you might be a new person with a whole new life.
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One Month to Live
Part Three: Living Passionately
By Christine Ruth
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been asking, ―If you had 30 days to live, how would you choose
to live your life? What changes would you make? What things do you keep putting off assuming
that someday, your life is going to get less complicated or busy?‖ Over the next four weeks,
we’re going to be looking at for principles for living a ―No-Regrets Life.‖ Today, we’ll look at
the 1st Principle, which is how to live passionately.
What does it mean to live a passionate life? I looked up the word, ―passion‖ in the dictionary,
and it said, ―To have a strong feeling or emotion, to have enthusiasm about a certain activity or
subject.‖
When was the last time you feel like you were living life passionately? What memories or
thoughts come to mind? When I think of living life ―passionately,‖ I tend to think back to my
high school or college years.
Passion was what you had in high school when you were a musician or an athlete or an
artist, and you threw yourself into that thing you loved. Maybe you even fantasized
about becoming a Jimmy Hendrix, a Brett Farvre, or a Claude Monet someday.
Passion was what you had when you finally got out of school and decided to road trip
across the country with friends, or you took a job at a ski lodge in Colorado, just because
you could.
Passion was what you had that 1st time you fell in love, when you walked around all day
singing REO Speedwagon or Air Supply songs, because ―his kiss was on your list,‖ and
you couldn’t think straight enough to have anything else on your list!
Passion was what you had on those hot summer nights, when you’d lay under the canopy
of the stars and were completely overwhelmed by how beautiful and BIG it all was.
When was the last time you felt passionate? Like you were truly ALIVE?
Get Practical
Now, I don’t about you, but somehow, it got drilled into me that passion is something you’re
supposed to ―grow out‖ of. I mean, living passionately is fine when you’re in your twenties, but
then you’re supposed to grow up and face the ―real world,‖ right? Go out and make a living.
Pick a degree that makes you money. Buy a house and start saving for your retirement. You’re
supposed to give up your passion, and get practical, right?
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Because the ―real world‖ isn’t about passion and poetry. It’s about duty and discipline. It’s
about paying the bills, and finding a ―practical‖ guy with SHORT hair and a job, who’s probably
NOT going to buy you flowers once you have the ring. Your only hope in life is to save up
enough money to get cable T.V. or go on an occasional vacation. You give up your passion, and
get practical.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you began to internalize this message more and more, until you
felt your soul, your heart, kind of shrivel up. The more duties you embraced, the more routines
you settled into, the smaller your world got. You resigned yourself into thinking that that
loneliness you feel, it’s normal. That boredom you feel, it’s normal, and you walled up those old
passions up into some small corner of your brain.
The problem is, in our weak moments, this passionate part of us threatens to get loose, and some
of us panic when it does because we don’t know how to integrate it with the ―real life‖ we’re
living. So, we do one of two things:
1) Some of us try to stuff it down, somehow. We work more, make ourselves busier.
We volunteer for more things at church or sign our kids up for more activities after
school. We make ourselves as busy as possible and try to convince ourselves to be
grateful for the life that we have.
2) Others of us try to indulge that passion – maybe in secretive ways that seem pretty
harmless and allow us to cope. So we escape in romance novels, obsess on sports, eat too
much chocolate, or look at pornography. While these little indulgences never remove the
ache, they seem to provide some level of relief – and get us through our week.
But whether we try to fend off our passionate side through distraction or try to indulge it a little,
through little addictions, we still feel empty. So we walk around feeling restless at times, like
there must be something more…
Our Passionate God
But what if I told you that this passionate part of you that you try to stuff down, God put it there
for a reason! What if I told you that that the ache, that discontent you sometime feel, God placed
it there for a purpose?
Because you see, God is a passionate God – he’s the Author of passion, and He longs for us to be
truly alive! God knew that if he created people who – in the words of the Rolling Stones –
―can’t get no satisfaction,‖ they might be driven to keep seeking, keep searching, until they
ultimately found their satisfaction in Him.
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Because, you see, our problem isn’t that we need to ―give up‖ or ―grow out‖ of our passions.
Our challenge is to keep pursuing them until we find the only place where they can be ultimately
fulfilled – in the love and purposes of Jesus Christ. Listen to what C.S. Lewis wrote about this
life of passion.
―If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the
rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord find our desires not too
strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex
and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on
making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a
holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.‖ C. S. Lewis- the Weight of Glory.
Let me ask you, are you living the life you’d want if you had only 30 days to live, or are you
stuck ―making mud pies in the slum?‖
Our problem isn’t that we pursue passion and pleasure. It’s that we don’t seek it out with the
determination that we should. John Piper writes:
―Our mistake lies not in the intensity of our desire for happiness, but in the weakness of
it... We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a microwave
oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new computer. We have
accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has
shriveled.‖ (John Piper, Desiring God, 88)
I want ask you: Do you think you’ve maxed out your capacity for joy, or do you think God
might just have something more for you? Did you find yourself, last week, throwing up your
hands, saying, ―There’s just too much joy in my life. I can’t take it any more?‖ or might there be
room for some changes?
How to Live the Passionate Life
If you think you could handle a little more joy in your life, I want to talk about HOW to start
living this passionate life – how to access it. I’d want to read to you a parable, a story Jesus told,
in the Gospel of Matthew 13.
―The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it
again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.‖
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found
one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (44-46)
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Identify the treasure. Now – I want to ask a few questions here. First – what IS this ―kingdom of heaven,‖ this
―treasure in the field‖ that these guys are getting all worked up about? I think Paul explains the
treasure well in the book of Ephesians, chapter I.
―How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is!...Long before he laid down earth's
foundations, he had you in mind, had settled on you as the focus of his love, to be made
whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt {you} into his family
through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted {you} to enter
into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Okay, let’s pause here….So what is that treasure? First, it’s that God has set his sights on you
and wants to make you whole by his love. He doesn’t want you running around with this
dissatisfied, restless ache. So what he’s done is He’s adopted you into His ―happy family‖ – this
intimate community of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity – they’re all about
passion. They’re having this party of ―lavish gift-giving‖ up there, and they want you to be a
part of the celebration.
But there’s more to the treasure. Keep listening…
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah…we're a free people—free of penalties and
punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly
free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us
in on the plans he took such delight in making…Long before we first heard of him, he had
his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is
working out in everything and everyone.‖ (Ephesians 1:3-12 MSG)
So what’s the treasure? The treasure is understanding that God has taken care of everything we
need to allow us to be FREE. Jesus died on the cross so that everything we waste our time
worrying about: he anticipated it and has made provision for it – and paid all of our penalties on
the cross.
It’s like God sent you on this journey called life, but HE packed your bags so that you’d have
EVERYTHING you need to live a life of passion and freedom. Your freedom and joy doesn’t
depend on the actions of another person. It doesn’t depend on your life circumstances.
Everything you need, you’ve got it already in here.
Now, when GOD packs your bags, he doesn’t forget your toothbrush or your underwear. He
packed exactly what you need to handle the mess you’re in – to satisfy the loneliness you feel –
to calm the anxiety you feel. God designed you ―for glorious living,‖ and you have everything
you need. Can you believe that? That you have in your possession right now - everything you
need to live a passionate life? That’s the treasure that God is longing for you to discover!
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So – what’s the deal here– if God has packed our bags, and we have everything we need for
―glorious living,‖ then why do we have so much trouble accessing this? Why do we live like
we’re missing something, like the bag is just half full?
Well, there are a lot of reasons we struggle to access the treasure.
1) Sometimes it’s because of our stubbornness and pride. We think we can be self-
sufficient and can get through life on our own.
2) Sometimes, it’s that we haven’t sought out healing from the baggage of our past – so
we’re holding onto so many old bags, that we don’t have any space to take on another
one.
3) But a lot of times, it’s because of the simple fact that we don’t take the time to open
the bag and to examine its contents. We just don’t know what’s in here!
Richard Swenson wrote a book called, Margin, and he says that the #1 reason we Americans live
such fractured, unhappy lives is because we have no margin in our lives. Margin is ―the
difference between your load and your limit‖ - the difference between what you CAN take on
and the maximum amount that you can bear. The less margin you have, the more stress you
experience. Most of us have no margin in our lives at all. We try to operate at maximum
capacity all the time. We don’t get enough rest. We don’t eat right and exercise. We have no
margin in our finances, so we live paycheck to paycheck. When there’s no margin in our lives,
we’re always on the run. We never have time to unpack our bags!
If you want to live life passionately, you MUST create margin in your life. Why? It’s
interesting that in Jesus’ parable, the treasure is hidden. It’s not advertised on a billboard. It
doesn’t pop up on your e-mail screen. It’s not handed to you in the drive-through. Why?
Because God’s treasures most often reveal themselves when we’re doing things that have no
deadlines – that aren’t on our ―to do‖ list.- - while we’re wandering through a field or digging
through some pearls.
Jesus used the same Greek word for ―hidden‖ two chapters earlier in Matthew. He says, ―I
thank you that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and have revealed them
to children.‖ (11:25) There’s something about God’s treasure that kids can find it more easily
than adults. Why is that? Because kids take time to do the things that FILL their lives with
passion: 1) They take time to frolic through fields, 2) They read their favorite stories, and 3)
They curl up with the people they love. You have to leave chunks of your schedule open for
these spontaneous eruptions of passion! God’s treasures reveal themselves when we’re doing
these child-like things.
Respond Wholeheartedly.
Now, once you’ve created enough margin in your life so you have time to seek the treasure, what
next? How do you respond? Look at how the two men respond in the parable when they
discover their treasure. Do they have practical, measured responses? Do they say,
―Hmmm…This sounds too good to be true. I think I’ll cover this back up and return to my safe,
dependable routine?‖
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No! When they stumble across this treasure, they don’t give a rip about the things they used care
about: their house, their plasma TV, their pension plan, or their condo in the Dells. They
respond wholeheartedly and immediately sell it all! Because they don’t want one measly
molehill of the kingdom. They want the whole field! They want it so bad that it’s worth
sacrificing anything to get it!
You see, we’re often so half-hearted about the God thing. Maybe we’ve connected with God at a
poignant moment in our lives, but instead of sacrificing anything to pursue more of that treasure,
we try to eek by on visiting it or remembering it once in a while. Instead of buying the field, we
try to take little mini-trips there. We try to live half of our life with God and half of it, without
Him. ―I’ll connect with you on Sundays, or I’ll pray to you when I’m in crises, but I’m not going
to change anything about my lifestyle. I’m not going to ―bet the farm on it!‖‖
This is why even Christ-followers lose their passion in life. We try to exercise ―portion-control‖
as far as God is concerned: ―I’ll take a little piece of God here, and a little piece of God there, so
I can stay in control.‖ But God doesn’t work that way. You can’t just take one promise here,
one doctrine there, and then think you’re going to be satisfied. In fact, you may just be LESS
satisfied because you’ll feel like you have some ―faulty product‖: ―I believe in God, but I’m just
as stressed out as I always was!‖ Well, that’s because you got the sampler platter, when you
needed the whole enchilada! God wants to walk with you – to abide in you - every moment of
your day, so you’ve got to know his word and take time to pray.
Eliminate the Competition. Finally, if you want to live a passionate life, you need to eliminate ALL the competitors for God
in your life. You see, just like we need ALL of God, the ―whole enchilada‖, God demands ALL
of us. We can’t ―take on‖ a more passionate lifestyle, without eliminating something first. God
doesn’t like it when we ―fool around‖ with other gods.
You see, when we try to escape the ache in our lives - be it through work, through food, through
alcohol, through shopping, God sees those things as personal competition. God doesn’t call
them ―innocent distractions.‖ He calls them ―other lovers.‖ He doesn’t call them ―addictions.‖
He calls them ―adultery.‖ Listen to how God describes us in Jeremiah:
"How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
I have not run after other gods?‖…
Consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running here and there,
a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in {your} heat how can I restrain {you}?
Any males that pursue {you} need not tire themselves;
at mating time they’ll find {you}!
25 Do not run, as your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you say, 'It's no use!
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I love other gods,
and I must go after them.' (2:23-25)
When were YOU were last compared to a ―wild donkey in heat‖? If your husband hasn’t called
you that recently, God has! God’s saying, ―Will you STOP running to these other things you
keep trying to fill your life with? I love you, and I want to fulfill the passions I’ve placed in you.
Stick with me, and I’ll give you what you need!‖ Because God knows how quickly these lovers
lead us into bondage. Brent Curtis writes:
―Once we allow our heart to drink water from these ―less-than-eternal‖ wells with the
goal of finding the life we were made for, it overpowers our will, and becomes – as
Jonathan Edwards said, ―like a viper, hissing and spitting at God‖ and us if we try to
restrain it.‖ (The Sacred Romance, 133)
That jolt of pornography or the thrill of finding that shopping bargain deceives us into thinking,
―Oh…A sip of water in the dessert. I gotta have more of that!‖ Soon we’re right back to
―making mud pies in the slums‖ when God offers us ―infinite Joy.‖ We’ve got to eliminate the
competition.
Over the next three weeks, Remy and I are going to unpack more concrete ways for allowing
God to fulfill those passions – through infinite love, humble service, and connecting with God’s
purposes in our life. I hope you’ll come back and join us, because if you put into place the things
we’re going to be talking abut, I guarantee you’ll be living a more passionate life.
I want to close with a prayer: Lord, I thank you that you created me to be a passionate person.
All those memories and feelings I had as a child of leading a more passionate life, you put there
for a reason. You created hungers and thirsts in me that you wanted to be satisfied in you. I
confess that I have tried to dull that passion – to stuff it away through work, through busyness.
I’ve tried to indulge with things that don’t satisfy – whether it be through food, alcohol,
pornography or shopping. But God, you’re a jealous God, and you say you want ALL of me. I
don’t want to live a life of resignation. Unlock my passion, and show me how to have it fulfilled
in you. God, we pray for the offering that we’re about to receive. We want as many people as
possible, here in Menomonie and beyond, living passionate lives. Us this offering to break more
and more people free from the bondage with which they suffer. Make us free in you. Amen.
*Thank you to Brent Curtis and John Eldridge’s chapter on ―Less-Wild Lovers‖ in their book,
The Sacred Romance, for helping me articulate many of these concepts. This is a must-read
book!
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One Month to Live
Part Four: Love Completely
F. Remy Diederich
The premise of this series is very simple… What if you knew that you only had 30 days to live?
How would you change your life? I think that question alone is worth the price of the book
because it’s a huge reality check. If you know that you’d change your life with 30 days to live
then you have to ask yourself…why don’t I change my life now?
And the good news is…if you make the changes and die, you’ll die with no regrets. And if you
live longer than 30 days then you’ll be able to live with no regret. Either way you are a winner!
Let’s watch a short video to see how this series impacted a woman from Pastor Kerry’s church.
VIDEO- A single, divorced mom talks about how she has chosen to forgive he ex-husband and
savor the moments she has with her young daughter…eating with her, spending as little time at
work as possible and journaling thoughts to share with her in case she were to die prematurely.
Last week I raised the bar a little bit with the concept of having one month to live by assigning a
drop dead date of May 5th. For me, saying that we had one month to live was too vague. I
needed an actual date to help me not procrastinate so I set May 5th
as the end of the 30 days.
That’s the day after the last sermon in this series and it’s 37 days after we started the series so
you actually get seven days for free!
Well, today we are looking at how to love completely. And this might be the most practical
message of the series because it has to do with our relationships.
I think one of the best ways to get in touch with your relationships is to think about your funeral.
Imagine looking in on your funeral. Who’s there? Who chose to stay home? For those that
came, what are they saying about you? What are they thinking about you? Now, if you don’t
like what you see and hear when you imagine that, then do something about it…while there’s
still time!
You see, when you die and look in on your funeral I don’t think you are going to wish that you
spent more time at work or more time watching tv or hanging out at the bar or surfing the
internet and playing video games. My guess is that 90 % of your regrets are going to be about
your relationships. Isn’t that right? You’re going to wish that you had taken better care of your
relationships so that when you are gone people have good memories of you and not memories
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that are bitter or sad. So that’s why I want to talk about how you can bring closure to your
relationships before you die by loving completely.
Now, two weeks ago I mentioned that Jesus’ idea of love was taking action. I quoted these
verses from the book of John…
Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his
love. … so he … began to wash his disciples' feet… John 13 2-5
The full extent of his love was expressed not in words but in action…he washed feet. That’s not
very exciting. Not very dramatic. But that’s how Jesus defines love. And that’s why I defined
love as - serving others at your own expense. You see, love to Jesus wasn’t a warm and fuzzy
feeling. It manifested itself by doing something that cost him something. Like it says in the book
of Romans…
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us. Romans 5:8
So love is something that is demonstrated and not just talked about. In the book of John it tells
us that…
God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son. John 3:16
God’s love moved him to take action…to give his Son. You see, it’s action that convinces us
that his love is sincere. Paul told the Philippian church how Jesus loved completely…
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, … he humbled himself and became obedient to death-
- even death on a cross! Philippians 2:5-8
Jesus showed us his love by serving us at his own expense and that’s how God wants us to love
people. He wants us to serve them at our expense. Not at our convenience but at our expense.
That’s why it requires humility because it requires that we place the desires of other people
ahead of our personal desires.
So my point here is that if you want to end your life with no regrets, then you want to love the
people in your life completely during your final days. Maybe you’ve done a terrible job of it so
far. Maybe you’ve been the most self-centered, self-indulgent couch potato on the planet up
until today - but that can change. With God’s help, with his Spirit living inside of you - you can
humble yourself and start demonstrating your love to people in tangible ways…ways that will
make you proud at your funeral and not filled with regret.
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So let’s consider how to do that. I want us to think in terms of John 3:16 today. I just read it. It
says…God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son. So think of this sentence.
I so love (person) that I will (do something for them).
I want to give you seven things to consider doing between now and May 5th
.
1. I so love (?) that I will accept them unconditionally. The Bible says…
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…Romans 15:7
If you are a parent you might say… I so love my child that I will accept them unconditionally.
Parents, do your kids feel unconditionally accepted by you or do they live with a sense that they
need to jump through hoops before you will truly love them? If your kids were involved in a
lifestyle that they know you disapprove of would they feel safe talking to you about it? Or,
would they hold that part of themselves back for fear of being rejected?
Or you might turn that around. How many of us can say about our parents…I so love my parents
that I accept them unconditionally? Or do we have hoops that our parents have to jump through
for us?
If you had 30-days to live wouldn’t it be nice to know that the people closest to you felt accepted
by you? That doesn’t mean that you have to approve of everything they do. It means that you
accept them IN SPITE of what they do. I want to encourage you to take this month to show
acceptance to people just like Jesus accepted you.
2. I so love (?) that I will seek to understand them. The Bible says…
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…James 1:19
It’s one thing to show acceptance…but if you can understand someone it’s even better. Again, to
understand someone doesn’t mean that you approve of their behavior. It simply means that you
are willing to sit down and listen to them and see life from their perspective. Think about the
people in your life that would love to have you understand them. What a great gift to give them
before you die.
Wouldn’t it be great to have your family and friends say that you didn’t always agree with them
but you always accepted them for who they were and really tried to understand them?
3. I so love (blank) that I will take time for small things with them. The Bible says…
Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house… Matthew 9:10
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That is such a simple thing that Jesus did. I mean, he was God and he valued Matthew enough to
sit down and eat a meal with him. Jesus knew that eating a meal with someone has a powerful
bonding effect.
But do you know what I hear back all the time from people? That families are too fragmented
and too busy to eat together. People might make their own meals and one eats in their bedroom
while the other one eats in the living room watching television. That just amazes me. I’m from
the old school where everyone made it home at night to eat dinner together. And I know first
hand that that’s a good thing. Meal time was one of the best things about my family.
But if you aren’t eating dinner as a family, let me tell you, that’s a habit that you need to change.
That’s something that you’ll live to regret. Go home today and eat a meal together in the same
room at the same table without the television and talk to each other!
Eating together is just one of the small things you can do to show your love. So, take time to
walk with those you love. Take time to pray with them. That’s another thing that amazes me.
When I came to Christ I was taught to pray with people and so I always have. I pray with my
wife and kids, I pray with my friends and I pray in small groups. But so many Christians don’t
do that. I don’t understand why not. That’s one of the little things that creates intimacy in
relationships. So learn how to pray with others.
And another little thing you can do is have fun with those you love and learn to talk to each
other. I was talking to a friend recently about getting a hot tub. His name is Larry. I told Larry
that hot tubs seem like a big waste of money. And he agreed. He said his wife and kids begged
him for a hot tub for years and he wouldn’t do it. Then one day a friend of his told him that he
has the best conversations with his teenagers in his hot tub. And Larry said that settled it for
him. To his families amazement he went right out and bought a hot tub and he said it was the
best decision of his life. Now he’s having the best conversations of his life with his teenagers.
When Larry dies, his kids are going to remember sitting around the hot tub with dad. Now, my
point isn’t to buy a hot tub, okay! The point is; take time to do the little things that are
memorable whether that’s eating dinner together, taking walks together or sitting in the hot tub
together.
4. I so love (blank) that I will thank them for helping/guiding/loving/inspiring me.
I have not stopped giving thanks for you… Ephesians 1:6
Has anyone here been thanked too much this week? Has anyone been given too much
appreciation this week? Are you feeling like if one more person stops to thank you and show
you appreciation you are going to punch them in the nose! No, that’s one thing that we never get
enough of.
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You know, we all wonder if we’ve made a difference in anyone’s life. And the only way we’ll
know is if someone tells us. So who can you thank for making a difference in your life?
Years ago a friend of mine and I were at church and the pastor talked about thanking the person
who either led you to Christ or people who have helped you grow in Christ. We both went home
and not knowing it, wrote a note of thanks to a mentor that we had in common. And that guy
was so touched to receive two letters the same week thanking him for his influence. He was a
staff worker for a campus ministry (Inter-Varsity). He invested his life in college students every
day and my guess is that very few of us ever stopped to thank him for what he was doing with
his life.
You know, if you die before you give away your thanks you’ll take that thanks to the grave. And
that’s a shame because that person will never hear the words of thanks that they should have
heard. And they’ll miss the joy that only comes from being appreciated.
So before May 5th
write a few words of thanks and send them off. Thank the person that told
you about Jesus. I’m going to see my sister this week and she regularly thanks be for helping her
connect with Jesus. I was buying a golf club a few years ago and she jumped in and bought it for
me. I said, ―What are you doing that for?‖ And she said, ―I’m just so thankful for you helping
me connect with Jesus. It’s changed my life and I want you to know that.‖
Thank the teachers that made a difference in your life or the life of your children. I’d love to
hear that some of our volunteers in Children’s Ministry got notes of thanks. Brenda Brewer, the
director, does a great job of thanking her volunteers but wouldn’t it be great for parents to stop in
and thank them? Just say, ―Hey, thanks for donating your time so generously. It really makes a
difference in my child.‖ They don’t volunteer to be thanked but it sure feels good to be thanked.
Or thank some of the other folks around here. I had someone email me and tell me how much
they liked that ―guy‖ who plays the drums and sings. They said his singing always ministers to
them.
Or thank the boss that helped you get to where you are today. But whatever you do, don’t leave
any thanks in your heart. Make sure you give it all away before you die.
5. I so love (?) that I will forgive them for offending me.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
Just like thanks you don’t want to take your forgiveness to the grave. That’s a gift that you want
to make sure that you give away before you die otherwise the person will never get it.
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You see, unforgiveness is a form of revenge. It’s payback. And we are called to forgive not pay
back. Do you realize how much energy revenge drains from you emotionally? And do you
realize that revenge undermines all of your relationships, including your relationship with God?
And so, with only 30 days to live, why would you want to hold any unforgiveness in your heart?
Let it go.
6. I so love (blank) that I will confess my faults and ask their forgiveness
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. James 5:16
I like that verse because it puts a face on confession. You know, so often people want to confess
their fault to God and call it good. Or they confess their fault to a pastor or a counselor, which is
fine, but our confession isn’t complete until we confess our fault to the person that we offended.
Sometimes that person is God. But often times our actions offend both God and another person.
And so if you want to leave a good taste in people’s mouth after you are gone you want to
confess your faults and ask for them to forgive you. You don’t want to die owing anyone
anything…especially an apology. So don’t take your apology to the grave. Sit down with the
people you’ve offended and come clean.
7. I so love (?) that I will invest my time, talent and money in their life.
For I know your eagerness to help …you… were ready to give; and your
enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 2 Corinthians 9:2
The idea here is that rather than selfishly using your last 30 days for yourself, why not invest
your time, talent and money in someone else? By investing in another life you can leave a
legacy that you are proud of instead of leaving a string of regrets.
And I’m not just talking about giving an inheritance to your children. I’m talking about using
your last days to invest in things that will change lives. Spend your money on ministries that are
working hard to bring God’s kingdom into this world.
But it’s not just money. I’m talking about investing your time and talent. Remember that verse
that I read at the beginning about Jesus? It said that he humbled himself and became a servant.
That’s a model for us…that we pour out our life for others right up until the end. I don’t see
anywhere in the Bible where we are supposed to retire and spend all of our earnings on an RV to
travel the country.
So, if service hasn’t defined your life up until now at least let it define how you spend your last
month on earth. Experience what it feels like to pour yourself out for someone else. Help out in
children’s ministry. Help out in the youth ministry. Help out with our set up crews on Sunday.
Help out in New Orleans. Help out with the Food Pantry. There are hundreds of opportunities to
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invest your life. That’s why we are featuring the ―Stories of Great Adventures‖ next Sunday
night (April 20th
). We have so many people out there serving we want to give them a chance to
tell their stories and hopefully encourage you to serve as well. And if you live more than a month
you will have developed a habit that will bring you an incredible amount of joy.
It’s sad to think how many people live their entire life search for joy…buying more and more
toys, seeking the ultimate experience, only to be continually disappointed. But they are often
shocked to learn that joy isn’t found in serving themselves but in serving others. So it’s never to
late to serve.
Now, before I close here, I have one word of caution. I can see how some people might use this
idea of One Month to Live to go around and drop Gospel bombs on people. Do you know what I
mean by that?… they tell people about this series and how we are acting like May 5th
is our drop
dead date and they use it as an excuse to corner people and try to get them to become Christians.
Be really careful about that.
God might give some of us the perfect opportunity over the next few weeks to share our faith
appropriately, but I just don’t want our friends and families to think that this One Month to Live
series is a thinly veiled excuse to evangelize them. If people think that you are using this to be
self-serving or underhanded in any way it will backfire and instead of improving your
relationships it could really sour them.
But, with that caution aside, I’m excited at what could happen if we actually do these things. I’m
going to follow this list. But what really excites me is to think that 100 others or maybe 200 or
300 of us here might do the same. Can you imagine the impact this could have on us
corporately? In the old days they’d call that a ―revival‖, right? People getting serious about God
and changing their lives. That’s a revival.
That’s what happens when a group of people determine in their hearts to love others
completely…not SOME day…but TODAY. So, if you want a no-regret life I hope you will do
these things. Let’s close with another story of someone who made these changes in their life.
Video- A father tells of how he showed his love by surprising his son at school with a Happy
Meal, spending more time with his wife and reconciling with his father. He said that he was
always upset with his father for not being the dad he wanted him to be but then it dawned on him
that maybe he wasn’t the son that he could be. With that simple change of perspective he was
able to reconcile with his father and finally get the relationship with him that he always wanted.
I’m going to pray for us in just a minute and then we’ll receive an offering. I just want to
mention that if you don’t have a book or you have a book but you are getting behind in the
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reading… I summarize the daily readings and post them on the church website. Just go to the
homepage (www.cedarbrookchurch.net) where there’s a picture of me. And by it it says ―Read
Remy’s Blog‖. Click on it and you’ll get the summaries.
Now, like the powerpoint says… the offering is a time for us to worship God with our finances.
And it’s a time for people who call Cedarbrook their church to support what God is doing. But if
you are just visiting with us please don’t feel obligated to participate.
Prayer:
Father, you teach us to number our days. And so we don’t want to take one day or even one
second for granted. We want to end our days with a shout of victory and not a whimper of
regret. So help us to seize the next few weeks to get down to business. Help us put our faith into
action. Show us the people you want us to love completely and give us the courage we need to
do it. Might our obedience in these things bring you honor and might it transform our lives.
Amen.
One Month to Live
Part Five: Learn Humbly
By Remy Diederich
VIDEO: A middle aged couple talks about the changes they went through when they learned
that the husband had cancer. He said that cancer forces you into a room full of pictures and you
have to deal with those pictures. He also talked about regretting that he didn’t treat his wife
better. She noted that he’s not as preoccupied with his job now and spends more time with the
family.
We’ve been wrestling with the question…What would I do if I had one month to live? It’s like
this man said, facing death forces you into a room to look at a number of pictures on the wall and
ask the question; How am I doing? And then…How should I change?
Today is the fourth message in a six part series called One Month to Live: 30 days to a No
Regret Life. So far we’ve looked at living passionately, loving completely and now today we are
going to take a look at learning humbly.
You know, many people have stopped and thanked me for this series. God seems to be using it to
stir up and rekindle their faith in very practical ways. But while many of us are engaged in this
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series, my guess is that some of us aren’t. I don’t know this for a fact but my guess is that some
of you are unmoved by this series and the reasoning goes something like this…
You are in a hard spot…either you put yourself there with your own bad choices or life put you
there through bad breaks. Maybe it was the economy or your health – like this guy with cancer -
or maybe someone betrayed you. But either way your situation makes you feel hopeless…like
your life isn’t worth anything … like you’ll never make a difference.
And so, whether you have 30 days to live or 30 years to live, you don’t really care. It doesn’t
matter. You don’t think you can change and even if you could change you still don’t think it
would make any difference. And the truth is you fight the temptation to give up every day.
That’s pretty bleak but - for some of you – if you are honest – it’s true.
Well, if that’s how you feel - if you have given up or you are tempted to give up today then I’m
glad you are here. I want to encourage you to get back in the game because with God, failure is
never final. God can still use you. And life can be good again. The only way you lose is when
you give up.
I think an interesting comparison to make in the Bible regarding giving up is between Peter and
Judas. Peter and Judas both betrayed Jesus. They both turned their back on him. But Judas gave
up on himself while Peter didn’t. Judas ended his life while Peter restarted his life and – as a
result - God used him to transform the lives of thousands of people. Isn’t that interesting?
And what’s also interesting is that Peter turned his life around in about 30 days. He went from
goat to hero in about a 30 day time span so he’s a great model for our 30 Day challenge. So let’s
take a deeper look at Peter’s story.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve read much about Peter but he’s quite the piece of work. If you read
through what the Bible has to say about him you come to learn that he’s one of those guys who
tends to fire the gun before he aims it. Or, gets out of the car before he puts it in park. He’s just a
little impulsive.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all introduce Peter in the story as being a Zealot. Now, they weren’t
describing his personality. Zealots were a political group of revolutionaries. They were radical
religious fundamentalists who were willing to use violence to achieve their political goals.
And so when Jesus came on the scene and Peter recognized Jesus to be the Messiah - he was
excited! Peter thought…here’s the guy who is going to make my dreams come true. Here’s the
guy that is going to champion the revolution’s agenda. I’m sure most politicians were too wishy
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washy for Peter. But he could see that Jesus was the real deal. Jesus was a radical just like he
was.
So Peter hooked his wagon to Jesus and intended on riding his way into power. And that’s why
he was so committed to Jesus. He promised Jesus…
Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." Even if I have to die with you, I will never
disown you." …Matthew 26:33,35
But when Jesus started to hint that he wasn’t the conquering king that Peter was looking for Peter
wouldn’t hear of it. The Bible tells us…
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen
to you!" Matthew 16:22
What was only implied at first became evident in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the soldiers
came to arrest Jesus Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of one of the guards. His
attitude was, ―Let the revolution begin!‖ But to his shock, Jesus healed the man and then
surrendered.
Can you imagine how disillusioned Peter must have felt? It must have been a nightmare. The
Bible says that…
Peter followed him [Jesus] at a distance, …
So here’s this revolutionary – the one who used to like the lead the crowd - hanging at the back
of the pack not quite sure what to do with Jesus. Maybe you’ve been disillusioned like that when
Jesus didn’t fulfill your agenda. Peter’s going back and forth in his mind…should he stick with
Jesus? Should he abandon ship? But then his decision is forced out of him when people accused
him of being with Jesus. And he flat out denied it.
Peter spoke out of the abundance of his heart. His words revealed how he really felt and then …
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had
spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went
outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:56-62
Jesus looked straight at him and Peter felt exposed. He was a failure and he knew it. Maybe
that’s where you are. Maybe you’ve failed Jesus. Or maybe you feel like he’s failed you. But
either way, you’ve given up… maybe not outwardly. Outwardly you are still going through the
motions but inwardly you’ve checked out.
It’s only a matter of time before you drift away and drop off the radar spiritually. That’s what
most people do. But not Peter.
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Peter chose to learn humbly. He knew something about the restoring power of Jesus that caused
him to say something like…
Okay. I messed up. I was wrong. I did something terrible. But Jesus forgives me, my
fellow disciples forgive me and so I’m going to learn from my mistake and make the
most of my life. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to start over…and maybe…just
maybe…I can contribute to this new movement in some way.
It was Peter’s ability to learn humbly from his mistake that got him back in the game, helped him
to regain his place of leadership and make a significant contribution to the church. So let’s take
a look at what it means to learn humbly. I think it involves several things.
1. To learn humbly means to acknowledge your situation.
That means if you did something wrong, admit it. Look in the mirror and tell yourself…I had an
affair. I relapsed. I lied. I cheated. I compromised my morals. Proverbs tells us…
If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. If you confess and reject them, you will receive
mercy. Proverbs 28:13
If something was done to you, admit that. I’m divorced. I got cancer. I was betrayed. You see,
humility starts by being willing to honestly acknowledge your situation. You can’t learn anything
if you aren’t willing to first face reality.
2. To learn humbly means to take responsibility for your situation.
That’s what Peter did. The Bible tells us that he wept bitterly after betraying Jesus but after that
he seems to get right back into the flow of things. We don’t see him making excuses for what he
did or covering it up with a string of lies or running away. He owned his failure and got right
back to work.
So, with Peter as our model – when life hits you hard - don’t let it paralyze you. Don’t sit around
and feel sorry for yourself. Don’t sit and wait for someone to swoop in and rescue you. If you
want to turn your life around - dust yourself off, face the facts…and tell God that you are willing
to do whatever it takes to get your life back on track.
3. To learn humbly means to let God use your situation to teach you.
There’s something about pain that is a great teacher. Pain is what humbles us and gets us to
admit that we aren’t as smart as we think we are. That’s why in the story of Job, Job told God…
I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me… I take back
everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. Job 42: 3,6
When Jesus looked at Peter, Peter immediately saw his dark side. At first Peter felt betrayed by
Jesus but then he realized that he was the betrayer. And so suddenly he was open to Jesus’
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teaching in a way that he had never been open before. And he learned things about himself that
he was never able to see before.
You see, you can fight against the pain of your situation or complain about it or deny it or … you
can open your heart and learn from it. You can spend your life telling your sob story – about all
the stupid things you did as a way of ―doing penance‖ or about all the bad breaks you got –
hoping to get some sympathy and pity. Or you can pray what David prayed…
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths… Psalm 25:4
And the amazing thing is…when you pray that - God will teach you and – if you embrace his
teaching - that truth will radically change you. It will set you free.
4. To learn humbly means to see the gain and not the loss of your situation.
What I mean is that we need to reframe how we view our bad experiences in life. Too many of
us drag behind us this cart of problems. Painful life experiences. And we feel obligated to
explain it, to justify it, to blame people for it or to complain about it. Because to us, this cart is
just one huge pile of mistakes and we just don’t know what to do with it but we are convinced
that it disqualifies us.
It’s like a 1000 pound weight that we drag around behind us. And we use it to convince both
ourselves and others not to expect too much from us… after all, we’ve got this baggage. If you
had this baggage you’d understand. But that’s only one way to look at painful life experiences.
There’s another way to look at it. You can use your past experience as a resource.
Let me give you an example. I was with a couple pastor friends the other day and coincidentally
they both have a child with special needs. One has Rhett’s Syndrome and the other has Down’s
Syndrome…conditions that have dramatically altered their life experience. But neither one of
them treated it like it was some big loss. Some big inconvenience. Neither one looked for
sympathy. It was just a part of their life.
As I listened to them I thought,
These guys are great. So many people would feel sorry for themselves. So many people would
use this as an excuse to under-perform in life - to get a ―free-pass‖ from being responsible
contributing members of their community. But they don’t see their situation as a loss. They see
it as adding to their lives.
You see, they understand a side to life that most people don’t. And because of their perspective
they don’t drag behind them a cart full of woes. They pull behind them a tremendous resource to
draw upon to help them relate to other people in need.
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They understand pain and suffering and hardship and compassion in a way that most of us can’t
imagine. And so when they speak on these things, they speak with an incredible amount of
authority and credibility. And as a result, God is doing a wonderful work of healing in both of
their churches.
And that’s what I want us all to see about the pain in our lives. I don’t care if you brought it
upon yourself by foolish living or if someone afflicted you with it unfairly. The point is…no
matter what your situation…God can use your pain for good. I’m sure Peter preached with much
greater insight into the human condition because of his own sin.
And so, how do you see your life experience? Is it a burden, an embarrassment or a resource? A
source of regret and lament or a source of inspiration. It’s up to you. But how you see it will
determine if you are an overcomer in this world or merely overcome by the world.
5. To learn humbly means to let go of your guilt.
I have talked to so many people who say they have trouble forgiving themselves. They say they
know God forgives them. But they can’t forgive themselves. I’ve never had a good answer for
that.
But then one day I was talking to a young girl who said she couldn’t forgive herself for her past
and I said…tell me, if you could forgive yourself, how would that change your life?
I think I caught her by surprise. She had never thought about that before. And when she thought
about it for a second she said…
I think if I could forgive myself that I’d have to change how I’m living because I’ve always used
my guilt as an excuse to not change.
And then I said, How do you feel about that? And she said…
Not so good. I’m afraid I won’t be able to change. It’s easier to feel guilty and stay the same than
to forgive myself and change.
That was a revelation to her. She realized that the issue really wasn’t about forgiving herself.
The issue was fear of change. It was her fear of change that kept her clinging to guilt. That was
her excuse. And it worked because people felt sorry for her and grew to not expect anything from
her.
I wonder if that’s your excuse. Are you using guilt over the past to justify not changing? That’s
what I like about Peter. He didn’t use his past as an excuse. He had a better excuse than
anyone… I mean, he betrayed the Messiah. It doesn’t get much worse than that. But Peter
released his guilt and got right back to following Jesus.
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6. To learn humbly means rely on God’s strength.
Peter was so impetuous - so quick to act on his own power that it got him into trouble. Maybe
you are like that.
Maybe you are quick to trust in yourself or other people before you trust in God. Maybe you
trust in your talent or your career or your money. But trusting in anyone or anything but God will
always come around to bite you.
For example, when Peter trusted in the revolution and the revolution failed - he failed. That
wouldn’t have happened if he was trusting in God’s strength. David prayed…
I will sing of your strength…; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Psalm
59:16
7. To learn humbly means to pursue God’s path.
This is where a lot of us fail. We do the six things I mentioned here but when we start to walk
down God’s path we get scared. We get scared that following God’s path will be boring or
restrictive or totally contrary to who we are or what we like.
What I’m talking about here is trust. We have trouble trusting that God’s path is good for us.
That’s understandable. You can’t trust someone or something you don’t know. So how do you
develop trust? You develop it over time through experience, right?
First you observe and then you test and then finally you trust. If I see a foot bridge over a
canyon I’m probably not going to run over it the minute I see it. Why? Because I don’t trust it at
first. Before I’m willing to risk my life I’m going to first watch others walk over it and then I’m
going to slowly test it out before I proceed across the bridge. After a few times across I might be
so confident that I run across the bridge.
It’s the same in building trust with God. First you spend time observing others encounter God.
You can do that by reading the Bible or reading books about people who have walked with God
or talk to people here that are close to God. And then you take small steps of faith until you build
up your confidence to take big steps of faith. It’s a process. I like what it says in Psalm 119…
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Psalm 119:32.
What a great picture of someone trusting God. He recklessly abandons himself to God’s path
because he knows that he can trust God. The Bible also tells us…
Happy is the person who trusts the Lord, who doesn't turn to those who are proud or to those
who worship false gods. Psalm 40:4
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Well, Peter learned humbly from his pain and it helped him get back on track with Jesus. And he
did this all in less than a month’s time. Imagine that. And then soon after he was restored Peter
stood up in a crowd and preached his first sermon. The Bible tells us that 3000 people were
joined to the church that day. A few days later he preached his second sermon and 5000 more
people were added. And he went on to be a great leader in the early church. I bet he was glad that
he didn’t give up and chose to learn from his mistakes rather than just quit.
So, no matter what your situation is today I want to tell you…don’t give up. Don’t quit. Failure
isn’t final! God can turn your life around…even in 30 days, if you let him. There’s still time to
make your mark in this world.
Prayer: Father…help us to not give up. Breathe hope into us right now by the power of your
Spirit.. Help us to fully engage…not because we have so much to offer but because you have so
much to offer through us. Thank you for your forgiveness. Help us to release our guilt and run
in the path of your commands. God, use us to make a difference even if we only have 30 days to
live. Amen.
One Month to Live
Part Five: Leaving Boldly: Leaving a Legacy that Lasts
By Pastor Christine Ruth
So far, we’ve looked at 3 Principles for living a ―No Regrets‖ Life: 1) Living Passionately, 2)
Loving Completely, and 3) Learning Humbly. Today, we’re going to look at principle 4)
Leaving Boldly – Leaving a Spiritual Legacy.‖
Over the past few weeks, Remy has invited us to assign ourselves a drop-dead date as a way of
thinking about how we’d live our lives differently if we had only 30 days to live.
Today, I want you to imagine your eulogy – the ―ham-bun‖ luncheon that follows your funeral.
What are you hoping people will be saying about you? What words will they use to describe
your life? Today, I want to talk about the fact that God created you with a certain legacy that he
wants you to leave. Now – usually when we think about leaving a legacy, we think about
leaving money or property to the next generation. But today, I want to talk about the kind of
legacy that Jesus created you and I to leave: a spiritual legacy of the people among whom you
shared the life-changing love of God.
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God Created You to Leave a Legacy
Because, you see, if there’s one thing that I’m hoping you’ve gotten out of this series, it’s that we
were created for a lot more than a house, a dog, 2.5 children, and a job that pays the bills. You
were created with heavenly purposes in mind. When God, the Master Artist, was lovingly
forming you and shaping you in your mother’s womb, he wasn’t thinking: ―Well – I hope this
finds a nice shelf to sit on.‖ or ―I hope it can make it through life without breaking.‖ No! He
wanted you to fulfill the purpose for which you were created.
You see, God had a specific legacy He had in mind for you to leave when he created you. Paul
says in Ephesians: ―For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do!‖ He’s saying that God placed you on this earth for
a reason – with a specific list of tasks he’s equipped you to do.
Paul thought about the legacy God called us to leave like a construction project that we’re all
supposed to be working on. He says in I Corinthians 3:9-10:
―For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God
has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on
it.‖
So Paul’s saying that your lives are like a building. Someone helped you lay the foundation by
telling you about Jesus, but now – we’re called to build on it.
But then, Paul continues by warning us that our building is going to be inspected:
But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other
than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation
using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it
is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test
the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
1 Corinthians 3:11-13
So we’re all engaged in this building project, but when it comes to building your house, you have
some decisions to make.
What’s Your Foundation?
First off, you have to decide on what foundation you’re going to build. When I think of a
foundation, I always think of a character from the ―Fantastic Four‖ – the Silver Surfer. Have any
of you seen that movie? You see, the ―silver surfer‖ was this amazing guy who can surf in the
air – as long as he’s attached to his surfboard. His surfboard was his power source, and if
someone wants to render this guy powerless, all they have to do is separate him from his board!
Whenever we talk about ―foundation‖ - the question is: what’s going to give me my power, my
support, my ability to stay planted? I can choose to stand on my own two feet – operating out of
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my own willpower, resources, and skills – or I can choose to allow God to be the, power, the
stability, the foundation of my legacy.
Think of your foundation as your power source. I can say, ―Yes. I like this ―One Month to
Live‖ stuff. I’m resolving to go out and love people and lose weight and be a better parent and
spouse,‖ but you see, if I leave my foundation, and start trying to walk out on my own two feet –
the life changes I’ve set out to make won’t last.
You see, if I decide to make all these ―30-Days to Live‖ resolutions and to try to do them by my
own effort, I won’t NEED thirty days to live. I’ll be burnt out by day two. If I’m not secured to
my foundation – by connecting with God through his Word, I’m going to fail. I have TRIED to
this stuff on my own effort – to be passionate and loving and humble, but 3 coffees into my
morning, I’m already burnt out! It feels like another burden, and I quit. I’m just too tired.
But if I plant myself on the foundation of Jesus Christ – He produces in me all the passion, love,
and humility I could ever need! God’s love spills out from me naturally, because I’m firmly
planted to my Source. If you want to leave a legacy, you’ve got to stick to your foundation.
What are your materials?
Once you’re building on the right foundation, now you have to decide how to build - what
building materials to use. When it comes to finding building materials that are going to last –
Jesus insists that we only have one option. Listen to what he says in Matthew 7: 21-23:
"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' isn't going to get you anywhere with
me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills…
―The words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to
your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these
words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain
poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the
rock.
"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you
are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in
and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." (MSG)
Jesus is saying that once you’ve decided to build on him, you’ve got to follow HIS blueprints. If
you want to leave a legacy that lasts, you have to follow the Architect’s plans! Who cares how
many Bible studies you go, if you’re not building your life on His words?
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Your Legacy
So – if we want to leave a lasting legacy, we need to …
1) Plant ourselves on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and
2) Follow the Architect’s blueprints by being obedient to His words.
But now – I want to get really practical. How do we figure out what legacy we’re supposed to be
leaving leave? How are we supposed to know what ―good works‖ God’s prepared for us to do?
Find it
One of the easiest ways to find out what kind of legacy God has created you to leave is to pay
attention to something you probably don’t think much about: ―What makes you mad? What
issue – every time you think about it, makes your blood boil? In what situations does your blood
pressure automatically rise? We often think of being angry as a negative thing – but God often
gives us our anger, and listening to it helps us locate our legacy.
Bill Hybels, the head pastor at Willow Creek, recently wrote a book I love called ―Holy
Discontent.‖ (Check it out at Cedarbooks!) Bill argues that when God was forming your
personality, weaving together your DNA, He placed in you this ―spark of anger‖ that tends to
ignite in certain situations.
You see, when God looks down at the world he’s created, there are things that make Him angry.
When He sees a child being abused, or a family that has no access to food, or church that’s
crushing people with legalism, God gets angry. So when He created you in His image, He
placed in you a spark of ―Holy Anger‖ that reflects His own.
That means that whenever you witness a certain injustice or hear about a problem, this trigger
gets tripped in you and you sort of spontaneously combust. People around you might be
shrugging their shoulders, ―Whatever!‖, but you become incensed. Something inside you says,
―This is wrong. It must stop!‖
Bill Hybels called this the ―Popeye Principle.‖ Do any of you remember the show, ―Popeye?‖ –
the man who inspired an entire generation to eat spinach? Well, Popeye was a Sailor Man (go
ahead and sing it…), and he was madly in love with his girlfriend, Olive Oyl. Normally, Popeye
was a pretty laid back guy, but every once in a while, his nemesis, Brutus, would push things too
far with Popeye’s ―goil,‖ and Popeye would blow a gasket. His pulse would race, his blood
pressure would skyrocket, and he’d yell: ―That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands it no more!‖
Then, he’d rip open a can of spinach, gulp it down, and this stream of supernatural strength
would flow into his body – turning Popeye into this unstoppable force for good.
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Well – Hybels argues that God has buried in every one of us that same sort of ―holy
indignation‖ where we say, ―That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands it no more!‖ A certain
problem or injustice makes your blood boil, and you feel you have to act.
Bill wanted to see how widespread this ―Popeye Principle‖ was, so he started surveying the
volunteers at his church. He found that - whether they were children’s ministry workers or
landscape volunteers – almost every one of them was able to identify a ―Popeye Moment‖ that
had propelled them to volunteer in the ministry they served.
Their ―Popeye Moments‖ ranged the gamut:
• A businessman visited a 3rd world country filled with starving kids, and came back with
a fire in his gut to effect change.
• A young mom battled through the pain of having lost a baby, and resurfaced with a
determination to minister to other grieving women.
• A newly married couple watched the news, and heard about a country struggling under a
corrupt political regime. They began advocating for individual rights in their sphere of
influence.
These volunteers discovered the nature of their spiritual legacy when they got stirred up by the
same thing that stirs up the heart of their Creator. Some source of frustration fueled this raging-
fire within their souls.
Have you had a ―Popeye Moment?‖ Mine happened in 8th grade. I was sitting in something my
parents forced me to go to called ―confirmation class.‖ I was listening to this ancient pastor
blather on in a completely monotone voice about some church doctrine we had to memorize, and
I felt like I got flooded with rage! I had been lucky enough to have been raised by parents who
really lived out their faith by opening their hearts and lives to people in need, but this pastor was
making it seem like the life of faith was about memorizing church doctrines.
Here, this man had this incredible opportunity to be ministering to my peers – some of whom
were already having sex, doing drugs – one had even attempted suicide. Everyone in the room
knew it – but HE was clueless! How often does a pastor have a chance to get at 15 8th graders?
How could he make Jesus seem so boring, so irrelevant, so dead? This rage welled within me,
and I thought: ―That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands it no more!‖ So I popped him in the
nose (No, I didn’t…), but my ―holy anger‖ propelled me to become a youth director during
college, and eventually pushed me to become a pastor. I wanted to make my faith relevant to
my peers!
What makes you consistently mad? Maybe it’s some kind of injustice or extreme poverty or bad
financial decisions. Maybe it’s loveless marriages or abused children or destructive divorce.
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Maybe it’s racism or green lakes or high taxes. Or maybe it’s boring churches or legalistic
Christians or under-challenged teenagers. What trips your trigger or raises your blood pressure?
That may be the place God made you to serve – the place where God’s created you to leave a
legacy.
Now, in case you’re thinking: ―Okay, Christine. You’re obviously a passionate, hot-headed
woman that gets fired up about a lot of things – but I’m not like you. I’m a simple, content sort
of person.‖
Yep. I am ―hot-headed,‖ but even if you just have the smallest ember of rage inside of you, I
want to encourage you to do something counter-intuitive: I want to invite you to go out and
―fuel‖ your discontent.
Fuel it
The tendency for us – when we see something that stirs up our anger or discontent – is to avoid it
– to distance ourselves from it. Our culture is an ace at this: ―If you see inner-city poverty,
move into the suburbs! If you don’t want to see starving children, turn off your TV!‖ But when
we distance ourselves from places of pain or suffering, we’re often distancing ourselves from the
very place God’s calling us to ―lean-in‖ to. Bill says that we need to ―move towards our area of
discontent until we get a clear direction from God as to what action you should take to resolve
it.‖
One thing that really bugs me is hungry children. My temptation is to distance myself from it,
because it breaks my heart. But I’ve found that the more time I spend with hungry children, the
more God starts formulating plans in my heart for how to help them.
The reason those children break my heart is because God keeps motivating me to try to DO
something about it! I know this is a part of the legacy God wants me to leave.
Now, if you can’t think of anything that gets you passionate and riled up to make change –
consider that perhaps you’ve insulated yourself from the things that God is most passionate
about.
If that’s you, YOU need to do some experimenting. Enlarge your world. Travel outside of your
normal circumstances. Visit other ministries. Go and work at the Food Pantry or Thursday
Table. Go down to New Orleans. Hang out with and talk to our kids in our youth ministry.
Eventually, you will have your ―Popeye Moment‖ where you’ll say, ―Now that I can’t stand, and
I can’t stands it no more!‖
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Follow it
Now, once you’ve found your frustration and fueled it until you’ve reached a steady boil, take
the risk, and follow it. You’ve got to reorient your life so you can DO something about that
thing that frustrates you. Reallocate your time, energy, and your money so you can help
eradicate the problem.
Nehemiah
When I think about Biblical characters who had to reorient their lives to leave their legacy, I
think of an OT character named, Nehemiah. When we meet Nehemiah, he’s living in the lap of
luxury in the Persian Empire. Nehemiah had the hard job of being the king’s wine taster, or the
―cup-bearer,‖ which meant that Nehemiah had the exhausting job of tasting the king’s wine to
make sure he wasn’t being poisoned. Yeh. You could say there was some ―risk-taking‖
involved, but on the whole, it had to be a little under-stimulating. But then, Nehemiah had his
―Popeye Moment.‖
One day, Nehemiah gets this terrible news about his ancestral home in Jerusalem. His brother
and friends return from there distressed, saying: ―You should have seen it! It was appalling!
The walls of Jerusalem are still rubble, and the city gates are still cinders!‖ Nehemiah’s blood-
pressure rises. He knows his fellow Jews back in Jerusalem are in trouble. If their wall of
protection is in ruins, anyone could attack. The people might be assimilated into other cultures,
and they’d likely lose their identity and faith. Worse than that - the nations surrounding them
would be mocking this God who wasn’t strong enough even to protect his own people.
Nehemiah’s trigger was tripped. Scripture says he broke down weeping at the news.
Now, Nehemiah had two options:
1) He could keep on being a ―Cup-bearer‖ and just sit on his anger. He could sit around
venting: ―I can’t believe….‖
2) He could consider that God had ignited this anger within him, and he had to DO
something about it.
Nehemiah chose the second option. He went to the king and advocated for his people. This
foreign king gave him safe passage and provision. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and
organized the people to start rebuilding the walls.
Nehemiah could have died being known as ―Cupbearer for the king‖ – it was a cushy,
respectable life. But instead, he let his anger propel him and left his legacy as ―Nehemiah,
Rebuilder of Walls-‖ a symbol of hope for an entire nation.
We ALL have to make the same choice Nehemiah did. When we get angry about an issue, we
can sit on it and stew and vent and become a whiner (Don’t you LOVE those people?) - or we
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can listen hard and consider that God might be talking to us. This might be the legacy we were
created to leave.
God does not want us to be whiny cupbearers. He wants us to DO something about the burdens
He places on our hearts. So - how do you get started? Our lives are so full already! How do
you reorient your life to live to start living out your legacy?
Three Steps for Making Your Legacy a Reality:
1) Come up with a personal vision statement. Get your family together, or take time to
yourself to create a personal vision statement. Listen to your anger and see what passions and
principles rise to the top. My spiritual mentor, Joan Tyvoll, has invited me to pick a ―life verse‖
– a Bible verse that embodies for you the legacy God has put on your heart – the verse that
embodies what you want to be about.
2) Set up measurable short-terms and long-term goals for yourself. Bob Colson, our Dunn
County Planner, says that the important thing in making changes is to be able to come up with
achievable goals and benchmarks – measures – that allow you to celebrate when you’ve arrived.
If one of the things that anger you is hunger, go through your budget, and see how you can
reorient things to set 3% more of your salary aside this year aside for relieving hunger. If you
don’t steer your boat, it will always follow the current.
3) Leverage everything you have to build your spiritual house. God has given you a lot of
resources – perhaps you have a house, a group of friends, time, a groups of skills, passions, and
ATM card. Hold those things up to God and ask him, ―Lord – how do we want me to use my
house to leave my spiritual legacy?‖ Leverage every resource you have for the sake of leaving
your spiritual legacy. If you’re willing to let him use it, God promises to use it well.
As I close today, I want to ask: ―What are you waiting for? In what other life are you going to
go all out? We all have this one shot to leave a lasting legacy…A legacy that says, ―I have been
trusted to carry God’s message of hope to an aching, fractured world in need.‖ Don’t rest until
your role in that is fulfilled.‖ (Hybels 136)
• What if we got angry about the fact that Dunn County is the 3rd poorest county in
Wisconsin and said, ―Lord, we want to help people in their struggles. Use us to change it?‖
• What if we got so sick of divorce, so sick of sexual abuse, so sick of drug addiction, that
we said, ―I’m fed up. Use me to change it?‖
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• What if every single one of us at Cedarbrook listened to their ―Popeye Moment,‖ allowed
God to fill us with supernatural strength? What if WE became an unstoppable force for good?
God has created you – He’s created Cedarbrook - to leave a legacy. Don’t miss out.
**Thank you to Juliet Fox, head of the Dunn County Visioning Team – for helping me think
through how to bring about change in a community.
** Thank you to Jamie Winsand, home builder for Timber Ridge Construction, for helping me
think through which ―corners‖ builders try to cut when building homes.
**Thank you to Bob Colson, Dunn County Planner, for granting me an interview on the current
issues facing Dunn County and how we might mobilize for change.
One Month to Live
Part Six: My Last Sermon
By F. Remy Diederich
If you are just joining us today I am closing out a six week series called One Month to Live; 30
days to a no regrets life. We have been asking the questions, What would I do if I only had one
month to live? How would I bring closure to my relationships? How would I make amends for
past regrets? And, how can I leave a legacy that lasts beyond the grave?
I hope you’ve been challenged by this series. I know I have. One woman told me that she wrote
her adult daughter an email, told her about the 30 day challenge and said, ―If I only had 30 days
to live I’d want you to know that I regret that we haven’t been closer over the years.‖ And she
said that simple email reestablished her relationship with her daughter. Isn’t that great? I’d love
to hear back from you what you’ve done as a result of this series.
Some of you know that to help keep me from procrastinating I set tomorrow, May 5th, as my
imaginary ―Drop Dead‖ date. And I’m glad I did that because it helped bring my life into focus
and it really helped me to prioritize what’s most important to me. I feel like I’m looking at life
through a new set of glasses.
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So, theoretically, if I were to die tomorrow, this would be my last sermon. Now if I knew for
sure that I was going to die tomorrow I’d throw out the clock and spend a lot of time thanking
God for all that he’s done and thanking you all for all you’ve done to make Cedarbrook a reality.
And then I’d close by casting some vision for where I hope Cedarbrook will go in the future in
my absence.
But a talk like that would take a lot of time – time that we don’t have today. And so I’m just
going to cut to the chase and focus on what I hope Cedarbrook looks like in the future if I’m not
around.
But first, I want to mention one thing that I like about what we’ve done so far. I think from the
beginning we’ve been a place for people to connect or reconnect with both church and God. So
many people have told me that they hated church for one reason or the other and then told me
how God used Cedarbrook to get them back on track spiritually. That always makes my day!
That’s especially great to hear because that was one of our biggest goals in starting Cedarbrook -
just bringing credibility back to God and church. And we’ve tried to do that by communicating
that you don’t have to be weird or judgmental or close minded to follow Jesus. And it’s okay to
doubt God or the Bible or disagree with the pastor and still follow Jesus. And you don’t have to
be perfect or quote the Bible all the time to be accepted here.
And if you have issues, or habits or addictions or been divorced, that doesn’t disqualify you from
following Jesus because we are all sinners who have issues. And you don’t have to be boring or
vote Republican or Democrat or Green and you can still have fun and laugh and rock and roll
and you can even like country music and follow Jesus!
I think all of these things have really made God and church approachable for people. In fact, a lot
of you are shocked to see that church has become more than a Christmas and Easter event in
your life - it’s become a weekly habit. It’s a part of your week that you actually look forward to
and feel like you missed something if you can’t make it.
One guy told me, ―A few years ago I was going in and out of a certain bar on Main Street and
today I was in the bookstore, two doors down, buying a Bible! Whoda thought?‖ He was
surprised at how much his priorities had changed after coming here for a while.
But if I were to die tomorrow I’d want to challenge you to not be content with merely showing
up on Sunday. As happy as I am that many of you are coming to church for the first time I’d
want to challenge you to go much deeper with God. You see, there’s a lot more to God and
church than a Sunday meeting.
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There’s a great picture of going deeper with God in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel has a vision of
a spring that starts to flow out of the temple. Coming out of the temple tells us that this is God’s
spring. But the spring grows into a river. Ezekiel sees himself walking into this river first ankle
deep and then knee deep and then waist deep and then his feet lose touch and he’s swept along
by the current.
That’s the picture of what God wants to do in your life. He wants to transform you from merely
being a spiritual consumer - cooling your feet at your convenience in the river of God - to being
a spiritual producer – caught up in the flow of God’s Spirit and being taken by God to bless other
people.
Some of you can’t imagine that happening. You think you have to be a pastor or someone special
to be used by God. But that’s not true. God has a plan to use every one of us.
So, what does it look like to go deeper with God? Does that mean you go to church more often?
Does that mean you read your Bible more or pray more? Well, that might be a part of it. But
listen to what Jesus taught us to pray…
May your kingdom come, May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew
6:10
Jesus wants us not only to PRAY that his kingdom comes to earth – that is, heaven comes to
earth. He wants us to MAKE his kingdom come to earth. That might sound strange but the Bible
tells us that we are citizens of heaven. Paul tells us…
We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. Philippians 3:20
We are citizens of heaven sent here to bring God’s kingdom to earth. It’s like when the United
States sends ambassadors to other countries. They set up a little bit of the United States. They
speak English. They abide by the government of the United States and serve as a resource to
people in that country who want to know about the United States. That’s our mission – to
establish that kind window into heaven here on earth.
I like what Henri Nouwen has to say about mission…
When we live our lives as missions, we become aware that there is a home from where
we are sent and to where we have to return. We start thinking about ourselves as people
who are in a faraway country to bring a message or work on a project, but only for a
certain amount of time. When the message has been delivered and the project is finished,
we want to return home to give an account of our mission and to rest from our labours.
One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years
of our lives are years "on a mission. Henri Nouwen, Daily Meditation
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And that’s exactly what I want every one of us to understand before I go. You are here on a
mission. And your mission isn’t just to survive, pay your bills, have some fun and be religious
on Sunday. Your mission is to work together to bring heaven to earth. I’ll unpack what this
means in a minute.
But I’ve got to tell you – if I have one regret about Cedarbrook it’s that I haven’t painted a big
enough picture of what our mission is. Our stated mission is that we want to first experience and
then share the life-changing love of God. And that’s what we’ve been working at doing these
past five years.
But as I stared at our mission statement this past month I realized that Jesus called us to
something much bigger than that. We can’t settle for simply experiencing and sharing God’s
life-changing love. As good of a mission statement as it is I think it falls short of our calling.
Our mission is to establish an alternative kingdom here on earth for people to turn to when they
realize that this world has sold them out. We are to create an oasis of heaven that people can
turn to find healing and wholeness and a true sense of purpose for their lives.
And my regret is that I haven’t made that plain – I haven’t made that obvious over the years. I’m
afraid that I was so focused on helping people connect and reconnect with God and church that
maybe I failed to show you the full mission of the church. And my fear is that if I were to die
tomorrow- although I know that God used me to help people reconnect spiritually – my fear is
that I have only been successful in producing a new generation of church goers but I haven’t
been successful in showing you how to be a generation of kingdom builders. There’s a big
difference. Church goers are spiritual consumers. Kingdom builders are spiritual producers sent
on a mission.
And so, if this is my last sermon I want to at least have one shot at pointing you to something
bigger than experiencing God’s life-changing love. I want to show you what it means to bring
heaven to earth.
Now, I realize that ―bringing heaven to earth‖ sounds pretty strange. And it might sound
overwhelming. But it’s really quite simple. So let me take some time to unpack that for you. I’ve
got four characteristics of what heaven looks like when it comes to earth. And they all happen to
start with the letter ―m‖.
The Model of Heaven
The first M is the MODEL of heaven. What is the model God uses to bring heaven to earth?
Community. But it’s not a community of people who sit together. It’s the community of his
followers doing life together. You see, heaven isn’t expressed by random individuals gathering
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on Sunday to passively observe others perform and then return home to live the rest of their
week in isolation. That’s not a picture of heaven.
Heaven is modeled on earth when followers of Jesus share their lives together on a daily basis.
That’s where we see love and forgiveness and compassion and mercy in action. That’s
community. That’s what heaven looks like. And that’s my hope for Cedarbrook that increasingly
every one of us will move from living independent lives in isolation to interconnected lives in
community.
I was talking to Swen Erickson about his small group that meets in North Menomonie. They’ve
been meeting for a few years now and they’ve all gotten really close to each other. The other
night they went around the room and reminded each other of the prayer requests they’ve made
over the years and how God has answered them one by one. And Swen said that at the end of the
meeting everyone was in tears. It was a holy moment. That’s community. That’s a picture of
heaven.
There’s another small group here that impresses me (the Prochnow’s young couples group).
They’ve been meeting for a few years too and I see them sitting together in church and I see
them at restaurants together and I’ve heard that they have even taken vacations together. Folks,
that’s community. That’s church. That’s what happens when heaven breaks into this world –
people share their lives with each other.
So, if these are my last words I want you to know that whether community happens in a
structured way through small groups or an unstructured spontaneous way as you meet people
naturally, I hope that people doing life together in community becomes the standard for people
who call Cedarbrook their home.
The Mantra of Heaven
The second M is for the mantra of heaven. A mantra is the thing that you repeat over and over.
And the mantra of heaven ―Jesus is Lord‖. The word ―lord‖ comes from the days of slavery. A
lord is the person that has complete control of your life. It says in the book of Revelation that
God’s name is written on everyone’s forehead and there is no need for the sun because the light
from Jesus lights up the world. In other words, Jesus is at the center of everything in heaven and
that should be our goal here on earth too – to show people what it looks like to be fully submitted
to Jesus in every area of life.
In my first sermon in this series I passed on a little saying from Kerry Shook that said..
Give God the first day of your week,
The first moments of your day,
The first of your income and
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The first thoughts in any decision you make.
But as I thought about that I decided it was inadequate. You see, sometimes we think that if we
give God the first part of something that means that the rest is ours to do with it what we please.
For example…as long as I give God Sunday then I can live the other six days however I want. If
I read the Bible and pray every morning then I can live for myself the rest of the day. If I give
God 10% of my money then I can spend the other 90% any way I like. But that’s not putting
Jesus first in everything. That’s just being religious. So I want to amend that saying to this…
Give God every day of your week,
Every moment of your day,
Every dollar of your income [that is, spend your money as if it was all God’s money] and
All the thoughts in any decision you make.
You might say, Remy, that’s radical. But not for a citizen of heaven. For a citizen of heaven it’s
normal. But that’s the difference between being religious…WHERE YOU are in control of what
you do and being full of the Spirit WHERE GOD has full control of what you do. I think we are
too quick to congratulate ourselves when we are ankle deep in the river of God. We say, ―I’m
going to church on Sundays! I’m reading my Bible! Woohoo! Aren’t I doing great spiritually?‖
And that is great, but that’s not the end. That’s not the pinnacle of spirituality! That’s just the
beginning. So, if I die tomorrow, don’t stay in the shallow side of the river. Keep going deeper
by making Jesus lord. Keeping going until your feet don’t touch the bottom and the Spirit of
God has full control of your life.
The Mission of Heaven
The next M is the mission of heaven. Our mission as a heavenly community is restoration. Let
me give you an example. How many of you here like boats? What do boats leave behind them?
A wake, right? You can tell a lot about a boat and its driver by the wake that follows the boat.
Have you ever been in a wake-free zone when some hotshot came flying through in their boat
and their wake knocked everything around? Some churches are like that. Their wake is
destructive. It’s important to look at your wake and see the impact that it has on people.
My point here is that when heaven invades earth it leaves a wake and that wake is restoration.
The book of Isaiah talks about God’s wake. It brings…
beauty for ashes
the oil of gladness for mourning
and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair…
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins.
They will raise up the former devastations.
And they will repair the ruined cities. Isaiah 61:3-6
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Heaven is a place of restoration. And so when heaven comes to earth restoration happens. And
when a church passes by it should leave restoration in its wake too.
Broken relationships should be reconciled.
Divorced people should find hope.
Addicts should recover.
The oppressed should find justice.
The hungry should be fed.
Flooded homes in New Orleans should be rebuilt.
Uncared for gardens in Boyceville should be weeded.
Old hymns should be given a new beat.
And wayward people should be reunited with God.
If I die tomorrow I hope Cedarbrook will increasingly becomes known as a place that leaves a
wake of restoration wherever you go.
The Manner of Heaven
The final M is the manner in which we bring heaven to earth. I want to mention two things here;
first, generous, joyful sacrifice.
Whether I’m here or not, I want Cedarbrook to be a great church. I want Cedarbrook to live up to
its full calling. But as far as I can tell great things never happen without great sacrifice. I’ve
never seen anything great come from half-hearted effort, have you? And I’ve never seen any
games won by people standing on the sidelines. Games are won when people are willing to get
dirty and give it their all.
When I was in first grade my baseball team regularly had races to see who the fastest kid on the
team was. I kept coming in second or third. Bobby Lameroux always came in first! And so my
dad told me,
Remy, if you want to have a chance at winning you can’t just run fast. Running fast isn’t
good enough. You have to run until it hurts.
I had never heard that before. In other words, you can’t hold anything back. You have to give
everything you’ve got. And you know you’ve given everything you’ve got because it starts to
hurt.
And I think that’s true for the church too. If you want a great church…if you want to be a model
of heaven on earth you have to give until it hurts. You can’t just do what’s convenient. Your
giving has to move you out of your comfort zone to a place of risk, to a point of sacrifice. That
means that you give time that you didn’t think you had time to give or you give money you
didn’t think you could afford to give.
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Do you remember the woman in the Bible who gave her last two coins to the temple? Did Jesus
call her crazy? No, he commended her.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd
putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.
But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of
a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has
put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she,
out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." Matthew 12:41-44
Jesus commended her giving because her action reflected the generosity of heaven. And so my
prayer for Cedarbrook is that a spirit of generous joyful sacrifice would be so prominent here that
when people encounter you they say,
―I can’t believe what I’m seeing. They don’t hold anything back. I’ve never seen such
generosity. I’ve never seen such sacrifice. And they seem to be so happy about it. They
are the real deal. They are fully committed to God’s work. And I’m compelled to be a
part of what they are about.‖
That’s the first manner of heaven.
The second manner in which we live out heaven on earth is fun. We’ve always made a point to
have fun around here and if I die tomorrow, I hope you’ll continue to do that. In fact, when I die,
I hope you’ll have fun at my funeral! If you were here at the concert on Sunday, that was fun!
Someone told me yesterday that the concert was like ―New Years Eve fun!‖ And that’s a good
thing.
You see, fun models heaven too. There’s just something about laughter that softens the heart and
brings people together. It’s hard to hold a grudge against someone when you are laughing with
them. Isn’t that true? That’s why if a married couple is at odds it’s good to do things together to
make you laugh because it breaks down the barriers and helps you to start talking. So don’t ever
feel guilty or less spiritual for having fun. Fun is just as much a part of heaven as is sacrifice. In
fact they often go together.
Well, those are my last words. Remember your mission isn’t to attend meetings. Your mission
is to bring heaven on earth. If I die I’ll be watching. And if I don’t see you bringing heaven to
earth I’m going to ask Jesus to come after you!
But I hope you hear what I’m saying today. I’m raising the bar for us. Just showing up is a start
but that will never bring heaven to earth. And that’s our mission. It’s time to go deeper. It’s time
to go beyond ankle deep spiritually and go knee deep and waist deep and then finally lose
yourself in God’s spirit all together.
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That’s when things will get exciting around here. Can you imagine the impact of a church fully
committed to bringing heaven to earth? I hope I’m here to enjoy that. In many ways I feel like
I’m just learning how to pastor. I feel like I’m just getting to know people. So, I hope I wake up
tomorrow. But if not, I want you to take Cedarbrook to the next level.
Prayer: Father, thank you for giving birth to this community and showing us what it means to
follow you. Forgive us for reducing church to a mere meeting. Might you use Cedarbrook to
invade earth with heaven. Might thousands come to know you through our witness. And might
you get all the credit.
Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20