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Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Amidst Ruins with Pastor Ryan Braley
What if the hidden gems of the Old Testament have more to teach us than we ever realized? Journey with us into the world of the minor prophets in our new series, "The B-Sides: The Minor Prophets," where we unearth the timeless wisdom hidden in these often-overlooked biblical figures. You'll discover how the likes of Zechariah can provide crucial insights into our modern lives, moving beyond the stereotype of prophets as mere fortune tellers and revealing them as messengers chosen to deliver God's transformative guidance during times of despair.
Explore the true role of prophets as partners with the divine, tracing this theme back to the Garden of Eden and forward to influential modern figures like William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malala Yousafzai. Each of these individuals, much like the prophets of old, have bravely spoken truth to power, highlighting the continuous struggle for justice and faithful partnership with God. Through their stories, we gain a deeper understanding of how prophetic voices continue to challenge and inspire us today.
Amidst the chaos and ruins of life, encouragement shines as a beacon of hope, just as Zechariah's messages uplifted Israel. We emphasize the profound impact of offering genuine support, drawing on anecdotes that demonstrate the power of a few kind words. Whether it's cheering on a marathon runner or simply reminding a friend that "God can fix this," encouragement becomes a vital tool for transformation. As we reflect on God's work in our lives, we are urged to be active participants in spreading hope and love, nurturing our community with faith and perseverance.
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Amen. Thank you, missy. Let's pray God. We give you thanks this morning for your presence here and for your word to us, and we ask God that you would come and speak to us and open our eyes and our hearts and our ears in the ways that we so need it this morning. Would you encourage us, god, this morning? And we thank you for this baptism of little Delilah and for her family, and may they be a blessing to us here at Central and may we be a blessing to them in return. And, yeah, may they be a blessing to us here at Central and may we be a blessing to them in return. And God, help us to be a body of people who encourage one another and call each other on to good things and bring correction where needed, but always people of hope and love and mercy and grace. And this morning, yeah, would you help these stories come alive to us in real ways in Jesus' name, amen, amen. You may be seated. Good morning everyone. How are we doing? Good, my name is Ryan, I'm the pastor here and it's great to be with you guys, and I think I'm going to take my jacket off. Good to be with you guys this morning and we're starting a new sermon series called the B-Sides, the Minor Prophets.
Speaker 1:There are these weird obscure books in the Hebrew Bible called the prophets. Are there any prophet lovers or fans in the room this morning? Okay, a couple of you. Anybody like not even know who the prophets are in the Old Testament. Thanks for your honesty. Okay, a couple? Yep, fair enough.
Speaker 1:And now there's two kinds of divisions, not really in the Bible, but we as post sort of Bible writing people, we kind of clarify and put them into two groups. One's called the major prophets, one's called the minor prophets. It has nothing to do with the content. It's more that the major prophets are longer books, so like Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the minor prophets are kind of like the shorter ones. And I think the minor prophets get oftentimes neglected or forgotten about. You might argue that the prophets themselves get forgotten about in our modern Christian reading of the Bible. And so we want to spend a few weeks talking about the prophets and the minor prophets, and so this morning I want to just sort of unpack what the minor prophets are, what they were doing, what they're all about, and then we'll get to our prophet this morning, which is Zechariah, if you can go back one slide for me, sam. We're calling it the B-sides, and here's why.
Speaker 1:So you know, a long time ago back in the 1900s we had these things called vinyl records. They're actually popular again now, but they sort of you know, I'm a second-generation vinyl listener to her but they had two sides and also cassette tape Any cassette tape. People in the house, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, gen X, early millennials, that's us and they had two sides. So, young people, this is back when you had to listen to music on like an actual hard thing. You'd put it in a player, you'd flip it over, but on one side was the A side had all the songs that producers thought were going to be hits and so like the major songs, and on the back you'd have to flip it over. It would kind of reach the end of the songs and they'd flip the tape over or the vinyl over to the other side. You'd turn the tape over and if you had a really fancy player he would do it for you. But then on the back side were called the B-sides. These were like the lesser known hits or the ones that the producers thought maybe wouldn't be on the radio as much. But there were always some gems on the B-sides, even though they're less often talked about, or maybe you know they weren't thought that highly of on the front end but they ended up being some gems on there that were really good. So you know, you probably, if you get my email I mentioned this in my email but also if you don't get my email I do a weekly email called Awake Him. It's a way just to kind of let you know what's going on that weekend in terms of the sermon or just to reflect on a couple things or things that I think are interesting. So if you want to be a part of that, you can write it on one of those cards in the pew back and put it in the offering globe and you can get on my email list.
Speaker 1:Anyway, so the yeah, like the we Will Rock you Was it. We Will Rock you. It was a B-side hit. Yeah, that was a B-side hit by Queen. It wasn't on the A's, it was the B's. No one knew that it would be a hit and it ended up being a really huge hit. Great song by Queen. Also Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers. Oh my, I'm not going to do it A B-side hit. So I think the minor prophets are kind of like the B-sides. They need some love and attention because they've got some incredible things to say about us this morning. And our prophet this morning is Zechariah. So the sermon title tonight, go ahead Sam. Is called Amidst Ruins. Are you ready?
Speaker 1:The great Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote a book called the Prophets and he says this the prophets were some of the most disturbing people who have ever lived. It's a great way to open a book, if you ask me. He says the men, these men whose inspiration brought the Bible into being. So these were vital pieces of the Hebrew story, of the Jewish story and the Hebrew Bible, which we call the Old Testament. The men whose image is a refuge in distress. Somehow these prophets were a safe haven during our distress and times of trouble, or you might say amidst ruins, and those whose voice and vision sustain our faith.
Speaker 1:Their significance of the Israel's prophets lies not in only what they said, but also who they were. So it raises the question who were these men and what did they say? There are about 15 of them in the Hebrew Bible. If you have a Catholic scripture it's a little bit different. But there's many prophets in Israel's history, but there's only a few of them and the minor ones. There's even fewer of them. But who were these guys and what were they saying? What did they do?
Speaker 1:Now, in our modern culture, when we think of a prophet, we think of like a fortune teller. Maybe this image comes to mind, and in many cultures that's what prophets are. They kind of predict the future. But not in the Bible. And these Israel prophets, they weren't really, you know, future predictors. They talked about the future on occasion, but only on occasion, and it wasn't some kind of coded language to predict the future of what would happen in the, you know, in the distant future. Rather, they would just write about what would happen, you know, if they didn't obey God, kind of thing. So they would talk about the future on occasion.
Speaker 1:Rather, who these men were? They were men who had met in an intimate divine way with God. They had encountered the divine presence of God and it changed them dramatically at every level. Then God commissions them to go into the public realm and in the public sphere and speak words on behalf of God. They become like the voice piece for God or a representative of God. So when they speak and when they write things, they sort of speak on behalf of God, as though God himself is speaking, and they bring messages to the people.
Speaker 1:Now, these were not just men, you know, separated in a vacuum. They were men of a certain time and place, and who they were was also important, because they had character, they had personality, they had individuality, they had lives. They were real people in real time and a real place. So they were to bring forth the message of God, but also they themselves were the message of God. So who they were, their lives, their occupations, their personalities, it all comes to bear on the people Because, as one great philosopher once said, the medium is always the message. So the things that we say, it's changed by the medium we use. So if you have a giant head on a screen speaking or preaching to you, it changes the message. The medium is always the message. So who these guys were in fact impacts the message that they were bringing. So their character, their personality, their traits, all these things. So who's Zechariah and what was he saying?
Speaker 1:Zechariah shows up in Israel in a time when things were absolutely destroyed, devastated. It's in Jerusalem when the temple's been burned to the ground and things are totally in chaos and in ruins and Zechariah shows up to give a word or many words to the people on behalf of God amidst ruins. Now, here's why things were in ruins, because they weren't supposed to be like that. Things were supposed to be different for Israel. But when Zechariah shows up, things are in ruins. Well, things back in the day. So if you rewind, things were supposed to be different.
Speaker 1:Here's what God wanted from people in general. So God from the beginning always wanted to dwell with people. So God always wanted to dwell. I didn't miss anything, did I, sam? Okay, good, megan, sure, thanks to Sam for doing our slides From the jump. God always wanted to dwell with humanity. So back in the creation it begins there with the garden. God walks and moves amongst the people on this creation, on this planet. God is there, moving and dwelling and living. He makes his home amongst the people. So with Adam and Eve in that story, in the garden, he dwells with them. He's not in a cloud somewhere far away. I say this all the time, but it bears repeating. God is not distant in some kind of ontological, separate way. He's right here in our midst.
Speaker 1:Then in the temple, in the Israel story, as the Bible kind of progresses forward. They build a temple for God. Why? So that God can dwell right here, right now, amidst the people and amongst them. Go back for me, sam. And so the temple was the place where God, actually you could go there and sort of engage the actual, tangible presence of God. This is unlike any other God. Most other gods in the ancient world, most gods, didn't really care to dwell with people, but this God, yahweh, was his personal name, he does. And then, of course, in Jesus, we're told that Jesus is a servant, a Jewish man who shows up, who is actually God in the flesh. John uses the word that he temples or tabernacles amongst us, so it's used in the same language. So Jesus becomes like a visible, physical, walking around human being of a temple, if you will, he's the dwelling of God. Emmanuel means God with us.
Speaker 1:God always wanted to dwell with humanity and, by the way, this is one of the things that was a repeated phrase in the Hebrew Bible Go ahead for me, sam, now I'm ready. God always seems to say I will be your God and you will be my people. We'll do this together. I'll be your God, you my people, and we'll figure it out. We'll go from there, make sense. So far, great.
Speaker 1:Second thing God wanted God always wanted partners. Second thing God wanted God always wanted partners. God wanted collaborators. Certainly, god can do all of this on his own. He has no problem doing that. God could snap his fingers and have everything done. But God wasn't looking for automatons or robots. God gives humans some say-so. I don't know how much, whether it's 0.1% or 90%, I don't know, but it's at least not zero, it's greater than zero. And so in doing so, god gives folks say-so impact.
Speaker 1:He wants partners, collaborators, which does mean, in some ways, if things aren't being done or fixed the way that God wants them, perhaps it's on us to jump in and do something about it. So from the beginning, in the garden, god calls Adam and Eve and says, hey, I could name these animals and perhaps I could do a better job than you did or do. Well, but I want you to do it. You can keep up there for me, sam. So God tells Adam hey, name the animals. Then he tells both of them hey, we need to take care of and tend the garden, trim the trees, you know whatever else, lay down fertilizer, whatever else they were doing, take care of the garden, garden it. You're the gardeners, so take care of it.
Speaker 1:He wanted partners, collaborators, also in the Abraham and Sarah story. So fast forward. Abraham and Sarah show up. God comes to Abram in the ancient world in this very mystical way and says hey, I'm going to make you into a great nation, the nation that later becomes Israel. He says I'm going to make you so great, your kids will outnumber the stars in the sky, and in doing so, I'm going to partner with you, abraham and Sarah, and I'm going to reveal myself to you. I want you then to then reveal my character, my nature, to the people of the whole world, all your neighbors. God character, my nature, to the people of the whole world, all your neighbors. God could have just done it himself, but he wants partners. Then, of course, you recognize that third slide, or that third it's Ross Beerson, our beloved Ross Beerson. There you go, buddy. Yeah, you're famous.
Speaker 1:God wants partners, ross. By the way, yeah, we want partners too, so help out, pitch in, you can volunteer. Ross plays bass, ross does a ton of things. Why? Because God has always wanted collaborators. He doesn't want us to do it on his own. I think God would do a much better job than I would. But that's not what he's doing. That's not the world he created. He wants partners, people to help him out, collaborators.
Speaker 1:This is what God seems to want, yeah, so because God wants to dwell with people and he wants partners, he creates a partnership, an official one, with the nation of Israel. In fact, they have a document, like a legal, binding document. We call it the law. So God's like hey, here's how you're going to behave, here's what I promise, here's what you promise. It's in the fancy word, in the Bible language. It's a covenant, it's a partnership that they have together. They both kind of sign it with a ballpoint pen and they agree to these terms, this law, and they agree to hey, I'll be your God, you, my people, you live in these ways, I'll bless you, and so on and so forth. This is the whole plan from the beginning God and Israel.
Speaker 1:So the prophets. Then the prophet, the voice of God. Their job in the community is to stand up and remind the people of this covenant. Hey, don't forget everybody, we have this partnership with God. God wants to dwell with us. He's called us to partake and be partners to help bring about the order of God, the reign of God. So don't forget it.
Speaker 1:These prophets also then would point out when they did lose track, when they got off the path, because that happened when they would walk off the path and they would worship false gods, which happened a lot when they were unfaithful and began to assimilate to other nations around them and they weren't unique and distinct like God had wanted them to be. When they wouldn't take care of the poor or the oppressed, or the widows or the orphans, when they would ignore them and neglect them. In Amos, they use unfair scales when they're bartering and trading. That's unjust and God gets you know, don't do that. So the prophets would remind them hey, our covenant is like this. You guys have wandered away from this, you've been unfaithful.
Speaker 1:Then the prophet would then say the famous phrase. He'd say repent, come back, change your ways, get back on the path. Repent literally means just to turn around. And then the prophet would say if you don't, there will be consequences, because there are always consequences or actions, whatever that might be. I think that consequences are baked into any action that we have, and so if you keep going this way, israel off the path, there will be consequences.
Speaker 1:So prophets are probably less like fortune tellers and more like your mom perhaps Not like your mom, but like your mom. Like you know, like your mom, your mom is still a prophet. I'm kidding, yeah, like anybody's mom in here. Like, speak like an Israelite prophet. Yeah, my mom did. Well, she would bring correction on me and warn me and tell me to repent and get home and bring the thunder, and I was a bit afraid of my mom at times, which was good because it kept me in line. That's what moms do Dads, I'm sure too, but this is what prophets did. They would remind them of this covenant, they'd point out the ways that got the thing wrong and they would call them to repent and then warn them of the consequences that are there, and they would do all kinds of strange things. I love the prophets for this, so read them and as you, notice the crazy things that they do For example, Ezekiel I thought it'd be good if I acted these out, because why not?
Speaker 1:They would have these stunts and perform them in public in this dramatic way, so that all the folks could see it rather than just hear it. So Ezekiel one time was commanded by God I don't know if you in the back can see me he was commanded to lay on his side for 390 days. That's over. Yeah, oh, I like that reaction. That's good. Yeah, that's over a year. He laid on his side. It took a while to realize that he wasn't just relaxing and taking a nap. But after that that was a joke, it was a symbol of the destruction of their sin. And so God's like do this and we'll put it on display. It'll be like a drama, like a theater. Then he said, okay, now switch sides for 40 more days. He goes like dang Lord, okay, fine. And so he laid on his other side for 40 more days. Ezekiel's like dang Lord, okay, fine. And so he laid on his other side for 40 more days to put on display this message from God.
Speaker 1:Ezekiel also was commanded by God to cook food over human excrement. So I've got some food here. I've got some pasta and some. I just need just kidding. That's gross. But God is trying to put on display this. What happens when you go off the path? Ezekiel smartly begs God, don't make me do this. Cook food over human excrement and then eat it. And God, I think in one of his wiser moments, relents Like fine, you can use cow dung, not much, but everybody does it, so he does that.
Speaker 1:Then Isaiah, the famous prophet Isaiah, god tells him to walk around for three years totally naked. I'm not going to do that one either, Don't worry about it. I'm not going to For three years To put on display their shame. Israel is shame. They broke the covenant, they wandered off the path, they weren't faithful, and so it's this shameful thing. And so Isaiah walks around naked for three years.
Speaker 1:The moral of these stories, too, is, if you want to, you know, get away with doing crazy things. Just tell folks oh, I'm just a prophet, you can do anything crazy. You want Hosea? God commands Hosea to marry a prostitute. I'm not going to do that one either, because my wife just got back from a trip. But crazy stuff. Like hey, he's putting on display these prophets, the things that God is asking them. By the way, Hosea is to marry a prostitute because God says this is what you were like, israel. You're like an unfaithful partner. You've left my love and my gifts and my blessings. You've gone to other lovers, many of them, in fact. You've taken my gifts and you've given them to your lovers. That'll stick with you as an illustration, won't it? So they would put all these things on display. Later on, another prophet shows up and he curses a fig tree and he walks into a temple, the house of God, and he starts turning tables over and yelling out about the injustice happening in the temple. He makes a scene, chases them out with a whip, and then the same prophet rides a donkey into Jerusalem at one of the highest Jewish festivals, called the Passover.
Speaker 1:This prophet was the climax of all of Israel's prophets. His name was Jesus. Jesus was very much a prophet in the Israel tradition. That's what he was doing. He was putting on display the messages of God, calling folks to repent, to return home, to come back home to your first love. That was what Jesus' mission was, was to be a prophet to the Israelite people.
Speaker 1:And you'd think, oh, of course folks will listen. I mean Ezekiel's laying in the dirt for 390 days, you know Isaiah's wandering around for three years. We better listen to this guy. He's crazy. But they don't Many times. Israel's leaders, their kings, their other religious leaders, they don't listen and they shun the prophets. They're marginalized, they're pushed to the edges. So their writings become more like resistance literature, because no one listens until things go awry. Then they're like oh, that crazy guy walking around naked. He was probably right.
Speaker 1:There are modern day prophets too. You probably know this, but here's one for you. This is William Wilberforce, one of the great leaders who led the end of the transatlantic slave trade. He was a vocal piece trying to end this tragic trade. How about this one? If you know who this guy is? You know who that is. Yeah, dietrich Bonhoeffer, a voice of reason during Nazi Germany, a Lutheran, by the way. Dude, there you go. All right, he's one of ours. How about this one? Excuse me, dr King. Yeah, I stood where he stood when he gave his speech in DC. It was incredible, very moving. He spoke truth in the midst of chaos, in the midst of ruins. He spoke love and peace and truth and nonviolence. How about this one? You don't know who that is. Yeah, malala yeah, she's a little bit older in this one. Yeah, speaking up for women's rights in the Middle East, where that often gets neglected and left spoken about. How about this one too? You can go to Black for Me, sam.
Speaker 1:I was in Denver a couple of years ago this is like my favorite story and I was there on April 20th Okay, favorite story, and I was there on April 20th, okay, and we were there for a church conference, okay, so it wasn't. But 420 is a famous day where people will get together and smoke marijuana for all kinds of reasons, and Denver had legalized marijuana, so we were right near Civic Center Park in downtown Denver. I grew up in Denver, so these are my people, but I was like I heard there was like a big gathering of folks on 420. That afternoon we just got there, we arrived at our hotel. I'm like I've got to go down there and see what's going on, because I love people. I think people are wildly fascinating, so I'm going down there. I did not partake, I just went to watch, okay. So I go down there.
Speaker 1:And it was bananas, it was all the. There was a guy there with a full-body fluorescent ski suit from like 1987. And he had goggles on. He was just dancing like a main. It was awesome. Lots of folks doing crazy stuff. Everybody was a bit, you know, not themselves, right.
Speaker 1:And I'll never forget there was this police officer who was up on a rock in the middle of this crowd shouting out to the people hey, go home. This is against the law. It was, by the way. You can't do these. You can't publicly partake in Colorado, you can do it privately, but these folks were doing it publicly and he was just yelling go home, you don't belong here, go home and do this at home. This is against the law. I think Tyler Miller should have been down there helping him out, but he wasn't. And I was like this guy's crazy and nobody was listening, nobody cared, but he was shouting out the truth. I got to go home. That's a prophet, this guy, this guy he just felt like this was compelled to go up there and speak the truth. These people was incredible. Yeah, that's what they were.
Speaker 1:These were prophets who did this because what God wanted to dwell with the people, to have partners. God didn't get that. On many occasions, as oftentimes happens with God's plans, they get thwarted. Because God wants partners. He's risking that the partners might not reciprocate, and Israel and maybe some of us in this room don't always reciprocate. So God got an unfaithful people. On occasion, the leaders and the kings led the people astray. They didn't listen to the prophets or to God, and God lets them go.
Speaker 1:This is always the part about this story that, just like it, resonates deep within me the father of the lost son. When the lost son wants to leave the father, lets him go. Father of the lost son. When the lost son wants to leave the father, lets him go. And sometimes God says to us you want it your way. I'm begging you not to. It'll go bad for you. I've seen this movie before. In fact, you know it will go bad for you, but if you want it so badly I'll let you have it. And God will turn us over to our own desires, sometimes Maybe even to show us again like this is not going to go well for you, yeah. But God turns them over, and the people of course.
Speaker 1:After many years of God begging and prophets warning and people saying let's fix this, god lets them go and they end up in exile, exile. They're far from home, in a foreign land, and the whole city of Jerusalem is destroyed. The temple, the house of God where they worshiped, where their economy was hubbed, it was all destroyed and razed to the ground. And they're dragged into captivity into Babylon For 70 years. They're there wondering what on earth happened and they're like, oh yeah, the prophets warned us, they told us this would happen. And there they are, amidst ruins. Which raises the question then what do you do amidst the ruins. What do you do when your decisions have left your life like this, or maybe the decisions of folks around you? And this is where you stand, and this is what you see, and this is what your life looks like. What do you do?
Speaker 1:Psalm 74 encapsulates this grief of the people that were in exile. The psalmist writes O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember the nation that you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance whom you redeemed Mount Zion, where you dwelt. Turn your steps towards these everlasting ruins. All this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. Your foes, the Babylonians in this case. They roared in this place where you met with us. They set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved paneling. With their axes and hatchets they destroyed the house of God and our own people, our own livelihood. Our whole city has been destroyed and they burned the sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the dwellings, the dwelling place of your name, and they said in their hearts we will crush them completely. They burned every place where God was worshipped in the land. Dang man, you hear the grief in the psalmist's heart. It was Israel's own doing, but it's grieving the Babylonians. They've destroyed everything.
Speaker 1:What are you going to do? What's next, god? Do you remember us? Will you forsake us forever? Well, here's the deal. God, as God often does, god does remember and God promises them, even in exile, I will fix this. So, for example, in Jeremiah 29.10, we hear this One of the prophets this is Jeremiah the prophet says hey, when 70 years are over for you in Babylon, so be there for 70 years, it's a long time I will come to you and I'll fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
Speaker 1:So there's these rumblings and these whispers like hey, god might bring us back home and we can maybe rebuild. In fact, it started to trickle back Under this Persian king. Powers changed that. People of Israel started to come back to Jerusalem. But remember, when they come back, they find devastation, destruction and ruins. And God's like hey, I want you to rebuild because I'm a God who likes to rebuild things. So we're going to rebuild this and you're going to partner with me, because I want partners. You're going to help, but imagine going back home and all you see is destruction. I can't help but think of the fires in LA right now and these folks who are wandering around in their devastation of their homes. What would that be like? And you hear this whisper to rebuild. You think, how do we do this? How can you see hope or a future? How can we even rebuild that? It's just destruction. I don't know what to do. Sometimes in our lives the things around us are so devastating we can't even think about how God could fix this or how it could ever be made whole again.
Speaker 1:And for the Jews, everything was in disarray. There was poverty, there was civic unrest, there was inflation, they were under foreign rule. It was just a mess. How can you see? I remember years ago I was with my son Logan. He was in sixth grade. Anybody go to Wolf Ridge? I know the wolves went. Where are the wolves? Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's go. Yeah, yeah, I think you guys were both on this trip too, I think. But my son Logan and I went. I went to both my kids. Well, it was an awesome trip, but we were there, and the week I was here with Logan it was five days. The last three days it rained like nonstop. It was crazy rainy and wet and we're outside, so you can imagine the mud and the muck and the cold and the wet. It was awful. I had a blast over but it was just tough and the kids were just so. They're like little sixth graders, you know. They're tiny little tykes and at the end they were all fed up, like we're soaked, we're cold, we're wet, we're miserable, we want to go home.
Speaker 1:And my last, my group, my last excursion was to go down to the swamp area and investigate the swamp with some data. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like other kids were inside watching a movie. We had to go to the swamp. So we went to the swamp and it was like a swamp, like a flooded swamp. We're walking around in mud, it's cold, we're dressed in. The had boots on and Logan was like ready to be done. He said get me out of here. I'm freezing, I'm cold.
Speaker 1:And right before we're going to come home he like takes a step and this boot he had on, he comes out of the boot and falls like face forward into this pile of mud, like a huge mud, and I was like oh no, and things were already bad. And like now he's like about ready to like his eyes are watering with tears and I'm like, oh no, and the last thing he can see in that moment is that he'll ever be warm again or clean again or dry again. So I go, logan, look at me. He's like, okay, I had a little bit of a. This is one of the moments I got it right, one of the few moments I got it right. I go, hey, and he's like holding back tears. He's like we're going to be okay, we're going to go up to the house here, to the cabin. We're going to clean you off. I'll wash when we get home, don't worry about it. But you've got to get from here up to the cabin. We've got to keep moving because we can't die down here, you know. And he's like, okay, okay, and the whole way home we'll be back in like 20 minutes, because it's a long hike back up to the building, and then in an hour from now you'll be clean and dry, and then tomorrow we'll laugh about this. But it's hard to see in the moment, isn't it? It's hard to see like I can't get beyond this moment.
Speaker 1:And the people of Israel are standing amidst ruins like wondering will God ever remember what his promises were, so enters Zechariah. Zechariah shows up. Zechariah's name actually means the Lord remembers. So not just what they said, what they do, his name is the Lord remembers. And this is what he tells the people. Go ahead for me, sam.
Speaker 1:He says this. He says I will save my people from the countries of the east and west. Hey, don't forget or don't worry, I'm going to save you. Even in the middle of your destruction and your sin. I'll save you. I'll bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They'll be my people and I'll be faithful and righteous to them as their God. There's that phrase again I'll be your God and be my people. I'll save you. You'll be my blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands be strong. Let's get to work and rebuild.
Speaker 1:So Zechariah becomes the team cheerleader. That's his whole role. He's a priest, he's the encourager, he's a guys, let's keep going. We got this. God promises to fulfill us, to restore us, renew us. I know things were bad with our parents and their parents and they wandered off the path, but we got to keep going. Keep your hands strong, let's go. It's time to rebuild.
Speaker 1:I love it because he's an encourager. We need encouragement, don't we? And, to be frank, not many of us get it. Many of us are like dried sponges, longing for encouragement. Someone will say you're going to be okay, keep going. I love it.
Speaker 1:At races like marathons or like 5Ks, there are these folks that stand there with signs to encourage you. Have you seen these people? They're awesome. Here's some great ones, my favorites. This one says I'm sure this is a good idea four months ago. Okay, maybe these aren't the most encouraging, but they're funny. This one says you're almost there. Dot dot dot, kind of Keep going. How about this one? We've been trying to reach you by your car's extended warranty. Good job, keep running. This is the worst parade ever. Yeah, we need encouragement, we really do.
Speaker 1:This is the role of the people of God, christians. People of faith is to take seriously the mess around us, the devastation, the destruction, the suffering, the pain, the loss. People of faith is to take seriously the mess around us, the devastation, the destruction, the suffering, the pain, the loss, the hurt, the illnesses, the fires, to take that seriously. But to be people who find the good and call it out and encourage it's okay, keep going. Or when our friends go off the path, hey, my God, come on back. And it doesn't take much.
Speaker 1:In ninth grade I was a part of this program called the IB program. It was a bit of a struggle academically and the first half of that first year I did pretty well. And then I got into some bad habits and my grades were going to fall off. And I had a teacher. I didn't even know if he knew my name. He called me aside after one class. He goes, hey, ryan, and I come over. He goes, hey, these are your grades the first couple of months and this is your grades now. What's the deal, man? And I was like, oh, he sees me, he sees me, he cares about me. In that moment I just was like, oh, and I go. Oh, man, and I was extremely, in that moment, motivated to get my grades out. He goes, hey, let's go, you can do it, man, you're fine, can I help you? What do you need? Okay, good, let's go, let's get your grades up. And I left that classroom. I'm going to do this, I'm going to get my grade. And I did. It didn't take much at all. I found him like three years ago on Facebook. I go, hey, for two minutes, told me that you can do it, get your grades up. And it worked. It meant the world to me because he saw me A couple months ago.
Speaker 1:I was going through a difficult time, having a hard time with you know, just some personal things I was kind of wrestling with and working through and I was extremely discouraged. Called my friend Corey, one of my best friends. I left him a voice, like a voice memo. I sent in a, a text and I ranted and raved for like five minutes and I was just like you know, I hung up or sent the message and it was discouraged. And he sends me one back and he opens his bite. He's like he just laughs at me. He's Ryan, you're the best man. I just love you. I was like what? Whatever he heard or saw, he just saw it in the best possible light. You know, man, that's a good friend and immediately it felt better. Ryan, I've been praying for you. Tweak this, dial this in here, but keep going, man. I love how you said this and this is great. How many friends who will encourage us, like Zechariah, keep going, put your hand to the plow and keep going. You're doing fine, because we're desperate for encouragement and most of us don't have it.
Speaker 1:Encouragement isn't flattery or empty praise. It's speaking the truth, and it's one of the key roles, I think, of the church and the people of God and Christians. Because here's why, and I'll end with this God is able to work amidst the ruins. In fact, he always has been. This is kind of what God does. This is our history. God takes the ruins of our lives. Okay, all right, we got some Lego pieces here, let's build something here. And even in the middle of your destructive sin, god can rebuild things. Romans 5.20 says that where sin increases, grace increases even more. He's not giving you a license to sin. Sin is destructive. He's just saying where there's ruins, all right, I can take this and I'll reveal my power and my mercy and my grace and my goodness in the middle of your ruins.
Speaker 1:Would you close your eyes please, if you don't mind, because in the meantime, between now and when God does this finally and fully, we need encouragement. We're going to think of somebody in your life who could use encouragement. Is there anybody that you know, a neighbor, a friend, a relative, a loved one that could use an encouraging word? Just hey, you're doing great, I see you. I love you. God can fix this. Get back on the path. You're doing great. I see you. I love you. God can fix this. Get back on the path You're doing well. Call out the goodness. Take seriously the devastation in our lives, man, but call out the goodness. Who is that person? I want to ask you, because God wants partners, would you be willing to call them or text them, or go visit them and encourage them later, today or tomorrow? Also, there's this Maybe you're here today and you need encouragement.
Speaker 1:Maybe you are amidst ruins and you don't know if you can see anything beyond this. In that case, look up at me. Now you can open your eyes. Look at me. I want to encourage you. Keep going. God has always used ruins to rebuild our lives. It's what he does. That's why he's good. So keep going. God loves you, I love you. You can do it. Stay strong, keep the faith, keep showing up. Never forget that you're God's beloved sons and daughters. He's chosen you. He's called you. He wants partners. He's with you. He hasn't forgotten about you. He hasn't abandoned you. He's with you. So today, be encouraged, Amen.
