Mathew 10:4042

[40] "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

[41] Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;

[42] and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple - truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

[NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

You've all probably heard the old story about the town drunk who was down on his hands and knees one night underneath the streetlight searching and searching for something. The preacher happened to be walking by and asked him, "Sam, what in the world are you doing out here on your hands and knees?"

Sam looked up and said, "Oh, Hi Preacher, I'm hunting for my keys. I lost my keys."

The preacher, being kind hearted, got down on his hands and knees to help and said, "Show me where you dropped them and I'll help you find them."

Sam pointed off about 50 or 60 feet in the distance and said, "Oh, I lost them way over there in the grass."

That really got to the preacher so he asked, "Well, if you lost them way over there in the grass, why are you looking for them over here on the sidewalk?"

And Sam said, "Because this is where the light is."

As old and as dumb as that joke is, there is a semblance of truth to it. People look for things where there is light. And I have a feeling that a lot of people come to church because somewhere they have lost something.

They're not sure what they've lost; maybe it's themselves or their faith or their belief in life. They're not sure what they've lost or even where they lost it. But, they are convinced that the Church is where the light is.

And we shouldn't be surprised, because this is what we've been telling the folks for years. This is the place of the light. This is the place of Christ, the light of the world. This is the place where people come to find answers.

Jesus put it a little differently in today's passage. He spoke about "welcoming our neighbors" and "giving a cup of cold water" to the thirsty.

Some people think the Church is outdated and no longer necessary. Others just think it's foolish. Back in a November 11, 1989 issue of WORLD, Ted Turner, the owner of Turner Broadcasting is quoted as saying, "Christianity is a religion for losers." He went on to say a whole bunch of other stuff but that was the gist of his comment.

And yet, what others think is foolish is actually God's wisdom and power. At least that's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (NRSV)"

To some, what we claim is foolishness. You don't get value out of worthless junk. But remember the saying, "one person's junk is another person's treasure." I believe that's how God get His kicks. This is what gives God the most pleasure. God derives pleasure from taking something that the world perceives as worthless or foolish and giving it value. God takes the imperfect painting and turns it into a masterpiece.

And that's what we're called to do. That's the cup of cold water that we can offer to every stranger. Through Jesus, God has transformed each of us, who were imperfect and sinful, one of his children. God gets a kick out of taking something that isn't worth much in the eyes of the world, making a masterpiece out of it and using it in amazing ways. That's the Good News.

I. SOME OF US DON'T THINK WE ARE WORTH MUCH:

A. THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS BECAUSE SOME OF US DON'T THINK WE'RE WORTH VERY MUCH AT ALL. In fact surveys show that two out of three of people have a very low opinion of themselves.

Psychologists call that low self-esteem. And they've known for years that low self-esteem is often the root of many of our psychological and social problems. People with high self-esteem are healthier than those with low self-esteem. They live longer and have fewer accidents. People with high self-esteem are much less likely to engage in self-destructive behavior. They don't feel the need to turn to chemical substances like drugs or alcohol, and they don't have to show off and take stupid risks to impress people.

People with high self-esteem tend to get better paying jobs, and are more successful once they get a job. Why? Studies show that it's partly because they EXPECT to be successful.

Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, surveyed representatives of a major life-insurance company. He found that those who expected to succeed sold 37% more insurance than those who did not. The point is, a person who sees himself or herself as a failure will generally fulfill that prophecy. (1)

B. Self-esteem even affects how our young people do in school. Just ask any of the teachers. The young people who feel best about themselves are often times the best students.

The National Institute for Student Motivation conducted a study that showed that the correlation between self-confidence and academic achievement is actually greater than the correlation between academic achievement and IQ. In other words, your child isn't stupid. He or she might simply have a low opinion of themselves. (2)

You see, how we think about ourselves can radically affect how happy and how healthy we are. Proverbs 23:7 say it clearly, "As a person thinks in his heart so he is...." Some of us don't think very much of ourselves.

I remember an old story about a kindergarten teacher wrote a song about popcorn and then had her class crouch down on the floor as they sang it. At the appropriate point in the song, all the children would "pop up." The teacher had them "popping" all over the classroom.

One day, during the popcorn song, the teacher noticed that one little boy remained crouched down when all the other children popped up. "What's wrong?" the teacher asked. "Why aren't you `popping' like the other children?"

The little boy replied, "Cause I'm burning on the bottom of the pan." (3)

Some of us are like that little boy. We feel like we are burning on the bottom of the pan. We feel like we have no worth as persons.

II. PEOPLE OF WORTH:

A. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GOD SEES US AS PERSONS OF INFINITE WORTH. And that's the way we need to see ourselves.

God sent His only Son into the world on our behalf. How can we be worthless? How can anybody say we have no value? The Son of God died for us.

If we could just place the same value on our lives that God places on them, our lives would be radically changed. If we could pass that information and that sense to everyone as easily as giving a cup of cool water, the light would be turned on in everyone's life. If we could just see our possibilities and potential as clearly as we see our problems, we could turn the world upside down.

How we view ourselves CAN make all the difference in the world.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky was interviewed before the second game of a particular playoff series. His team hadn't looked very good in the very first game. They lost. He was asked whether his coach had shown the players their mistakes on video.

Gretzky said that rather than showing them a video of their mistakes, their coach showed highlights of some of their best games where they performed well. Why reinforce negative images? They needed to see themselves as they could be, not as they had been. (4)

That's the cup of cold water that the Church offers, the promise of who we are in God's eyes and the hope of what we can be through Christ. By the way, Gretzky's team won the second game and subsequently took the Stanley Cup that year.

Some of us concentrate on our mistakes. Our failures, our shortcomings, our blown opportunities are the things we remember. In our minds, we replay over and over again. The time we looked foolish; the words we wish we hadn't said; the time we hurt someone; or the time we were hurt.

We beat ourselves up with our mistakes. But God says, the past is past. Over and over Scripture reminds us that Your sins HAVE been forgiven.

What matters now is the future. God gets a kick out of taking people who feel terrible about their lives and helping them get hold of themselves and make a bold, new beginning. Nothing thrills God more.

Remember what Jesus said: "there is more rejoicing in heaven over the one lost sheep that is found than all the ninety-nine safely in the fold."

B. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not encouraging a vain, egocentric lifestyle. I don't want to create a bunch of struttin', pride filled, self-righteous Rambo type Christians.

I am convinced, though, that there's a whole bunch of people who could benefit from simply standing in front of their mirror each morning and saying, "I'm a person of immense value. Jesus Christ, the Son of God gave his life for me. Because Christ gave his life for me, I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me. There is nothing that will arise today that I can't handle with Christ's help."

And if that's too long to remember right now, then there's a simple prayer that's not. It' what's called an Affirmational Prayer. I learned it in Seminary. And I pray it every morning.

"Lord, you love me, a saint saved by grace, and I love myself unconditionally."

It'll change your life. If you'll let that one message become a reality in your life, your life will change. And God gets a kick out of helping you change.

III. OUR PART:

A. Once we accept our worth and our value, GOD WANTS US TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE DISCOVER THEIR REAL WORTH AS WELL. God wants us to share that cup of cold water with everyone.

If God gets so much pleasure from bringing value to that which is considered worthless, then we give God infinite pleasure not only by letting God turn our lives around but also by reaching out and helping other people turn their lives around. That's evangelism at its best.

There's an old story about a little boy who was riding across town on a city bus. He was huddled close to a very well-dressed lady and was swinging his legs back and forth out in the aisle like kids will do. Accidentally, he rubbed his shoes up against the woman sitting across from him.

She got perturbed and complained to well-dressed woman, "Pardon me, but would you please tell your little boy to keep his feet to himself?"

The well-dressed woman looked at the boy as if she hadn't really been aware that he was there, then shoving him aside she said, "He's not MY boy. I've never seen him before."

Embarrassed, the little boy moved to another seat where he sank down as if he were trying to hide. It was obvious that the boy was trying to fight back tears. He looked at the lady whose dress he had gotten dirty and he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

When the woman saw what the reprimand had done to the boy, she felt badly about how she had responded and said, "Oh, that's all right. Are you going somewhere alone?"

The boy lowered his head and answered, "I always travel alone. My Mommy and Daddy are both dead so I live with my Aunt Maggie. But when she gets tired of me, she sends me to Aunt Elizabeth."

The woman then asked, "Are you on your way to visit Aunt Elizabeth now?"

The boy answered, "Yes. But Aunt Elizabeth is hardly ever home. I hope she's home today, though, it sure will be cold waiting outside."

The woman looked at the boy again and then said, "You sure are awfully young to be riding on the bus alone."

The boy piped up, "Oh, it's OK. I never get lost or nothing but sometimes I get awful lonesome. So, when I see someone I'd like to belong to, I sit real close to them and pretend they're my family. That's what I was doing when I got your dress dirty. But I forgot about my feet."

Hearing this, the woman moved over to where the boy was sitting and put her arm around him. Then she hugged him in real close. (5)

All that young boy wanted was to feel good about himself and belong to somebody. And like that woman, Christ hugs us to himself. He wraps his arms around us and makes us his own.

We don't have to be anything special. We don't have to do anything special. We don't have to give anything special. All we have to do is receive the love and the grace and the forgiveness that Christ offers.

I know it sounds foolish in this earn your own way world of ours. But there it is. That's the Good News. That's the cup of cold water we offer. We don't have to do anything except drink deep.

As the apostle said, "The message of the cross IS foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

CONCLUSION:

How does God get His kicks? It happens whenever any person in whatever situation comes to discover his or her true worth through God's unmerited grace.

You see, there is nothing that we can do or say, there is not enough money in the universe to MAKE God love us. And conversely, there is nothing we can do or say to MAKE God quite loving us. But that's the Good News. That's the cup of cold water we offer to our neighbors and to strangers.

And believe it or not, it brings great pleasure to God to appear foolish in the eyes of the world. God gets a kick out of taking what seems to be foolish and worthless and giving it value and worth. Why don't you give God a few kicks today? Accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life and make a new start with him.

And let's all look around and find others that we can encourage through that cup of cold water we offer for the parched and thirsty. Shed a little light so they can find what they are looking for.

1. Notes I've gleaned, I couldn't find the actual source.

2. Notes I've gleaned, I couldn't find the actual source.

3. Notes I've gleaned, I couldn't find the actual source.

4. Notes I've gleaned, I couldn't find the actual source.

5. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), February 1991

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Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

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The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, (CSS Publishing, Lima, OH, 2002) SermonPrep Version.

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