CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

July 10, 2005

LIFT UP THE FOLLOWING FAMILY MATTERS:

Our congregation                                                                 Our nation, leaders and military

David, Leon, and James in the military                             Various friends, relatives and co-workers

The Mearns are vacationing                                              Carole Berry

Summer Youth Series:

July 11 - Watters Road with David Fraze       July 25 - First Colony

July 18 - West Houston                                      August 1 - Southeast

Web Site: Check out the Cypresswood web site done by Don Henderson at www.geocities.com/adon77373/cypresswoodbulletin.htm  It has our bulletins and other items.  Good job Don!

THERE’S A STIRRING

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near” (2 Timothy 4:6).

The title is from a really wonderful song with a great tune.  What is interesting is that one can look at this song from several points of view.  When I first heard the song I thought about someone being converted from hearing the message.  Then another view was told to me.  It would be one who was willing to let Jesus rule in his life.  Finally, after further reflection, I see it as a song of victory, of overcoming at the end to join our Father in heaven.  Let’s take a look at the song and a couple of ideas.

                                There’s a stirring deep within me, could it be my time has come?

                                When I see my Gracious Savior, face to face when all is done.

                                Is that His voice I am hearing, come away my precious one,

                                Is He calling me?  Is He calling me?

                                I will rise up, rise up, and bow down, and lay my crown

                                At His wounded feet.

It is rather brief song packed with thought.  One view is that this is a song of conversion and commitment.  What is being asked is that a person must be willing to take the crown of power from his head.  Power, position, and/or control come from various ideas.  Peers vie for control in little groups.  Others want to be voted into some office to have power to control others,  Some even desire revenge by gaining power.  Fame is a crown that some wear.  Popularity is an addicting idea.  It my be the king or queen of the school dance.  It could be an award winning performance.  It could be breaking a record.  Many of us wear crowns of various kinds.  Preachers because they stand in front of a congregation.  Elders because they control a church.  A person who has money can effect decisions because he thinks his money is a means of power and control.  Crowns imply control. 

But then one comes face to face with our “Gracious Savior.”  He has come seeking and there are those who are seeking, even with crowns.  Then there is the call.  The message is spoken, a life is lived in the beauty of Christ, and the crown wearer sees something beyond himself or herself.  The life of Jesus is looked at and they see the Creator of the world as a humble servant, giving of Himself to others so that they may be lifted up by the Father (see Philippians 2:1-11).  Jesus came to serve; He washes His disciples feet the night before He dies for them (John 13:1-17).  He loves His enemies and those considered enemies by His people; bringing salvation to a Samaritan women and village (John 4), healing a servant of a Roman soldier, and the child of a Gentile woman. 

What is the response?  Rise up and bow down.  Contradictory?  One gets up and walks to the King of kings, bows down and takes the crown of power from his or her head, and lays it down.  Where does one lay it down?  At the wounded feet of the Crucified Savior.  Here is a picture of one who realizes that he or she does not control anything and humbly shows it.  Humility is a difficult thing for many because it is saying  that I must give up my pride, position, and power.  Some do not want to do that, even in the church.  I find it interesting that a recent book on humility in Christ, Unveiling Glory (ACU Press), is ridiculed as a dangerous book to one’s spiritual health.  That tells me that many are afraid to be like Jesus for fear of something different happening.  John captures this idea in Revelation 4:10-11.

                “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and

                worship him who lives for ever and ever.  They lay their crowns before

                the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory

                and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they

                were created and have their being.”

Another view of this song is that it is a song of the end.  Life has been lived.  Good things have happened and so have bad.  For some the road has been smooth, for others rocky.  Some have lived in peace and have enjoy both worldly and spiritual success.  Others have struggled spiritually in many different ways; with questions and doubts, we bad attitudes and hurts from those who should have been supportive.  Life has been lived and now the end approaches.

That is what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:68. 

                “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my

                departure is near.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have

                kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which

                the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day -- and not only to

                me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The stirring deep inside a person is the realization that life is now coming to an end.  It could be of age, a long life lived well.  Or it could be in the face of persecution.  Paul was in prison and realized that his life was coming to an end.  Others have face similar situations.  I think of theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer who was imprisoned in Nazi Germany and only days before the end of the war was hung.  Among his writings was a book on the Sermon on the Mount called The Cost Of Discipleship.  He had the opportunity to live in the United States but chose to live in Germany and face the consequences of that decision.  He began as a pacifist opposed to the Nazis, ended up in a failed plot to kill Hitler, and was caught and imprisoned, where by the way, he wrote much of his best work.  His time, and maybe ours, has come.

The questions is asked, is that His voice calling and is He calling me?  Are we listening?  That is a good question.  Some really do not want to face that question.  Life is important here with family and friends.  Consider Paul thought.  “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.  Yet what shall I choose?  I do not know!  I am torn between the two; I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:21-24).  Paul wrote that from prison!  He certainly was optimistic.  But it also indicates the struggle that he was going through.  This was a different imprisonment from 2 Timothy.  Letting go is difficult.  One of the most difficult decisions is watching a loved one in the last hours of life and telling them that it was okay to die.  Yevette’s dad and brother told her mother that shortly before she died.  Yevette tells of the peace that was in that room afterwards.  Was it easy?  No.  In many ways in their lament, it brought comfort to the living.  I can picture Rheanel coming before God’s throne, bowing, and taking her crown and laying it at His feet.

But if He is calling?  One will rise up and bow down and lay one’s crown at His wounded feet.  Here it is a different picture.  Paul tells us about a crown of righteousness.  The idea was like a crown given to a runner in an Olympic race.  And yet.  While the crown my be a source of pride, honorable pride at that, humility will cause us to take it off and put it at the feet of Jesus in recognition that He is Lord, and He is my Lord. 

Life has been lived, some well and some not so well.  However it is, God in His infinite grace and love, accepts us as we respond to His call.  We can approach Him in humility knowing it is not what I did but my faith, however weak or strong, in what He did; that is important.  And so as we approach that day, we like the elders in Revelation, take our crowns off and lay them before the King. 

When we sing this song, there is much to think about.  It offers us thoughts about life and death.  It brings joy and hope in a difficult world and at a difficult time.  May we all consider why we continue to wear our crowns.  In humility, it is time to take them off, bow down, and lay them at His feet, to bring glory to God and not ourselves.

                                                                                                                                George B. Mearns