A Roller Coaster Ride
April 16, 2000
Sermon by Rev. Laurel Bobb
How many of you like roller coasters?
Even if you enjoy being jostled around and going up and down and
around you wouldn't have liked the roller coaster of this week
that Jesus was on. He went from having the accolades of the masses,
through being betrayed by a close associate, to being mocked and
finally killed by the very people who were claiming him as king
at the beginning of the week--not to mention being abandoned and
denied by his closest friends. What a depressing end to what had
begun as an exciting week!
Such was Jesus's last week on earth. Being human we, too, are
capable of great heights of excitement, but also great lows of
depression. Many of us are familiar with someone who has been
depressed almost to the point of despair at least at some time
in their lives. It is one of the leading cause of illness in America
according to statistics Dr. Pakan gave, and we live in a country
where we supposedly have everything. We should be living in the
Palm Sunday atmosphere, but many of us are experiencing Good Fridays
in our lives instead. People feel rejected and alone, suffering
without a sense of hope.
Fortunately for us we have a Savior who understands. He is
not sitting off on a throne somewhere with servants waiting on
him, ignoring those he rules. He is right here beside us, telling
us he understands, offering us a place on his lap and an ear to
listen to our troubles. He gives us his love, and shows us his
scars to prove that he really has been where we are.
He dries our tears and comforts us, but our encounter does
not and cannot end there, because once we have been so touched
by Jesus, we can never be the same again. He leads us, but his
leadership is not the kind of leadership we often have modeled
in the places where we live and work. His leadership is involved
in getting to the bottom of the pyramid instead of to the top.
He goes to the bottom, so he can serve as many people as possible.
That's part of the reason why the crowd was so willing to have
him crucified. He didn't f it their expectations for what their
Messiah ought to be. He wouldn't play politics. He wouldn't work
against the Roman government to overthrow them. What good was
he? He had the support of the people, but people are fickle and
when they don't get what they want from one source, they look
to another.
Jesus knew that to really save these people as they were crying
out for him to do, it would take his death. He was willing to
go there so he could save us, because he loves us. He loves everyone
and invites everyone to take on his way of being in the world.
He invites us to participate with him in reaching out and serving
others who don't know the comfort of a loving God, turning their
worlds upside down with a new definition of leadership. This is
servant-leadership.
That is the purpose of the Holy Spirit--to work in us to give
us the mind of Christ to make us humble servant-leaders. This
is so more and more will come to know the loving care of Christ
through like-minded followers. Ted Haggard refers to this servant
outlook as the "Philippians 2 attitude," and suggests
service should be the goal of all Christians [Ted Haggard. Primary
Purpose. Orlando: Creation House, 1995. p. 131.] He invites us
to fast and pray so that we can get power to serve, and so we
can defeat the enemy and be a blessing to others. He wants us
to study Scripture so we can grow to know how to serve. Pastor
Haggard invites us to attend church so we can worship with others
bragging about God so we can grow in our faith, encourage others
in their faith, be strengthened for our service to the lost, and
then go out and serve them. Haggard tells us we are to give our
offerings so we can show our concern and willingness to serve
others in a tangible way.
We should lead holy lives so we can show that God has changed
us and gain the respect of those we would want to serve. We must
keep our word to reflect the character of God and to let others
know that we are genuine, so they will let us serve them. We are
to be faithful in our marriage relationships so we show what God's
plan is, opening doors so others will want us to serve them.
We need growing churches to better serve. We need growing generosity
so we can better care for those we are serving. So we see this
attitude affects all areas of our lives.
This kind of attitude brings a real joy--a joy that is present
despite our circumstances. It is the joy in being freed from sin
and an over-concern for ourselves. We know what our eternal destiny
is, so we are freed to be prodigally loving and serving in the
present.
This makes Satan really angry, because one of his best lines
is to say that Christians are no different from anybody else;
they're certainly no better, and quite possibly worse. But when
people are confronted with the loving kindness of Christians going
out of their way to serve them, his lies sound rather hollow.
So if you want to be a leader; if you want to make it to the
top, you've got to head for the bottom in the economy of God.
You'll be on your own roller-coaster ride as you seek to be a
servant as Christ did. Some won't understand you; others will
think you're just plain nuts, but you will be fulfilling the role
God has for you in the kingdom--that of a servant.
I opened this message by talking about the roller coaster ride
that Jesus was on during his final week on earth. I left off with
the coaster in the tunnel of Good Friday. Thankfully Jesus didn't
get off the coaster at this point; but that is where this message
will conclude--following Jesus's life into the tunnel. I invite
you to come, and bring others to experience the ride of the last
few days of Jesus's life this week as he feasted one last time
with his disciples, as he was betrayed into the hand of his enemies,
as his friends deserted him, and finally as he was crucified,
died, and was buried. Just remember what goes down, comes up in
God's way of doing things in the world. Good Friday is not the
end. Easter is coming, and it's effects come every day for the
believer.
Copyright 2000 by Rev. Dr. Laurel Bobb
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