This Week's Light Service Sermon

Light Service Sermons for the Month
God's Vision for Your Life
Discovering God's Values
DATE: April 25, 1999
TEXT: Matthew 6:19-21

There's a true story about young man who was almost robbed in New York City. He was walking from the bus depot to his father's apartment in upper Manhattan when he realized he was flanked by two young men. They demanded that he give them his wallet. But he refused. They asked for the wallet again. And again he said no. Finally, after repeated attempts to get the wallet with no success, the robbers gave up and left. When he was asked why he refused to give up his wallet when facing that kind of danger, the young man said, "Because my learner's permit is in it."
All of us have things in life that we value, things that are important to us, things that we will risk our lives for. Those values may be internal, values like honesty and integrity. Or those values may be external, like family, a car, a learner's permit.
You see, a value is anything that we place a high premium on--something so important to us that we'll do whatever we can to keep it or protect it. And because those values are so important to us, they actually shape our lives. For our lives are lived on the basis of what we value. What we value determines where we'll put our time. Our values shape our decisions. They determine the quality of our lives.
Some values, like honesty, or family, are healthy and good. But other things we value may actually be destructive. If they take us away from family, or if they bring harm to others, or ourselves those values can destroy us. So it's important that we hang our hearts on values that lead to life and joy.
In the Bible, God shares with us some of his values--values that he invites us to make our own. And as we embrace God's values, we begin to discover God's plan for our lives--a plan of joy, energy, and hope.
So today, as we wrap us our series on God's vision for our lives, we're going to look at some of the things that God thinks are important, some of the things that he values and invests his time in, and how his values can become ours, that we might experience the life he has to offer us. But before we talk about it, let's pray together.

In our Bible reading for today, Jesus tells us that where our treasure is, or what we value, is where our heart will be. You see, what we value does determine the shape and quality of our lives. The things that we hold dear impact everything we do.
In a short, yet powerful verse in the Bible, God shares with us his values. And by so doing, he invites us to make those values ours. For as we embrace God's values, those values will lead us to a life that's deeply fulfilling and satisfying.
The verse is a familiar one to some of you. If you watch football at all you often see a sign that says, John 3:16. What John 3:16 says is this: For God so loved the world, or for God so valued the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him, will not perish, but will have everlasting life.
This morning I'd like to look more closely at that verse with you and share with you five of god's values--five areas where God wants to invest his time and where he invites us to invest ours.
1) The first value found in that verse is you. God values you.
One of the ways to understand the word "world" is to personalize it. For God so loved Stan, or for God so valued Jan, or Mike, or Buzz, that he gave his only son. One of God's deepest held values, a value he would lay his life on the live for is YOU. And he invites you to value yourself. Which isn't always so easy, because many of us have a hard time believing in ourselves. We know ourselves all too well. We know our failures and shortcomings. Or we have a hard time valuing ourselves because very few people in our lives have expressed value in us.
Perhaps some of you can identify with the story of a woman who suffered from polio as a child. She said, "When I was little, and my mom left me in Sunday School, I always asked to wear her locket. She thought I liked the locket. But that wasn't it at all. I wasn't worth coming back for, but I knew she would back for her locket."
People who have a hard time loving themselves have a hard time enjoying life. But people who truly love and value themselves more often than not take advantage of all that life has to offer.
The key to valuing ourselves is to see ourselves as God does. We're his number one priority. He thinks we're worth dying for. Jesus laid his life on the line for us. God created us in his image which means from the moment we were conceived we had incredible worth woven into the fabric of who we are.
God deeply loves and values you. You are at the center of his heart. And he invites you to value yourself the way he does. And as you do, you'll discover his vision for your life--a vision of uncontainable joy and hope.
2) Secondly, God values people in general. Another way to understand the word, "world", is that God loves humankind.
God created us to live in relationships with others. It's in relationships that we discover who god created us to be, and we also discover the true joy of life. One of the reasons why God created humankind was because of his desire for a relationship with us. To be created in God's image is to need friendships.
In 1947 Jackie Robinson because the first black baseball player to play in the major leagues. He was warned that it would be tough. The owner of the team told Robinson to "expect ridicule, abuse, and verbal attacks." And sure enough, it all happened.
Around midseason Robinson was having a particularly tough day. He was fumbling grounders; he had overthrown first base; he couldn't get a hit. The boo birds were out in full force. But then, while the boos were showering the stadium, Pee Wee Reese, a white ball player, walked over to Jackie Robinson and put his arm around him. And later on, Jackie Robinson said that that moment saved his career. For the first time, he felt he belonged.
Jesus always valued people by helping them feel like they belonged. It didn't matter who they were. He hung out with prostitutes, the wealthy, the sick, the social outcasts. Jesus never discriminated. He simply embraced and valued all who came his way.
And his love invites us to do the save. For as we value others, as we treat others, no matter whom they are with dignity and respect, we touch the heart of God.
3) A third value for God is the environment. And that's also the third way to understand the word, "world."
God created the earth. He created all the plants, the animals, the mountains, and the oceans. And he cares deeply about his handiwork. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus came not only to save us from sin and emptiness, but he came to save the earth, the environment, from the ravages of sin.
God's heart aches when he sees the smog ringing the city. His heart breaks knowing that of the 20,000 native plants in the US, plants he created, 4200 are nearly extinct. God deeply values his creation, and as the pinnacle of that creation he invites us to be good stewards of the earth, to care for it and value it the way God does.
Carpooling when possible, recycling, standing up against those who utterly disregard creation, will not only honor God but will save our lives.
God gave us the earth as our home. To value it the way he does is to invest in our future and the quality of our lives.
4) A fourth value of God's is giving. God so loves the world that he gave his very best. He gave his son Jesus.
There's something about that word giving that tends to make many of us uncomfortable. For example, a young policeman was asked during an oral exam what he would do to break up a crowd. He said, "Simple, I'd just take up an offering."
The problem for many of us is that we tend to see giving as something we give up--as something we lose, rather than as an act that energizes us with life. We've been raised to believe that the more we have, the more we hoard for ourselves, the happier we will be.
And yet all the research tells us otherwise. The most unhappy people in the world are those who lack a generous spirit.
You can't read the Bible too long without discovering that God takes great delight in giving. He's always giving. And he enjoys it. And he not only enjoys giving himself, but he gets a kick out of seeing us give. The Bible says God loves, or God values, a cheerful giver. For God knows that giving is the true key to joy and happiness.
So God invites us to make giving a high value in our lives. For giving fills us with contentment
5) Finally, God values life itself. That's why he sent Jesus--so that Jesus could free us from anything that robs us of life.
A man had just received his annual physical and was waiting for the results. Finally, the doctor walked in, and, looking over the charts, said to the man, "There's no reason why you can't live a completely normal life as long as you don't try to enjoy it."
There are all kinds of things that seek to rob us of the joy of living today. For example, there are people who seek to destroy life through abuse, racism, criticism, or violence. There are things that we humans are doing to the environment that are slowly eating away at our ecosystem. But whatever it is, god is against anything that devalues life.
On the other hand, God is for life--He values anything and anyone who helps put joy back into life. Jesus continually demonstrated his value of life by healing the sick, raising the dead, spending time at parties, laughing and playing with children, siding with the down and out. In fact, his entire mission was to give us life--a life filled with hope, joy, peace, and contentment. And as God values life, he invites us to do the same.
A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Faith Lutheran Church's Hospice Soup Ministry was in contention for an award from J.C. Penny. Well, we won and here is the trophy. This goes to Ken Nouse and the Hospice Soup Making team for making one of God's priorities our priorities. To be persons who build up others, who laugh and play with children, who fight for the underdog, who do whatever is necessary to remove the barriers to joy and happiness, that is one of the foremost values of God
As we value ourselves, others, the environment, giving and life, we discover God's vision for our lives. And the key to embracing God's values is to embrace Jesus Christ, to welcome him as friend and savior, to allow his values to shape our values and our life.
I encourage you today to discover God's vision for your life by inviting Jesus to take control of your life, to reshape your heart and pour his values into it. And as your life is captivated by Jesus, you'll discover a hope, a peace, a joy, and a sense of life you never dreamed possible.
AMEN