Now What?
Luke 24:36-53

NOW WHAT?

There’s  story I heard a while back about this pastor in Iowa who wakes up one Sunday morning and looks out the window and sees that there is like 30 inches of snow on the ground and it doesn’t look like the snow storm is going to let up any time soon. 

Now, this pastor lived right next to the sanctuary, so he got up, got ready and headed over to church – not really expecting anyone to show up.

 Well, lo and behold, one lone farmer shows up from a mile down the road. He had saddled up his horse and had made his way to church. 

So the pastor looked at the farmer and he said, "John, what do you think we should do?"

The farmer said, "Well, you know pastor, if I take a load of hay out to the field and only one cow comes to be fed, I feed her."

The pastor thought that was good advice. So, he went to the pulpit and Farmer John sat in the first pew and the pastor began to preach. He spoke for about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes turned into an hour an hour turned into two hours.

After about two hours, he pronounced the benediction, went back down front and shook the farmers hand, and said, "Well John, what did you think?"

The farmer turns to him and kind of thinks for a minute and says, "Well, you know pastor, if I take a load of hay out to the field and only one cow shows up, I don't dump the whole load on her."

Trust me, this morning, I have no intention of dumping the whole load on you.  But, I would like to highlight a few things we have learned these past 40 days and maybe where we might be headed in the next 40.

I’d like to start with our scripture text for this morning: Luke 24, verses 36-53.  Let me set the stage for you. It's Easter Sunday night. The disciples are in the Upper Room, and not just the disciples, but many of Jesus' followers. There are men and women there.

And they had just gotten a shocking report from two disciples who had come back from the road that led to Emmaus.  These two are sharing crazy stories about seeing a living Lord, a risen Lord.

Well, the doors are locked. See, the disciples are all are afraid that the people that have arrested Jesus are going to be coming for them any minute. They are confused. They don't understand. They don't know how to put this all together. And in that context, Luke writes this:

And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder.

Then Jesus asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.

Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 

Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.  And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.  It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’  You are witnesses of all these things.

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

Some time later Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.

So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.  And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

Today we are celebrating the completion of our “40 Day of Purpose Spiritual Campaign.” And not so coincidentally, this passage in Luke also spans 40 days. The beginning of the passage, as I said, was Easter Sunday. The end of the passage, forty days later, is what we call “the Ascension,” when Jesus was taken back up to heaven.

And, you will notice right off, if you look at the last couple of verses that the disciples move from that cowering confused band that we saw at the beginning, to a group that are worshipping him and returning to Jerusalem with great joy, staying at the temple, continually praising God.

 There is a transformation that has taken place. They have spent time with the risen Lord and it shows.  And that may be the case for many of you. And as for them, as I hope it is for us – it is just the beginning. 

The book, “The Purpose Driven Life,” that we have been studying these last six weeks, begins with the statement “it is not about me.”  And that’s a great way to start.

How many of you saw the Jim Carrey movie, Bruce Almighty that came out a couple of years ago? It’s a story about Bruce, an average Joe who gets really upset with God. He doesn't like the way his life is going. He feels that he is getting the short end of stick all the time.

And so, he just lets God have it in a fit of rage. Well, the next thing you know, Jim Carrey has God's powers.

And God basically says to him, "Bruce, you think it's so easy, you think you can do such a great job, here you go."

Well, the results are pretty predictable – it is a Jim Carrey movie after all. And at the height of everything coming unglued and his personal life coming undone, there is this tremendous scene where he is walking down the middle of the street and the rain is pouring down and he falls to his knees, (it’s the middle of the night and the streets are virtually abandoned), he falls to his knees and he cries out, looking up to heaven and he says this, "I don't want to be God anymore. I surrender."

Isn't that powerful theology? Have you ever been in that place -- trying so hard to be what God never intended you to be, trying so hard to be in control of your life, trying so hard to make sure its all about me, its all about what I get, its all about my life, my goals, my hopes, my dreams.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever sensed the emptiness in that striving? The quiet, desperate, alone emptiness … many of us have.

Bruce's cry becomes our cry. I don't want to be God anymore. I surrender. God, it’s not about me – it’s all about you!

And if it’s all about God – doesn’t that make it easier?  I don’t have to depend solely on myself and my abilities – along with all my weaknesses and failings.  I can lean on God now.  It reminds of the old words to an old hymn – asking God to “Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Help me know what I must do to live with you one day.”

And God does!  As we have been reading, studying, discussing, and pondering these past 40 Days – we’ve uncovered 5 purposes for our lives… worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission.  And even if you haven’t agreed with everything Rick Warren wrote or said (and I hope you didn’t) there is truth in every one of those principles. 

It may seem overwhelming at times.  It may seem like it is an impossible task.  But it’s not.

One of my favorite movies is called Men of Honor. It's a true story about the very first African-American Navy diver - Carl Brashear. At the end of the movie, he is seeking to be reinstated into active duty in the Navy after suffering an accident that resulted in the amputation of his right leg, just below the knee.

There is a board of inquiry deciding his fate. The head of that board says to him, "In order to return to active duty, you must complete the same test that every Navy diver has to complete in today's Navy." And he wheels in a 300-lb diving suit.

He tells him he must take 12 steps with this suit. "Are you prepared to do this, Mr. Brashear?"

And Brashear replies, "Yes sir, I am."

As they strap on the suit, a retired Navy diver, named Billy Sunday enters the courtroom.  Sunday is Brashear mentor – who was frequently his adversary and sometimes his friend.

He stands in front of Brashear and he says, "There is no way that you can carry this suit by yourself. You will go six steps maximum."

Brashear says, "Watch me."

So, Sunday stands 12 steps away from Brashear and he tells him to stand up.

Brashear stands and he takes not the first six steps, but the first nine steps without stopping on sheer willpower. All the while, his mentor Sunday counts them off.

But when he gets to the ninth step he falters and he begins to sway and totter. And he looks up at his friend, his antagonist, his mentor Sunday.

He looks up at him with this look of despair on his face and Sunday says, "Brashear - straighten that gear. I want my 12 steps."

Brashear straightens up, and under the strength of his friend's exhortations and encouragement, he takes the final three steps and is reinstated back in to active duty.

Brashear could not have done that alone. No matter how much he willed it, no matter how much it was his plan, design and purpose for life, he could not have done that alone. He needed that friend.

And we can’t do it alone either.  That’s why we rely on God. And that’s why we have the community of faith seated around you.  That’s why we have small groups.  You are not alone.  You do not have to try and make this walk of faith by yourself.

In forty days, Jesus' followers went from fearful to faithful. How did that happen? Certainly, not by isolating themselves from one another … but in spending time by prayer, study, and worship – TOGETHER!

So … together … where do we go from here?  What now? Well, first off I think God wants us to start living what we’ve learned. Put it into

practice. All the knowledge in the world is worthless unless we practice it. The Bible says this over and over again.

John 13:17 says, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” The blessing doesn’t come from knowing the purposes of life. It comes from doing them.

          And that’s the challenge as we go forth.  My invitation is to not try and do it alone. 

Many of the small groups that began this journey are continuing.  And they aren’t just continuing but they are making a difference. 

They are doing ministry, mission …and more. New ones will spring up.  Let me know if you’d like to be a part of one and I will hook you up. 

          The invitation is to get involved. Don’t be a spectator.  We need to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. 

And remember: this is not the end, but just the beginning. 
          Praise God! 

AMEN.