“Your love, God, is my song; and I’ll sing it! I’m FOREVER telling EVERYONE how faithful you are. I’ll NEVER QUIT TELLING the story of your love—how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it.”
BULLETIN STUDY OUTLINE
I. It's that time of year again. Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer fun for most Americans, and as I've done before in this space, I want to pause to take note of the real reason there is a Memorial Day. It's meant to honor and pay our respects to those Americans who've given their lives in service to our nation, who stand in an unbroken line from Lexington's rude bridge to the beaches of Normandy to the streets of Baghdad.
Over the last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air Force personnel have given their lives in the terrible duty that is war. Thousands more have come home on stretchers, horribly wounded and facing months or years in military hospitals.
Army Lt. Col. Robert Bateman, who recently completed a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq is now back at the Pentagon. He wrote an account of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon with cheers, applause and many tears every Friday morning. Through the 110 yards from the "E" ring to the "A" ring of the Pentagon marches a parade, though “parade” is used loosely and “marched” even more so. These are men and women horribly wounded in our wars. They are usually pushed or helped by a high-ranking combat veteran from Majors to Generals. And they are wildly cheered. Many of them are accompanied by weeping wives or parents. Many of the hardened veterans that line the halls weep too.
They pass down this corridor newly remodeled and reminding us of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the reason why they fight, to keep us safe and free.
"These are our men, broken in body they may be, but they are our brothers, and we welcome them home. This parade has gone on, every single Friday, all year long, for more than four years."—(Copyright 2007 by Robert Bateman; reprinted here by permission.) McClatchy Newspapers 2007
One of the biggest questions of the Veteran’s Administration, the military and our nation is “What’s next for these severely wounded men and women?” There are those with scars too deep to be seen. What’s their next step? What kind of life will they, can they, live? What will WE do to help these worthy, wounded warriors?
I tried to Google a relevant quote that has been following me this past week, but I can’t find its author. I’ve got it mostly right. It clearly summarizes a big part of the answer to the question above AND the answer to many of life’s questions, challenges and problems: “Our task is not to do what lies dimly in the distance, but what clearly lies at hand.”
II. I believe Jesus was teaching this to His disciples—including you and me--when they were confronted by a huge problem in Mark 9.
A. The back ground to this story is the Mt of Transfiguration where Jesus takes Peter, James and John to witness another confirmation that He is their expected Deliverer and Savior of the world, sent into the world by the heavenly Father out of His love and our need (v 7).
B. This was a spiritual and literal mountain top experience for these three disciples. Peter wanted to extend it, like we want to extend our spiritual mountain top times. Wouldn’t we much rather stay on retreat, at Christian camp, even times at church, cradled in Christian fellowship, than go back into the real world with people’s messy problems. Peter did (v 5). So do you and I.
C. But that doesn’t make the problems go away, even if that secluded time is with our closest Christian friends and/or Jesus Himself. Note Jesus takes them right from the mountain top into the valley of despair, as it’s often been called (vs 14-18).
D. Can’t you just hear Peter: “We came down off the mountain for this?” I can see his eyes darting looking for a way of escape, a way back to the mountain top, a place of seclusion away from people and problems. I see this because I’ve been in Peter’s shoes…and SO HAVE YOU!
E. The other disciples are baffled why they couldn’t help this sad father and his sick son. They are riled up from the argument going on. It’s not easy to tell who’s arguing with whom because of the pronouns, and the fact there are three groups; disciples, teachers of the law and crowd.
1. It’s pretty sure the disciples and the teachers of the law are at each other again. It’s clear the crowds and the disciples are glad to see Jesus. The teachers of the law never were.
2. It’s not clear who Jesus is calling “an unbelieving generation.” We know He rebuked the disciples for their dullness and unbelief many times. But here we get the idea He’s rebuking them all, and correcting them all by telling them exactly what their next step should be [BIG IDEA].
3. (V 19). How often is the task that lies clearly at hand to simply bring that person or problem to Jesus? But how hard is it to let go? How hard is it to release that son or daughter, that husband or wife, that______?
4. Part of that is simply human. Did you know one of the first instincts we are born with is the grasping motion? Do you know it’s also one of the last to go when we die? Why? What does that tell us about us? What might be one of our biggest challenges as parents? As people?
5. Abraham had to tie Isaac on the altar when he turned him over to God [TITLE of the book by fall WMF retreat speaker, Carol Kent. BROCHURES available]. He tied him down maybe as much for his own benefit so he wouldn’t try to take him off the altar. Maybe he did it for Isaac too, because the problem with every living sacrifice (yours and mine) is it keeps trying to crawl off the altar.
III. Jesus simply says the step that lies clearly at hand for you is to “Bring the boy to me.” The only thing the disciple Andrew is known for in the entire NT story is described by this statement: “Then Andrew brought him to Jesus.” Not bad for a resume, personal mission statement, or epitaph, eh?
A. What would that step look like for you today: “Just bring him/it to Me”? Who, what, comes to mind?
B. MEDITATE on this for a moment. When the size of the problem or person threatens to overwhelm you, when you’re tempted to stall and stagnate because you don’t know where the start; the problem is too big; be assured of this FACT [BIG IDEA-TITLE REPEAT].
C. How many times, just in this one chapter, does Jesus just show the next step that lay at hand for these disciples (vs 28-29, 41)?
D. Jesus knows what that next step is AND HE WILL SHOW YOU what it is. TWO key Qs: Do you believe this and will you take it?
IV. Don’t expect instant results. This man didn’t get instant results. There may be some conversations we need to have with Jesus first. There may be some issues we have to get resolved with Jesus, some prayers we need answered, or a work He needs to do in OUR hearts before He starts His work on the person or problem we’re bringing Him (vs 20-24).
V. Often that next step will show up in His Word. It may be a verse that on the surface, doesn’t even relate to the problem/person. But the Holy Spirit illumines it just for you, just for the next step.
A. TESTIMONY [from my Journal] PRESCRIPTION: PERSONAL PRAISE. I was counseling someone who had come through very deep waters extremely well compared to how it could have turned out. It bothered me that they were not giving what I thought was appropriate thanks/credit to God.
Then I was confronted by my own lack of praise/thanks. I had been battling a time of discouragement. But what clearly lay at hand for me for my way out of that valley of despair was wrapped up in the following Scripture. The Lord showed me how far I fell short of the standard here in (Psa 89:1) “Your love, God, is my song; and I’ll sing it! I’m FOREVER telling EVERYONE how faithful you are. I’ll NEVER QUIT TELLING the story of your love—how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it.”
If I can’t think of a personal praise I can always talk about the cosmos, His gorgeous creation.
B. No wonder the Bible calls itself “a lamp for our feet and a light for our path” (Psa 119:105). RIDDLE: “Why is a little superior because a flashlight does it too well? The little lamp illumines JUST the next step. The temptation with a flashlight or floodlight is to see too far ahead. That’s often scary or overwhelming.
C. God often just wants to show us the next step so we keep our hand in His vs. run ahead, so we don’t get scared because of the enormity of what’s out there in the future, the size of the problem, the chasm we have to cross.
D. Some key Qs for us all. *What’s the next step for those wounded warriors that our wars have produced? *What’s the next step for you, O fallen or wounded warrior? You can be sure of this: Jesus wants [BIG IDEA]. If you saw too far it would overwhelm or frighten you. *Do you believe He will show you? *Will you do it? *Will you put your hand in His today, here (Psa 37:23-24)?
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