Gloria Dei Lutheran Church | Urbandale, Iowa

Celebration Sunday: We Are Blessed and I Am Thankful

Pastor Burcham’s Sermon

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Today is a celebration of the joys of the ministry God has given to us here at Gloria Dei and we’re going to highlight significant events in people’s lives and events we’ve celebrated as a congregation, as their spiritual life has been impacted and touched by our congregation. We’re also wrapping up the series of messages of being rich in a poor economy and what we’re celebrating this morning is not the fact that we’re rich, even though I’ve strode for three weeks to show you that indeed we are, but to celebrate what God has done among us, how He has used a portion of our wealth and He’s used that to change and impact lives.

But as I do that, I also realize that I still haven’t quite convinced all of you that you are rich. I know it took awhile for me to figure that out as I was looking at this and studying it about six weeks ago and you’re saying, “But, Ron, I don’t feel rich and no matter how much you keep telling me each week that I’m rich, I’m positive that I’m just not so.” I have one more shot at it and so, today, I’m going to get a little nuts, okay? I’m going to get a little crazy on you to try to show you at least just how rich this guy is. Alright? Now I know it’s early so brace yourself if you need to, if I can find my pocket here. This is just crazy stuff I’m doing here. I have right here in my pocket not one but two $1.00 bills. That’s 99 cents plus 1. Okay? Two $1.00 bills. Now are you ready? Now I know it’s early, this is nuts. Are you ready for what I’m going to do with these two $1.00 bills? [Crumples them up and throws them away on the ground.] Don’t need them. That’s right, just threw them away. Now the amazing thing is that the folks in the front here are not scrambling up here trying to get them. There’s no one in the back poking and saying, “You see, I told you we should have sat up front. There are even spots up there.” No, in fact, I’ll bet if I had taken a buck before service and offered it to one of you folks in the back and said, “You know what, if I give you a dollar, will you sit up front?” And they would say, “No, it’s not worth a buck. Uh-huh, no. Uh-huh, no. It’d have to be more than that.”

And yet over three billion will work all day long for less than a dollar’s wage. Over three billion will put in a hard day’s worth of work and they’ll get less than a buck. And now there’s this crazy person up here throwing away two days’ worth of wages. We’re rich. From a world perspective, from God’s perspective, you and I are rich.

One of my neighbors comes from Bosnia and the conversations that we’ve had with one another, we really grew up very, very differently. The things that I had when I grew up, he didn’t even dream of having in his home when he grew up. The things he’s able to give his children, he looks at me sometimes and shakes his head and he says, “They have no idea, Ron. They have no idea what they have.” He says, “I’m living the American dream.” He has a beautiful wife, two beautiful kids. He has a home, two cars, a house full of stuff, good job. He’s living the American dream. He’s told me that on more than one occasion. He’s rich. I’m rich. Most, if not all, of you are rich.

Now I have not been telling you this for four weeks so you can feel bad or you can feel guilty and somehow you shouldn’t have all that you do have. That’s not my point at all. In fact, my point is the exact opposite of that. I don’t want you to feel guilty. I want you to feel blessed because you are. Because God has blessed us. There is nothing wrong with being rich. What we’ve been trying to do for the last four weeks is to learn how to be rich in a God-pleasing way. How can we use the riches God has given us in a way that brings glory and honor to Him and results in thanksgiving to Him? There’s nothing wrong with being rich, just be rich in a godly way.

And so on this final weekend, I have one more question for us to struggle with. Are you pursuing the American dream or God’s dream? You see, the way the world would have us handle our wealth, at certain junctures, is very different than how God would have us handle our wealth. And so the so-called American dream, is that what you’re pursuing or are you pursuing God’s dream?

Believe it or not, there is a story in scripture, as far as I’m concerned, is the story of the American dream. Jesus told this story. It’s a parable, it’s found in Luke 12. You tell me if this doesn’t sound like a guy who is living the American dream. “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘Self, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and be merry.’” It’s the American dream. Got it made. But God said to him, “You fool. This very night, your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” God said, “You fool,” not because the man was rich.
Think about this with me for a moment. Who made the guy rich? God did. He’s a farmer, right. And what does the story say? It doesn’t say the farmer was shrewd, that he did all the right things. It says the ground produced a bumper crop, things that no man has control over. God sent the rain at just the right time. God shined on the sunshine at just the opportune moment so that he produced a bumper crop and so the man has incredible wealth. The problem is not that he’s rich; it’s that he doesn’t know how to be rich in a godly way. He stores up all the things for himself and puts his trust and hope in all of his things and God says, “What good is that going to do you because tonight, tonight I’m calling in the chips. Life is over. What good did all of your storehouses do for you?”

Isn’t that the American dream, though? God made each of you unique, gave you special gifts and talents so you could do your job, strength, brainpower so you could earn a living and you could advance in your career and yet each time that you advance, each time that we gained a raise in our pay or we’ve gotten a bonus at the end of the year, what have we done with it? We consumed it. We consumed it. We didn’t tear down our barns and build bigger ones. We sold the one house and bought a bigger one. And when the bigger one wasn’t enough, we put a third bay onto the garage so it could hold our stuff. And when the third bay on the garage wasn’t enough, well, then we built a shed out back and we put our stuff in the shed out back. And then when that got full up, then we went to the rental place and we rented a little shed that we could put all of our stuff in. It’s the American dream so, one day, we can say, “Look at all that I have. I’m set. I can kick back. I can eat, drink and be merry.”

But where does that leave you? Don’t get me wrong. The problem is not the bigger house. It’s not the third bay. It’s not all the stuff. What do you do with the stuff? If all you do is gather it in and hold close to it, it’s meaningless. There’s no purpose to that. All there is, is the danger and the temptation to put your trust in your stuff instead of your trust in God. Again, the problem is not being rich. It’s being rich in a godly way. The American dream is just to be rich so you can sit back and be fat and happy but that dream is empty. Without God, that dream is empty. It is un-fulfilling. It’s purposeless.

God’s dream is different. God’s dream is much different. You can read about God’s dream sprinkled throughout scripture. He says it in many and different ways. One of my favorite ways in which God expresses His dream is in John 10:10 when Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” There are two prongs to that dream. Jesus says that He’s come that we might have life, that’s life everlasting, but also that we might have life here in this world to the full, a life with meaning and purpose to it. God’s dream is that all people would have life, that is, another way of putting it, scripture says, “God’s dream is that all people would be saved, that all people would come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and that they’d be given this new life.” That’s God’s dream and God’s dream, my friends, begins with you. With you.

You see, God’s dream began at your baptism when God called you to faith so that you’d look to Jesus as your Savior. God’s dream continued at your confirmation when you stood up and you declared that Jesus Christ was your Savior and that you believed in Him with your whole heart. God’s dream began when maybe you heard the word of God for the first time and the gospel sunk in and you understood what your God has done for us, that He produced new life in you. That’s God’s dream. God’s dream is that you would have life, that you’d have everlasting life. He’s so serious about that dream that Jesus was willing to substitute His life for your life. You see, He knew He had to. Jesus wants you to be in heaven for eternity.

But if you don’t know this, let me tell you, heaven is for perfect people. Only sinless people get into heaven. God is holy, God is perfect. Only perfect people can be there. Now unless you all think you’re perfect, which in that case, I have a bigger job than I thought, we’re in trouble. That’s why Jesus said, “I’ll take your place.” And so Jesus took on our imperfection and gave us His perfection. He took on our unrighteousness and we took on His righteousness so that God declares us perfect. And that means we’re welcome in heaven because heaven is for perfect people. Jesus said I have come that you may have life, everlasting life, but have life to the full.

You see, when Jesus gets a hold of your heart and you look to Him as your Lord and Savior, that changes your whole life and it changes your whole perspective. Now, all of a sudden, you have purpose, you have meaning and you look at things differently. In fact, you even look at your wealth differently. That’s the point of today, that we look at the riches God has given us, we look at it differently. We see that it’s not just something for us to gather in for ourselves but instead that God gave it to us so we can be a blessing to others. God says to take a portion of that and to give it back to Him and He’s going to use that to make an impact in the world and to change lives through His church. It’s what He says in 2 Corinthians, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and, through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” You see, for us who believe in Jesus, He has made us rich so we can be generous on every occasion, so we can take a portion, really just a sliver, of what He’s given to us and we give it back to God and to His church and it translates into ministry and, all of a sudden, it has an impact on people’s lives and it changes their lives, not only in this world but for an eternity.

My friends, we’ve just gotten a hint of God’s grace, what He’s allowed us here at Gloria Dei to do, just a hint of how He has used our wealth, a portion of that, and how He has translated that into ministry and made a difference in people’s lives.

At the end of the service, we’re going to scroll through all of the baptisms. There are over 35 of them, over 35 infants that stood at the baptismal bowl and, because God entered their heart, they’ll never know a moment in their life without Jesus. They’ll be there for an eternity because God claimed that life to be His own. That’s making a difference.

It’s making a difference in the lives of couples. It was a couple of months ago that I received a letter from this young couple who said the husband had lost a job but don’t worry, they’re okay. They’re a little bit scared but they have a confidence in God and because of their church home and their friends and church, they know God has a plan. They’re going to be okay. That’s making a difference in people’s lives.

It was two weeks ago in confirmation class. We’re studying the Lord’s Supper and the connection between the Lord’s Supper and the Passover, the first Passover that took place. Now understand this is junior high kids, 8th Grade, 7:30 at night. You get the picture, junior highers, 7:30 at night. And at the end of class, you could have heard a pin drop. It was that quiet. Junior high kids. And then one confirmand says, “Wow, that’s deep.” I think they got it. I think they understood. I think God got through. I think that’s making a difference.

It’s 400 residents of Urbandale that have received food from the Urbandale Food Pantry since it opened on October 15 and to know that Gloria Dei was a major player in that happening and that tonight someone is going to have a meal on the table for their family. You see, we’re making a difference.

It’s about the people in Honduras who now have eye glasses and they can see or they have dental care so they’re not going to have a disease and die from it. That’s because we’re making a difference.

We’re talking about the couples who gathered here at the altar and they invite God into their married life and ask Him to bless them and for Christ to be that third person in their relationship.

Or maybe, most of all, it’s when we gather here and we have to say goodbye to someone we love. And yet, through the tears, we know that they’re in heaven. We know they are experiencing joy and peace we can’t imagine and we know that we’ll be with them someday. That’s an eternal difference.

What a privilege God has given us. What an awesome privilege that God would use us in such a way, that He would bless us so abundantly and then He’d take just a sliver of that and He’d use that in His church and it results in thanksgiving to God and lives being impacted and changed.

My friends, that’s part of what it is to be rich in a God-pleasing way. Amen.