Ripples!

Various Texts Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TghkityJ4u8&feature=related Why are we here? Are we here to simply be comfortable, to make us feel good about ourselves? Are we here to entertain, and simply comfort our own? Why are we here? We are here to make a difference. The first time I saw this movie I was moved by the plot, a young boy who was given an assignment in class to make a difference in his world. The assignment was taken seriously and this young man put a simple plan in place that would enable his influence to spread to a multitude of people even people he didnt know. The plot reminded me of what we often call The Ripple Effect. I know most all of us here know and understand The Ripple Effect. I would imagine there isnt one person in this room who hasnt taken a pebble or rock, tossed it in a lake, creek or river and then watched the ripples spread out throughout the water. While the plot of this movie is indeed very touching the concept of paying it forward is not original. The concept of being a blessing to others was birthed in the heart of God. All throughout scripture you see the concept of the blessing. It began of course with God blessing His people. The command goes further and God asks His people to be a blessing to the world. They are told specifically to love God first and then to love their neighbor as themselves. And like a pebble tossed into a stream you can see the ripples from their obedience to the Lords command. From the Garden of Eden to Great Bridge millions of lives have been changed by the magnificent message that was passed on to them. However, there is one thing that we all need to understand. When we receive the lifechanging message of the Gospel, we have a responsibility to do something with it. It has always been Gods expectation that we give it away to someone else, who then in turn shares it with others. You see, Gods expectation to demonstrate His love to others has been the driving force behind Love Out Love. Our goal has simply been to authentically represent Gods love to others. In order to authentically represent God we have to first know God. It is imperative that we know and understand His character so that we can accurately portray Him to the people we are privileged get to meet. I believe that God blesses us by bringing people into our lives and we need to be prepared to be a blessing to them. In order to be a part of this ripple effect of blessings we need to grow in our understanding of Gods character and nature and then participate in demonstrating HIS character and nature to others. So this morning lets take a look at some of Gods amazing characteristics that we should demonstrate to others and then begin to realize the effects of the ripple!

I GOD IS COMPASSIONATE One thing is for sure we dont have to guess about Gods compassion because the Bible clearly illustrates it for us. The psalmist wrote As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. (Ps. 103:13 ESV) In regards to our compassionate God, the psalmist also wrote He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3 ESV) And Gods compassion culminates in the N.T. whenever He demonstrated His love for us that while we were yet sinners (when we couldnt help ourselves) Jesus died in our place on the cross. We can all quote John 3:16 which reminds us of His compassion, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV) Let me ask you to take a moment and reflect on your own life and ask yourself how compassionate am I? Do I accurately portray Gods compassion to the people that God puts in my path? As you ponder that, let me answer that question for you in regards to me. The answer is no! I know that this is one area that I need to grow in and probably I am not the only one in this room feels that way about themselves. Sometimes we can be more petty, self-centered and mean spirited than we are compassionate. Let me ask you married couples out here today Do you ever see petty, self-centered, passive aggressive tendencies in your relationship? I will take by all the smiles I see on your face that the answer is yes! I see it in my marriageMelissa is very prone to that kind of behavior! No, No, No Let me come clean, its not Melissa, its me. Last year about this time Melissa was working on a Christmas present for our girls. Melissa took home video footage from their childhood and put it on a DVD for them to have and cherish. It was a great gift and the girls loved it! We spent most of Christmas day laughing and crying as we watched those videos. The part of the story that our kids didnt know was how much it took to make the videos. The computer Melissa uses is pretty old and the operating system wouldnt support the software that she was using to make the DVDs. So I told her she could use my computer for the task. Now what I didnt understand when I made that promise was that it was a project that seemly would never end! At first, it wasnt too bad. I was very understanding! But as weeks drug on and on and on It began to frustrate me because every time I needed MY COMPUTER she was on it! And in my very loving (passive aggressive way) I would say things like this has been a lot of work how much longer do you think it will take anyway? Or Oh, I see you are on the computer, thats okay, I work on My stuff later, I really like staying up to 3:00 a.m. Okay, so here is the deal I know and you know that I am not the only one in this room like this. We all prone to times when all we can think about is my computer, my time, my money, my happiness. I know I can be that way and you know you can be that way, but we should all be thankful that God is not that way!

If Jesus is indeed the manifestation of God then we know for sure that God is compassionate. You remember when Jesus saw the crowds who were confused and seeking direction, the Bible says that Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Our God is a compassionate God and it is His desire that through us His world feel His compassion. When we are compassionate...then we will begin to see ripples. II GOD IS JUST Proverbs 16:11 says A just balance and scales are the LORDs; all the weights in the bag are his work. ESV It is clear all throughout scripture that God hates injustice in any shape or form and we see Him promoting justice all throughout scripture. You might remember when the prophet Amos was writing to Israel and he spoke about the impending judgement on their enemies. I am sure that when Amos said For the three sins of Damascus, even for four, God says I will not turn back my wrath. I bet when they heard those words it was like a pep rally. They were most likely cheering and praising Jehovah God for the wrath He would bring on their enemies. One thing I know about myself is that I love justice when it comes to those who offend me. But what about those times when it comes to my offenses. You see, Amos was a popular prophet when he spoke of Gods judgement against the enemies of Israel. But when Amos changed the conversation to the offenses of Israel and their need to repent, then all of a sudden that wasnt as well received. But God made it very clear that He would judge His own people and the reason why God judges His own is that He is a JUST God. In Amos chapter 7 verse 8, Amos had a vision of God standing next to a building and holding something. Notice the exchange in this vision. And the LORD said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A plumb line. Then the Lord said, Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them ESV A plumb line is a tool that is used to determine if something is perfectly vertical--upright. God was saying to Amos, I am going to judge my people (regardless of how righteous they think they are) to determine how warped and crooked they have become. It is so clear that God has expectations for us and one of those expectations is that we value justice and that we represent this value by the way we live and lead. One of the things I love is when I get to have a proud dad moment. Dont get me wrong... I am always proud of my children but there are occasions when the proud meter reads TILT. I am proud of my youngest whenever I see her reaching out to the homeless and giving her time in shelters to show that all people value. My oldest daughter works

as a Nanny while in college. A couple of years ago she was a Nanny for a black family in Lexington. Brittany grew to love their children so much and you could tell that a strong bond was growing with this family. One day Brittany had to take their son Spencer to a soccer game. And as you know, sometimes parents sitting in the crowds are horrible examples of sportsmanship. Well, Spencer made an a brilliant move on the ball and an older man in the crowd who was sitting behind Brittany yelled out that little (inappropriate racial slur) kicked my grandson. Brittany immediately stood up and looked at that man and said That little boy has a name, and his name is Spencer. It might have been acceptable in your day to talk like that but its not acceptable today! When we care about Justice as God does... then we will begin to see some ripples. III GOD IS GENEROUS One thing I have noticed about most people is that we are deeply moved by stories of generosity. I know I get very moved by stories of generosity. However, one thing I cant figure out about myself is how I can be so inspired by stories of generosity yet not be more generous myself. I just have to confess to you this morning that I can sometimes be very selfish. Anybody else struggle with selfishness? Its okay to admit it... we will start a support group. Of course, if it doesnt meet on a good night for me, I am not coming! But generous people are inspiring people. The other day, I had lunch down at Cracker Barrel with Gene Painter and Buddy Hoggard. We were discussing faith and how to inspire Christians to be more informed and involved as Christian Citizens. Come to think of it... we can do that this Tuesday by voting. What a great privilege it is for us to represent Christ as we participate in voting process. Anyway, back to the story... a man who was sitting across from us overheard our conversation and just before he left took the time to thank us for our service to Christ and offered to pay for all of our lunches. He was indeed a very gracious and generous man... and let me just say, I was truly inspired by His generosity. But make no mistake about it, our God is a generous God. James wrote Every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of all lights. That just reminds me that all the wonderful things that I have been blessed with have come from God. Think for just a moment about the wonderful blessings from God that we have... our life, each breath we take, every bite of food we eat, clothes you wear, and the friends that God has brought into your life. If we take the time to do a blessings inventory in our lives, we will be able to see the generosity of God. One thing, I have to mention before we leave this point is that it is so easy to be generous towards those we love. I know that. However, one of the amazing things about God is that He desires that we (His children) also demonstrate generosity to those who we dont like or who dont like us, and even those we dont already know. I know, you were really liking this point until now! Me too! But lets take a look at some of Gods instructions. Exodus 23:4-5 says If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall

bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. Deuteronomy 22:1-3 you shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. When we demonstrate this kind of generosity... we will begin to see ripples! IV GOD IS LOVING I want to go on record and thank all the wonderful Sunday School teachers I had who taught me that God is love! One of my favorite Bible truths is that God demonstrates His love for us in this, while we were still sinnners, Christ died for us. What an incredible and remarkable expression of love. To give your life for those who cant save their own lives. And make no mistake about it... that is exactly what salvation is all about. The Bible clearly teaches that we are all sinners, that each of us have committed offenses (knowingly or unknowingly) that deserves Gods punishment. The Bible also teaches that the wages what you earn for your sin is death. Things are sounding pretty bleak so far. All have sinned, the wages of our sin is death, no doubt we are all wondering where is the hope? That is a great question. The HOPE begins with two words BUT GOD, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive ... Sin is ugly and it is toxic and it leads to death. But God, in His great mercy, choose to take the punishment for us and sacrificed self so that you and I could experience and AMAZING life. That is not simply love... it is an extraordinary kind of love that sacrifices self for people who didnt deserve it or merit it. CONCLUSION God is loving and He is generous. God is just and He is compassionate. Initially, the followers of Jesus got it and they demonstrated this character to their world, and the movement kept growing. Today our challenge is get it again. To understand that the greatest hope for this world is not found in laws and regulations but in the Character of God being displayed in every arena of life. That we the church once stop being caught up in the petty selfish desires of comfort, and understand that we are to be a conduit for which Gods character is seen and felt. When this happens we will start to see ripples.... again.