Overcoming Apathy

 Matthew 4:12-23

Today we are going to talk about overcoming apathy. Apathy is a tough enemy.  I can deal with a different point of view.  I can understand a different opinion.  When someone just doesn't care or is completely uninterested, what can you do? When I am feeling apathy when I should be engaged in life what should I do?

Yesterday we had such a welcome break from the isolation that they past two weeks of weather have forced us into. We gathered in the Activity Center and had a wonderful meal and held the St. Paul UMC Olympics complete with an opening ceremony where we represented different countries. I was on Team Scotland. We competed in several events; we even had a medal presentation. I’ve got mine.  

The highly competitive game of "keeping the baloon from falling"
ended when one team intentionally popped their own baloon.
It was going on for quite a while.

Speaking of Scotland let’s talk about that Scottish restaurant in town, McDonald's.

You ever see that McDonald's commercial where the athletes are biting the gold metal?  Yeah, show a series of people biting their gold Olympic Medal then the last person is chomping on a McNugget.  It’s offensive to me.  I don’t think any one of those athletes would come anywhere near a chicken McNugget.

Jesus said he came to give life and to give it abundantly. When we can claim that promise that’s when we are living the life.  That’s the life that we want. That’s the life we are striving for and over the next several weeks that’s we are going to work toward because Jesus wants us to thrive.

Thriving isn’t just getting by.

Thriving doesn’t mean succeeding in isolation.

Thriving means living and growing in a way that impacts the world positively for Jesus Christ.

Today we are talking about overcoming apathy.  Apathy is not caring. Apathy is indifference.  Apathy is a big enemy of the work of the church.

To overcome apathy will take a blessing of God. It takes a partnership with God in our action. God will bless what we do when we seek to do His will. We might get it wrong once and a while but God is always there to teach us and to help us grow.

If we want to thrive, if we want to claim the promise of Jesus of an abundant life, we have to “do” we have to act.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRoIDXeuY

A lot of the time we’re in the race that we want to be in. we’re in the race that we think we ought to be in. and God lets us run that race. God used Derek Redmond and his dad in that place and in that time. God used what happened to Derek and what happened next. Even when we are in last place in the race that we think we ought to be in God is right there with us saying “I love you. I am right here with you.”

God used Derek Redmond in a different way; a far more powerful way than if he had won that race, because he was willing to “do” he was willing to act.  His dad was willing to “do”, he was willing to act.

His whole life revolved around training for that one event. Everything he did, what he ate where he went was leading to the race that he was only able to run half of.  He surrounded himself with people who understood that goal and helped him get there. 

What is important to you and who are you surrounding yourself with to get you there?  Who you associate with matters.

Psalm 1 talks about the two ways. Happy are those who…

In all they do they prosper.

It’s in what we do with our lives that God makes us prosper. When we hope and wish and pray for something to happen and don’t do anything about it, there is nothing for God to bless.  God blesses us in our actions. The wicked are not so…

How do we receive our righteousness but by our faith in God, our faith in Jesus. It says the “Way of the wicked will perish.” It doesn’t say here that the wicked will perish but their way will. What they do will perish.

If we want to thrive; if we want to live the life, that Jesus came to sacrifice for, then it’s in what we do with what we have been given that matters.

In our Gospel lesson today Jesus withdrew when John was arrested. He withdrew and went to Capernaum.  He moved himself out of harm’s way. Jesus calls us to give of our selves completely.  Jesus even implies that some might lose their lives.  But Jesus does not call us to be martyrs. We are called to persevere and to thrive in this place to proclaim Jesus as king.

We can’t persevere; we can’t thrive if we sacrifice ourselves.  How do we sacrifice ourselves? We sacrifice ourselves on the altar of our employment; we sacrifice ourselves on the altar of consumerism, of religiosity. Jesus doesn’t want us to spend ourselves, to wear ourselves down and to be slowly destroyed.  Jesus came to give life and he came to give it abundantly. He came to give us a life in which we thrive.

Jesus withdrew when John was arrested and he move from Nazareth to Capernaum. He moved from what was comfortable to what he was called to do. He may have withdrawn to avoid harm but he was still pushing toward his mission. He was still fulfilling his purpose. He left his mother’s house and moved out on his own.  He got a new “home base.”

And then he began to preach “repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  It doesn’t seem like the kingdom has come near. His cousin John has been arrested. Consider this: There was now a sense of urgency those he cared about were under threat. It was time to commit to the message he was born to deliver. The Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Jesus, God in the flesh, has indeed come near.

Jesus is continually forward with his message.  Even in his retreat he is doing.  God blesses those who “do.”

Jesus was doing.

In overcoming apathy knowing that getting moving starting something is only part of the equation.  The other part is the circle you draw.  The first circle you draw is around yourself.  You have to persevere.  That means you have to keep yourself as healthy as you can. That means you have to do what you need to do to feed your body, mind and spirit. But we can only thrive when we look outside that circle and look to the well-being of those around us.  When we look at another the way God looks at them we see the same need to thrive and that they are no different from us.  And so the circle that we draw around ourselves grows to include the other.  We should be about expanding the circle at every opportunity.

Jesus went to Simon and Andrew and said “follow me.” And immediately they followed him.  Jesus started expanding his circle. 

They already met.  John the Baptist had pointed Jesus out to them.

No Jesus was going to them and saying “follow me.” i.e. do this thing.

And they followed him.  James and John…the same thing.  Now we always talk about the sacrifice that James and John, Simon and Andrew made to follow Jesus, about what they had to leave behind. But I think that they were looking at Jesus as a better deal. Jesus was going to take them places.  Jesus was someone that was righteous.

Who we associate with matters. Jesus was going to lift them up.

Are the people that are in your immediate circle lifting you up or tearing you down? We may say that we can be a witness to Christ in dark places, but unless we are actually doing that, unless we are lifting them up to Christ unless we are shining the light of hope in dark places then there is a likelihood that they may be actually tearing you down.

We should absolutely be in relationship with those who sit in darkness. We should absolutely go to those places because we can be a light and a witness to Jesus Christ. But if we don’t actually do something then God can’t bless it.  God will bless our action.

You have to expand your circle. 

Jesus went teaching and healing throughout galilee. Why do you suppose Jesus cured every sickness?

What does someone’s illness had to do with hearing the news that the Kingdom of God has come near?

Do you think that one’s physical well-being maybe a distraction to hearing about spiritual matters?

So how is it with you today?

What needs to happen for you to “do?” What are you struggling with? Is your health, your spiritual life your emotional life, your social life? You prayed about it. And god has heard you. It’s time to do something so that God can bless you.

In the Christian life there is no retreat there is only refocus. We stay healthy, we avoid things that cause harm and we press on toward God’s mission like Jesus did.

We are going to receive communion. This is an expression of God’s love that we can see feel and taste.

It brings us to a time when God acted and still acts on our behalf.

The circle starts with you.  God is asking to be let in.  God wants you to thrive.

God loves you so much that he cares more about your transformation than your happiness.  There is transformation when God gets involved.  In that small circle with you and God some wonderful things can happen. But when we expand our circles to include each other the blessings multiply.  We have a gym that is great for walking laps around during these cold and lonely days.  Let’s get together during the week at 8 in the morning.  Let’s get stronger together.

What about people who aren’t here. What about people who are suffering, people that we may never meet.  We can expand our circle out as far as sub Saharan Africa.  We will be having a pancake supper on March 1 to raise money to eradicate Malaria from Sub-Saharan Africa through Imagine No Malaria. You have donated over a thousand dollars.  Let’s welcome the community into this place and bless them with the opportunity to partner with us in caring for the well-being of our brothers and sisters across the ocean.