Faithfully Forward with Courage (Rev. Dr. Charley Reeb)
My late mentor and colleague Bill Self would often talk about the time he went fishing in Florida. Bill really was not much of a fisherman, but a member of his church invited him to go tarpon fishing. His friend said they would take his private jet. Bill had never been in a private jet before, so he said, “Why not?”
They got set up on a charter and went way out into the ocean. Before long Bill had caught one big tarpon. He was a feisty thing and Bill held on to it as long as he could. Finally, the captain had to help him reel it in so he would not throw away the rod. They reeled it in and it was huge. Everyone needled Bill and said that only a first-time fisherman would catch a tarpon that huge!
When they came into port a wise old fisherman saw the tarpon and said, “That’s a championship fish!” Bill said proudly, “I know.” Then the man said, “You only catch a fish like that by going to the deepest parts of the bay.”
Bill was so proud of that fish, but he had to hang it on the wall of his basement because his wife would not have it upstairs!
Well, that old fisherman was right on many levels. You never catch anything worth having in the shallows. Anything worth having must be found at the deep end. In order to find the inspiration, we need we can’t stay at the shallow end of life. We must go deeper.
As we continue our message series on moving Faithfully Forward as a church, I want to emphasize that part of moving forward means having the courage to go deeper with God. We can’t grow as Christians and we can’t grow as a church until we have the courage to go deeper with God.
The Bible teaches us this over and over again. There is a great passage in Ezekiel that tells of a profound vision the prophet had of the Temple. Ezekiel was sharing this vision with the exiles who were taken captive by Babylon. They were terribly discouraged and depressed. He wanted to tell them what it was going to be like when God intervened and brought them home.
He didn’t want them to abandon their God, so Ezekiel described a vision an angel of the Lord gave him. The central part of the vision was seeing life giving water pouring out of the Temple and bringing life to the barren land of the wilderness. This water then poured into the Dead Sea and turned the salt water into fresh water. And that fresh water brought life and vitality to the Dead Sea.
I want you to see the passage that shows what God called Ezekiel to do in this vision. Take a look:
He measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in. –Ezekiel 47:3-5
God called Ezekiel into deeper waters – waters deep enough to swim in. Once Ezekiel swam in those deep waters, God showed him how those waters would bring life to a dead sea. All kinds of fish would swim in the Dead Sea. Beautiful trees would live along the sea. The dirty salt water would be made fresh and bring life and growth. But Ezekiel only experienced this vitality when he obeyed and went deeper with God.
Jesus would continue this lesson with the disciples when he went fishing with them. They hadn’t caught anything all day and were discouraged. Then Jesus jumped into the boat and said this to Simon:
“Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” –Luke 5:4
When they went into deeper waters for a catch here was the result:
They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So, they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. –Luke 5:6-7
Both Ezekiel and Jesus teach us an eternal truth: To thrive spiritually we must go deeper with God. Ankle deep, knee deep, and waist deep won’t cut it. In order for us to grow in our faith and grow as a church, we must go deeper with God. The greatest blessings of God, the most meaningful experiences of God happen when we have the courage to go deeper.
The finest fish are found at the deepest part of the sea. The purest water is found in the deepest part of the stream. The finest diamonds are found in the deepest part of the mines. The finest gold is found in the deepest part of the vein. The best of the Christian faith, the most blessings and fulfillment are not found at the shallow end. It is found when we are over our head and doing what only God can accomplish through us! Going deep means getting to the place where the only way we can accomplish anything is by depending on God. When we are over our heads serving God that is when the fun and adventure begin. That is when big things happen in the church and for the kingdom of God!
I love this church. I feel so blessed to be able to serve First UMC. I love the way we serve the community. I love the way we embrace everyone. I love how we reflect the love of Christ. I love our programs and ministries, our Bible studies, and outreach ministries. We are doing so many things right. We truly are a community church reflecting the light of Christ in Lakeland, Florida. I am very proud of this church.
But let me tell you something. I feel convicted to say this today. God has not called First UMC to be a good church. God calls us to be a great church! Yes, we are doing a lot of wonderful things, but God is calling us to do so much more. The only way we can be a great church is by going deeper with God. God has so much more in store for us, so much more he wants to do through us.
We must take that next step and go from a good church to a great church. We must go deeper with God. Now how do we do that?
There are four great doctrines of the Bible. You want the Bible in four words? Here they are: There first three are God, Sin, Redemption. Everyone wants those preached. But you mention the last one and people run for the hills. The third is Stewardship.
You may be thinking, “I wonder when he was going to bring that up.” Well, we have locked all the doors, and you can’t get out until all the sheep are fleeced!
It’s funny. The Girl Scouts will come running with their delicious cookies and we eagerly pull out our wallets and happily give them money. Our Alma matter will call and send letters asking for money and we feel good about supporting them. We will go to charity events and cheerfully give to worthy initiatives. But the moment a preacher gets up and asks people to give to God and his church people get all bent out of shape. Help me understand this logic! I will never apologize for asking you to give generously to God and his church. Why should I be ashamed of that? Jesus taught about stewardship more than anything else.
What does stewardship mean? It means God owns it all. We are simply caretakers of what God has given us. Steward comes from the root word “Sty ward,” ward of the sty, ward of the cattle. We are keepers of what God has given us. We are keepers of God’s garden. We are the keepers of God’s resources.
God has given us this wonderful church. It is filled with wonderful people and resources. It sits on prime real estate in this area, shining as a beacon of light for Christ. For our church to continue to thrive we must invest in it, cultivate it, fertilize it, give it time and money.
Now there is that word again. Now let me say a word to those who are guests and visitors with us today. I know you didn’t come here today dreaming and hoping that the sermon would be about stewardship and money. I know that. Well, you are off the hook. You are under no obligation to give or pledge. But I do hope you come back. I don’t preach messages like this often, but I do hope my message today conveys how generous this church is and you will consider joining our community of faith.
I am speaking to the members of this church – those who have committed to give your time, talents, gifts, service and witness to First UMC of Lakeland. In order for our church to go from good to great we must go deeper with God; we must give extravagantly to God. Ankle deep, knee deep and even waist deep won’t cut it. In order for First UMC to be everything God wants us to be we have to be ALL IN.
Being “all in” means giving our financial resources to the church. It means tithing. The Bible is clear. We are to give 10 percent of our income to the Lord. That’s it! We get to keep 90 percent of it! We think nothing of tipping a waiter 20 percent. Yet God only asks for 10 percent to keep his chosen vessel in the world moving and growing, serving and loving and transforming this world! That’s a good deal. Now I know 10 percent may be tough for you, but work towards it. Just go a little deeper…dig a little deeper.
I remember when I first learned about the importance of tithing to the church. I was just a little boy going to Sunday school. My mom would give my twin sister and me money for the offering in Sunday school. I remember one time my mom handed me the change and I said, “Mom, is this money for God?” She said, “Yes, it is sweetheart.” I replied, “Is God poor?” She said, “No sweetheart, God is not poor. Everything we have belongs to God. We are just giving back some of it.” “Why?” I said. And my mom replied, “Because God wants us to help him love the world. And the church needs money to do that.”
We need to realize that we purchase things with God’s money. We are wearing shirts and driving cars with God’s money. We support movie theaters and shopping malls with God’s money. Is it so hard to understand that God just wants a little of it back to support his church?
Just think of all this church has done to bless you, to help you, to nurture you, to encourage you, to empower you. Think of all the ministries that you have benefited from. It is all because people have generously supported those ministries.
A friend of mine had a relative visiting him in Florida. It was January, and if you live in Florida in January, you discover friends and relatives you never knew you had!
Well, my friend and his relative were driving around the downtown area of the city looking for a parking spot. They passed a bunch of good spots, but the relative just kept on driving. My friend said, “What’s the deal? You’ve passed a bunch of good parking spots.” The relative replied, “I’m looking for a parking meter that still has money on it.”
This is what many members of churches do: they park on someone else’s nickel. They enjoy the fruits of the church without paying for it. They receive the benefits of the church’s ministries, programs, worship, and air conditioning and let other people pay for it.
Folks, if you don’t tithe and give, something God wants done will not get done. The Church is God’s vessel in this word. We are the only bank account God has.
The church is God’s best hope for the world. The church is the only institution that cares for people’s souls. We have the only message that will transform this world. You name for me any other institution that can do what the church does.
It is time to go deeper with God. For some of you that may mean starting to give something. For others of you it means giving a little more. Still, for some of you, it means making a commitment to serve in some capacity. It goes beyond money. Going deeper means choosing to use the gifts God has given you.
Now, if you are reluctant, I get it. I understand. The Bible says God loves a cheerful giver, but church will take a grumpy one! You can snarl. We can take it. Just give!
When you give, something clicks inside of you about the church. When you give, you become invested in the church. You feel more a part of its ministries and the church becomes more important to you. You get working and stop complaining. There is less talking and more doing.
I remember visiting a public pool with a friend and I made an important observation. All the noise and splashing were coming from the shallow end of the pool. At the deep end folks were exercising and swimming deeper and it was a lot quieter. This is true in the church and in every organization. All the noise and complaints come from the shallow end, where it is ankle deep, knee deep, where there is little to no investment. But at the deep end people are too busy doing God’s work to make noise.
I know this is a challenging sermon, but if I didn’t challenge you every once in awhile, I wouldn’t be much of a preacher, and you wouldn’t be much of a Christian. If you agreed with me all the time I wouldn’t be doing my job. Vince Lombardi said, “A coach is someone who gets people to do what they don’t want to do, so they can be what they’ve always wanted to be.”
Let’s read this text from Malachi: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. –Malachi 2:10
You may know the story about the man who lived on earth in a big mansion, huge house in the best neighborhood, but he was stingy and selfish. He had a friend, though, that lived across the way in a little shack. Just a little house. But he was giving and loving. Well, they both died. They both went to heaven and they both met Saint Peter.
First Saint Peter guided the man who lived in a shack to the biggest mansion in heaven. I mean, it was glorious. And he said, “You have your reward.” But then Saint Peter guided the man who had a big house on earth through a dark alley, around a muddy corner into a dingy little shack. And he said, “What is this? I had all the resources in the world on earth. Why this?” And Saint Peter said, “Well, sir, we could only build your house on the materials you sent us.”
What could heaven build for you on the materials that you have given to God? Let’s go deeper with God.