Sunday Sermon 1/25/09 - What Really Matters

What Really Matters
January 25, 2009
Text: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

God's grace and peace be multiplied to you from the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Visiting the shut-ins (homebound) members is rewarding. I never know quite what to expect when I visit with them. I the privilege and honor of bringing to them the Holy Supper of our Lord along with prayer and the Word of God. Part of our visit is spent conversing and catching up on what is new in our lives and in the church. Last week I heard a comical story from one of the shut-ins that I thought I would share with you.

The story is about a group of senior citizens traveling together on a bus. During the ride, one lady approaches the driver of the bus asking him if he would like some peanuts. The driver said, "Sure, I love peanuts." The lady opens her hand and gives him some and returns to her seat. A few minutes pass by, and the same women returns and offers to him some more peanuts. He thanks the women as she turns around to go back to her seat. This happens several times before the bus driver says, "Don't you like peanuts?" "Yes," replied the women, "I sure do." "Then why not eat them yourself?" "I would," she said, "But I do not have any teeth. I just like to suck the chocolate off them."

After that joke, I hope today's sermon does not leave a bad taste in your mouth. I just had to share that with you.

Earlier this week when I read over today's text, something jumped out at me. Both at the beginning and at the end of the text is a reference to time passing away quickly. The reading began, "What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short." Then at the conclusion it said, "For the world in its present form is passing away." Those statements are like bookends for what I am about to talk about. Sandwiched between those two quotations I see three areas of our lives to be impacted by the brevity of life. The three areas are: our relationships, second, our handling of our emotions, and, third, how we are to view our possessions or the things we buy. The theme for today's message is, "What Really Matters."

People have told me over the years, "The older you get, the faster the time goes." As I get older, it seems to be true. Here it is already, almost the end of January. We just celebrated Christmas, and in a matter of four weeks from today, February 25 is Ash Wednesday. From there we will embark on our Lenten journey. This year's Lenten theme, "Touched and Transformed by the Cross" is going to be especially fantastic! I get excited just thinking about it. During those six weeks of Lent, the fovus will be on six individuals whose lives were touched and transformed by the cross. But what makes this series fantastic is that all Lutheran Churches of the Missouri Synod in the greater Richmond area will preach on the same siz accounts. This is the first unified effort by our churches to do such a thing I am aware of. Touched and Transformed by the Cross is the beginning of a callective mission movement in our circuit. There are pre-service questions that we have made to help "grease the wheels" of our brains as we prepare our hearts for the Lord's leading. It should be quite a series.

Anyways, back to what I was saying, time sure does seem to fly quickly. With that thought, let us examine how that knowledge should impact our lives.

First, let us begin with relationships. "From now on" says the text, "those who have wives should live as if they had none." That sounds rather shocking, at first glance. Are we to understand that the Lord wants husbands to do as they want forgetting they are married? No, I think not. This is not an excuse for husbands to ignore their wives and do as they please. There has to be more.

What the Apostle Paul is teaching his audience that we ought to live in the knowledge that these special relationships or any relationship we have with others can be severed at anytime. There is a sense of urgency that he is trying to instill those who are listing. Now during the days of the Apostles, many were looking for the Second Comming of Christ. They thought that any day, Christ would return and put an end to the persecution and take the Church from this "vale of tears" to our home in heaven. That being the case, Paul wanted husbands and wives to realize these attachments will not last forever. I guess that is good news to those who wished they are not marries, but on the other hand, such knowledge ought to impact how we live and treat one another. It is a bad thing when a husband or wife leaves the house after having an argument. What guarantee do they have that they both will return that night safe and in good health? None. That fact is shown over and over again in the news. An airplane crashing into the Twin Towers or another one landing miraculously on the Hudson River foes to show that anything could happen. A couple ought to depart not in anger, but ought to realize that any given day cannot be recovered. There will be only one January 25, 2009, so we ought to make the most of it.

Husbands and wives, parents and children, even friends should learn what is important. Christian parents will want their children to know Christ. What I mean is not mere head knowledge such as facts, but a heart knowledge, that they revere Christ and put their trust in him.

The second thing sandwiched between this concept of time marching on is how we handle our emotions. It says, "Those who mourn, as if they did not; those who were happy, as if they were not." Those to are strange words. This is not saying that we are to deny our emotions. Emotions are important. YOu could say that emotions are the colors of the canvas for our souls. Who would want to attend a birthday party or retirement party of someone who wasn't happy? Celebrations like weddings or anniversary parties or graduations or confirmation parties are to be enjoyed. Celebrate and make the most of the occasion!

On the reverse side, there is a time to mourn and grieve. On the canvas of our life, there will be dark moments and hard times. Grieving, crying, and tears are a part of life, so what does it mean that we are not to mourn?

Again the answer may lie in the knowledge that everything passes away. The joy that we have now will not last forever. The sadness and loss may resemble a dark tunnel, but there is light at the other end.

The promise Christ has made, "Lo, I am with you always," gives us strength for the day and hope for tomorrow. Believeing Christ is with us in our times of joy and celebration as well as the times of sorrow and loss, comforts us in a way that words cannot express.

The third part of this quick passage time is how we view our possessions. Do we own our possessions or do our possessions own us? Listen again to the text, "Those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." We know thie to be true when rust corrodes our cars. Living here in Virginia, rust is not as bad as up north. The salt and the chemicals spread on the highways during the winter takes its toll on cars and trucks alike. If its not rust, then fire can destroy what you have. Aske Herb and Landis, they had a house fire several years ago. The California wildfires swept through the forest leaving charred remains in their path. Hurricanes and floods also testify that nothing is permanent.

The temporary nature of our possessions begs the question, "How then shall we live?" What really is important? What really matters?

There was a movie out last rear with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nocholson. The movie was "Bucket List." I did not see the film, but I have heard about the story line. An extremely rich man is dying and has only so many days to live. He develops his "bucket list" things he wants to do before he "kicks the bucket."

The question we ought to ask ourselves is "How would our bucket list look different as a Christian?" Instead of spending money on ourselves, we would want to see that some, if not all, was spent for God's purposes. There are missionaries who need support, Christian colleges like our Concordia Universities and the two Concordia Seminaries that also need our support. The church and its programs need financial backing as well. YOur "bucket list" might include having broken relationship restored.

Another aspect of time, and this will be the last point, is that we can lose track of time. We can be so absorbed in a project or task that not sure what time its is if someone were to ask.

The same can be true for our Christian faith. Hearing, meditating, and singing God's praises, may cause us to lose track of time. Instead of looking at our watches and wondering when service will be over, hearing the Good News of our salvation, may cause us to become lost in wonder, love, and praise. How can the Lord love us, poor, miserable sinners? Isn't that truly amazing?!

To conclude, time is passing away. We cannot turn back the hands of time. We can only make the most of the time the Lord gives us. Let us pray to the Lord to help us make the best use of the time we are given so we may live to his glory and for eternity. Amen.