Well good morning, welcome to the house. Thanks for being with us today.
If my name is Greg Hampton, if I've never met you before, I would love to meet you, get to know you, buy you a coffee,
especially once I'm over all the congestion.
For the last couple weeks we've been in a series
called Fully because we believe that Jesus wants us to be full,
to fill us to the full, to overflowing, that we might live
life to the full. I'm sorry that I missed you all last week. I was in Colorado
the week prior for a prayer retreat
where I developed what I call a Colorado cough.
That is when you go from zero feet above sea level to 9,000 square
feet above sea level and your body's like, oh I like this
but you're gonna cough now. And so that's what I did but by the time I got home
I tested on Saturday night or on Sunday night and turned out
that I did have COVID. It's good that I didn't come here last Sunday morning
because I just was super tired. And I don't know, I was a
chaplain in the hospitals for two and a half years
during COVID and somehow managed to never get COVID
and then I go to a prayer retreat in the mountains and bam I get it.
So I don't know, it took five years. I'm on day 11 so I'm well past the point of
being contagious. I've never had a fever. All I've had is this congestion and a
runny nose and a cough. So I'm just wearing a mask when I'm close
to people just to help people feel more comfortable about that. Now while I
was in Colorado I was at a Salvation Army camp called
High Peak Camp and I thought I would just show you a couple
pictures of where I was. I promise it's not so you'll be jealous and really
there's a point to this okay. All right so this first picture, these
are called the Twin Sisters Peaks. I'm standing at about 9,000 feet.
I'm looking up past these trees that have begun changing colors, all the
aspens. And I really love this photo because
it's catching all the greens and the yellows against the blues and the brown
of the Mountain Peak but that's that's about 11,400 feet those
those peaks are. Now if you back up to this next photo you'll see this is
this is where I would sit for a lot of my time.
Those are the same peaks that that pond's to my left. Yes it was full of
trout. It was they were beautiful. They would
come up right next to where I was sitting. I sometimes I felt like I could
probably just reach in and grab some if I wanted but
that wasn't why we were there. And so but then if you stand on that bridge
this is what you see if you stand on that bridge.
That pond like most mountain ponds flows from a stream into a pond and to a
stream into another pond into a stream into another pond and if you
follow that down and then turn around this is what you
would see.
Now you couldn't see that from where I was sitting before.
You had to travel down. You had to follow the ponds one
to the other and that that might be the best photo I've ever taken in my life.
It's gorgeous. It's beautiful because it's not just beautiful because of Long's
Peak. That's called Long's Peak. It's a fort what's called a 14-er 14,000
plus feet. It's the 15th tallest peak in Colorado. It's not just because that's
because of everything that's reflecting off the water right.
It's because of the trees. Because of the clouds. Because the way that the aspen
leaves are breaking up the surface of the water almost making it look like
there's stars there during the day.
There's something beautiful about what you get to see when you look back at
what God has done.
When you look back at the source
and then you see what's reflecting on all of the water.
Psalm 36 5 says your steadfast love oh lord extends to the heavens
your faithfulness to the clouds. Can you put that picture up one more
time for me? This picture to me looks a lot like God's
faithfulness.
Because you don't get to see any of this until you've been through all of it.
You can't see any of that if you're standing too close to any of it.
Thanks Kathy. When we are filled what overflows from pond to stream
continues to flow to other ponds reflecting the beauty
off the surface from the source which is the faithfulness of God.
So with that let's open up our Bibles. I'm going to read from two different
places from Matthew 7 and Galatians 5. You can open to
either one of those. It goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
If you see any of those you're in the right neighborhood for Matthew. It goes
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians.
If you don't have a Bible we have Bibles on the tables and there's also Bibles
on the shelf. On the lobby you can take one of those home with you. Those are
free or you can download a Bible from any of the digital app
stores. We have a tradition around here of just
standing while we read the scriptures during
this part of the service just to give it our full attention. You can do that
while seated if you'd like or you can stand with me as I read.
Matthew 7, Matthew 7 and then Galatians 5, Matthew 7
starting in verse 15 says this, Beware of false prophets who come to
you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits, are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from
thistles. In the same way every good tree bears
good fruit but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
Galatians 5 starting in verse 22, by contrast the fruit of the spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. If we live by the spirit let us also be
guided by the spirit. Let us not become
conceited competing against one another, envying
one another. Let us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue,
every color, every nation, we thank you for the scriptures that
they have persisted throughout the millennia. Thank you that we
have them to consider and to learn from. I pray that today whatever you have for
us to learn that it would stick, that it would become a part of the
framework of our faith, that our faith would become stronger
as we become more like your son Jesus. Amen. You may be seated.
Now in the verses from Matthew, Jesus is talking about false teachers.
He's talking about them in the same way that he was talking about false teachers
in John chapter 10 from the sermon I gave a couple weeks
ago. John, he was saying that the sheep will
know the good shepherd's voice. You all remember that?
Today he's saying the same thing but instead of talking about sheep and
voices he's talking about trees and fruit. You're going to know
that it's a good teacher by their fruit. Now
most of us probably haven't eaten our lunch from a random fruit tree or bush
lately. Probably, probably not. But back then,
2,000 years ago in the Middle East, you're living in Israel, you're living in one of
these towns, you are probably walking most of the day
from one town to the next. Maybe on this particular
occasion you didn't bring enough food. You thought you did but
then your friend wanted half your granola bar.
Now suddenly you need something from somewhere and from a distance you spot
a bush and you think that you're in luck.
Jesus is most likely talking about what's called a buckthorn bush.
There is a version, a variety of buckthorn bush that's actually really
good for you. They have orange berries, they're really nutritious,
there'll be no negative side effects whatsoever but the common variety of
buckthorn berries are small and dark and from a distance they look a
lot like grapes.
If you've been on a long journey, if you're tired,
if you're worn out, if you're hungry, maybe you grab a bunch of berries
thinking you're going to be okay but they make you sick. Especially in
large quantities, these particular berries, they have a negative
side effect of nausea, of vomiting, of diarrhea and it's not just
the berries. This tree, the leaves are toxic too.
The bark is toxic. Jesus is trying to make a point.
We have to avoid being filled by spiritually toxic sources,
especially ones that look good from afar.
But in the end will only make us nauseous.
One common response to phrases or rhetoric like this is to just
reject following anyone at all. We all have friends that have
decided that their church is to stay home.
There's value sometimes in staying home, watching online. There's value sometimes
in finding some friends and developing what might be considered a micro church
or a small church but the sentiment is what's wrong.
The sentiment of rejecting the idea that we should be a part of each other at all
anymore because of the toxicity that we have
experienced somewhere, that's what doesn't lead to the best
place at all times.
Because we're also not meant to only be self-directed
as Christians. Toxic leaders steal and kill and destroy
but our own flesh can produce plenty of ugly fruit as well.
If you back up a few verses in that passage in Galatians,
Paul actually gives us a list of some pretty ugly fruit
that we produce when we're living from our own flesh.
Things like jealousy and idolatry, witchcraft, envy,
hatred. This is why he tells them, but therefore please
do not develop something that causes you to bite against each other.
The hope is for us to live full of good fruit, full of the fruit of the spirit of
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And today
what I want to do is the rest of my sermon, I just want to focus on one of
those fruit, the fruit of faithfulness.
Because faithfulness can be split into five, at least five different words when
you look up its meaning and its background.
It's faithfulness, it is honesty, it is integrity,
it is confidence, and it is trust. In other words, faithfulness is
multi-dimensional. Faithfulness is multi-dimensional and it
is often a word that we have flattened.
Think about it. If we ask someone if they've been faithful in their marriage,
that usually means one thing, right? It's only one thing. We have
flattened it. You've been faithful in your marriage?
We're only talking about one thing.
Faithfulness is broader, it is a broader question than did you cheat.
It's about honesty and integrity and confidence and trust.
And so first, in biblical terms, honesty is about fairness.
It's about accurate measures. You cannot be faithful without being fair.
I'm reminded of when Jesus flipped the tables
in the temple courts. He did this because back then if you were going to make an
offering at the temple, you most likely would buy that offering,
that pigeon or that turtle dove, at the courts that were around
the temple. But the temple only accepted one kind of money.
Y'all ever been on a plane to another country and you had to exchange your
money? That's what you had to do when you went
to the temple. The religious law only accepted one kind of
currency. And so you would bring your currency
to the temple courts and you would exchange
for the kind of money that they would accept.
And so the temptation was always there to cheat people.
Not only on the exchange rate to give them
less back than what was fair, but then to price gouge,
to raise the price of the turtle dove because they knew it was the only place
you could now get it because this money you just exchanged for
isn't good anywhere else either.
That's not fair. Those aren't accurate measures. This is why
Jesus is flipping tables. Not just because his temple, his house
was meant to be full of prayer, not sales, but because
it was the poor looking to worship that could only
afford a turtle dove that were being ripped off.
Jesus, full of the faithfulness of God, the fairness of God,
the accurate measures of God, could not allow his people to be
ripped off and treated unfairly. The Spirit,
that same Spirit is meant to fill us.
To care about if what we see happening is fair.
To care if what we see happening is an accurate measure.
When the Spirit fills us with that kind of faithfulness,
it elevates an honesty that is honorable and fair.
And then that faithfulness is full of integrity.
This reminds me of when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness.
So Jesus is in the wilderness. He's fasting for 40 days and it says that the
Satan, the enemy, comes to tempt him. Tempts him in a
number of different ways. One of the ways it says, if you just
bow to me, I will give you everything that you see.
You want to be great? You can skip all that. I'll make you great right now.
I will give you the power of gray skull.
Right here, right now. But Jesus doesn't let that into his heart.
Yeah? Because it's not the water outside of a boat that sinks it, right?
It's the water that gets inside. Integrity is about what gets in.
Because what you let in will motivate what then comes out.
Lots of politicians start out with great intentions.
And then somewhere along the way, external powers become their internal
motivations.
Maybe we've all known someone. I knew a guy.
Just was a regular old local business owner.
And then they became a politician and it seemed like they changed quite a bit.
Maybe you know someone. Maybe it's been you.
That you started out with good intentions and then
the power that could be replaced the good that you were seeking.
Faithfulness is full of the kind of integrity that doesn't sell out for the
power and position of the world. Faithfulness is looking to serve, not be
served.
That's what Jesus told his disciples. He said, you know that the rulers of the
Gentiles lorded over them. He says, it will not be so among you.
Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant.
And whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave to all.
Faithfulness is full of the kind of integrity
that does not sell out for power and position. Because faithfulness is looking
to serve, not be served.
And then this honesty and integrity inspires confidence.
I'm not talking about the kind of confidence that makes us puff out our
chest. It's not the kind of confidence that you walk up to home plate with.
You know Carlos. So what's his what's his name? Carlos Stinn?
So what's the guy's name that plays for the Yankees right now?
He's only ever had 36 at-bats in the playoffs and 16 of them have been home
runs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He did it last
night to beat the Cleveland Guardians to send the
Yankees back to the World Series again. Can you imagine the level, the kind of
confidence that that would put in you? 16 out of 36 times I've had a home run
in the playoffs. I'm not just talking about the kind of
confidence where you walk with a swagger.
I'm talking about the kind of confidence where you look at a cloudy sky believing
the sun will shine again.
Talking about the confidence that you know
you will feel the warmth of the sun again.
I'm reminded of when Jesus told his disciples, look at the bird of the air.
They don't sow or reap. They don't store away in barns.
And yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Do you not have confidence in what the Lord will do?
And if that is how God clothes the grass of the fields
or feeds the birds of the air, will he not
much more clothe you or feed you?
Being full of faithfulness means that we are full of confidence
in what God will do. You can look at a picture like the
mountains and if it was covered with clouds you'd have confidence that you
would see those mountains again.
And if we feel overwhelmed,
I think that when we feel overwhelmed, one of the things that we can do is we
can stop, we can turn around, we can look back
where we came from, and this is what we should see.
You know, maybe some of us are just on the trail right now.
Maybe some of us are sitting further up behind all those trees
next to a pond meditating and praying, not knowing that this is the view that's
still to come.
God's faithfulness is full of honesty and integrity
and confidence, but the faithfulness of God will reflect off of everything that
he's done.
Give you the confidence to walk into the next day.
All right, so I didn't talk about trust yet and I saved it for last
because I
I think that trust is a pretty rare commodity these days.
I don't know if you can relate. Trust is a pretty rare
commodity these days. Maybe some of us don't have any left.
Maybe some of us have plenty, but we've locked it away like Fort Knox.
Jesus knows all the ways you've been betrayed.
Jesus knows all the ways you've been hurt.
Jesus knows all the ways you've been pushed down a trail you didn't know you
were meant to be walking. It's precisely why he warns us about
who to follow. It's precisely why Paul talks about what the spirit can
create within us, but in all of that,
whatever it is that you're experiencing, whatever it is that you're finding
difficulty experiencing trust or expressing
trust about that doesn't mean that we're all supposed to just go our own ways.
That we're all supposed to just do this on our own.
If you go to Galatians, the passage that we read, I said if you back up a few
verses, you're going to see the verses of things
that we create on our own. If you push forward a couple verses,
you're going to read where Paul says right, right after he lists the fruit,
right after he tells us what the spirit will do within us,
immediately after he says, and so therefore,
bear one another's burdens.
Because faithfulness, it doesn't just lead us to be someone
that people can trust, it leads us to know how to trust the people around us.
In this kingdom, in the kingdom of God, as followers
of Jesus, y'all we need each other.
We cannot walk through the world being willing to help others and be fair
for others without trusting that God will not also give someone to us
to trust in.
It's hard, I know. I've been through it,
but the Lord is working by the spirit through the people around you to
produce the kind of trust that is worthy of you opening your heart to.
Because in the kingdom of God, as followers of Jesus,
we need each other because this isn't just for us,
this isn't just for you, it isn't just for me.
It is for all of us together.
It is for our neighbors. It is for the sake of our city,
and it is for the sake of our world. So maybe you don't feel like your life
looks like a mountain range reflecting off of a mountain pond.
I understand, but you can trust that God's faithfulness will continue
beyond the point that you are standing right now.
In a few moments, we're going to come to the table.
I want to encourage some of us to plan to take some time today
to meditate on and think about the faithfulness
that God is reflecting off of our hearts.
Consider whether it is the kind of faithfulness that has been walled in or
if it is yet able to reflect out onto others. Are we opening our hearts
to the work of the Spirit to grow the kind of faithfulness
that he has for us that is also for others?
And consider, do you need to lean on someone?
Or have you learned maybe to stand on your own two feet a little too often?
There's something that we did last year that we're going to get to do again
this year, and it's something that we're going to do
once communion, once we finish communion and done the connection
card. But this is going to be an opportunity
for you all to stick around just for at least a few minutes after this service
is over to reflect the faithfulness of God to
some people that really need to know that there still is more
trail ahead of them. I want to invite Andy up to tell us what that's going to
be because this is a really special thing that we did last year
and that we're going to get to do again this year.
Thanks, thanks Greg. So just as you're thinking about what Greg has
talked about today and reflecting on the the places you've been and where you're
going and stuff, share something from inside
that would encourage the person that's walking the path behind you.
What we do, a friend of mine a few years ago introduced me to this.
It's a Just Detention International Words of Hope campaign, and so every
holiday season we give out cards to those who are
in jail or in prison and who are victims of abuse.
And we try to give them encouragement and share something with them
to just light their world up a little bit, see that path ahead of them going up
the mountain. So I would just give you a couple of
little, you know, guidelines or whatever. Just keep in mind that not everybody
that gets one of these cards is going to be a Christian.
Keep in mind that these people may not know when they're going to get out.
So please don't reference a specific date or time,
but just give them hope and encouragement.
I'll give you an example and you can draw pictures, you can whatever, and
please just write your first name on the card.
I'll make it a little bit special. These are a couple that I wrote
a few days ago. Hello, I hope this note brings a little light into your world.
Please remember that you bring something unique to the world that no one else can.
You are special. Knowing this time that people care about you.
Best wishes. So after Communion I would like we can pass out cards. There's
pens and pencils on the table. It just asks you to write something, like
I said, for the person walking on the path up the mountain behind you.
Just give them a little hope and encouragement. Bring some light into
their world. We have about 75 of those, is that right?
Just shy of 75 because I did a couple already. So
we're going to put all those on this table and grab a pencil or colored pencil
from one of your things. Grab as many as you think that you can
fill out, but we've got 75 letters to write to people that need to
have a little encouragement. The need to hear a little bit about some
faithfulness that there is a path that's still continuing for them, okay?
Let me go ahead and pray. Thank the Lord for this message and then
Marisa will come up and lead us in Communion.
Jesus, we thank you for the work that you've done. All the ways that you taught
your disciples.
Show us the times that we need to flip some tables or that we need to reject
the powers of this world trying to motivate us internally.
Give us the confidence by your spirit that
you are good and you are still working. Teach us to trust, not only you but
each other.
I pray that you would take these words,
that you would sift away whatever needs to fall,
but I pray that our hearts would hold on to
whatever will shape us for your glory. Amen.