What’s Next: Tell Your Story – What’s Next Part V

Sermon Title: What’s Next: The Hope to Keep Going

Good News Statement: Jesus provides us hope to tell our story

Preached: Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): 1 Peter 3:13-22 Today’s scripture reading comes from Peter’s first epistle to the followers of Christ: chapter three verses thirteen thru twenty-two. In this passage, Peter encourages us to use our story to bring hope, through the resurrection of Christ, to the people in good conscience, gentleness, and respect.

1 Peter 3:13-22

¹³ Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you do suffer for doing what is right you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, ¹⁵ but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you, ¹⁶ yet do it with gentleness and respect. Maintain a good conscience so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight lives, were saved through water. ²¹ And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Psalm 66:8-22

⁸ Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹ who has kept us among the living and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
¹² you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,
¹⁴ those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatted calves, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But truly God has listened; he has heard the words of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

Over the course of planning a wedding, I have learned a lot about making lists—and most of the time lists were given to me. All through High School and College and Seminary, I would be constantly making lists on sticky-notes and placing those sticky-notes in places in which I would see them on a regular basis. I  even had a pad of sticky-notes in my car, because making lists and keeping track of reminders was that important to me. Today, I still make lists. How many of you make lists containing things you need to do, items you need to get, or even places that you need to go or want to go? How many of you make lists about things you need to do, items you need to get, or even places that you need to go or want to go?

From the text we read earlier, Peter is calling us to make a list. However, this list does not contain chores or tasks; it doesn’t show items that we desire to purchase or get; and it certainly doesn’t provide names of places that we want to go. Instead, this list proclaims our story: who we are, where we come from, and what we are doing today. This is the list that we need to be ready to share when asked to do so. Peter asks us, “What are we supposed to be ready to do?” And our response is, “Tell our story.” It’s as simple as that. And it’s as complicated as that.

Today, we embark on a journey with the Resurrected Christ as he encourages us to tell our story. We might begin with what has happened to us, what struggles we have faced, or what journeys we have taken. Then we speak of our encounter with the Risen Christ or the presence of the Spirit, and then we follow with the decisions we made because of this encounter. Then we issue an invitation: “Come and hear,” says the psalmist. The Resurrection of Christ invites us to tell our story; and as we do so, we are called to make a list that helps tell our story: 1) Don’t be afraid to do what is good, 2) Seek a clear mind, and 3) We have a story to tell because Christ suffered for us.  Jesus provides us hope to tell our story.

Body:

I ask you, “What is your story?” Moses had a story about leading the people to the Promised Land; Elijah had a story about restoring the people; King David had story about fighting Goliath; Ruth had a story about risking her life for her family lineage; Abraham and Sarah had a story about becoming parents at an old age; Zechariah and Elizabeth had a story about becoming pregnant after being barren for many years; Joseph and Mary had a story about raising the Son of God; Pilate had a story about letting the people decide to crucify Jesus; the two thieves on the crosses next to Jesus had stories; all the disciples had stories; Jesus had and continues to have a story; and even the talking donkey in Numbers 22 had a story. People are filled with stories, history is filled with stories; and these stories help us become the church and disciple that Jesus is calling us to be. What is your story? Are you willing to place your stone—your story—on the foundation of Christ?

In April of 2022, professor and scholar, James Papandrea republished his book titled, Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine; and in this book he includes a story about a shepherd who reminds us of how important our stories are to not only those around us be to the church as well. Papandrea writes, “The Early Church Fathers, when considering the concept of stones, recalled a story offered by The Shepherd of Hermas, the brother of Bishop Pius I of Rome (bishop from 140 to 155 CE). The majority of this story is an allegory—a story with a meaning—of a tower, which represents the Church. The tower is still being built—it needs more stones, it needs more stories—and as stones are added to the structure, Hermas realizes that the stones are the people. Some are ready to be built into the tower, but others are not ready. At the end of the age, the Church will be complete and Jesus will return.”

Hermas is essentially telling us that we are the stones that help build the church of today and tomorrow; and Jesus is the cornerstone upon which we are laid next to. The church is still being built because people are still finding Jesus and still allowing him to be there cornerstone in their life and allowing him to help mold and create their stories. The stones—the stories, the heartbeats, the dreams, and faith—are what help build a house and a church. It takes many stories to build a foundation for other stones to rest upon. What is your story? Peter is encouraging us to think about our story and how our story can not only build foundations for future generations, but how our story can help us proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in our life. Peter offers three items that we should put on our list when it comes to telling our story.

First, when it comes to telling our story, we must not be afraid to do good. Peter states in verses 13-15, “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:13-15). “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” Well, Peter, I can probably give you a list. That verse seems a little naïve, don’t you think? People are hurt trying to do good all the time. Think of aid workers in times of war, or those trying to help the hurting in totalitarian regimes, or those attempting to stand up against injustice even in representative democracies who suffer persecution and misrepresentation on a regular basis. We could come up with a list. Sometimes doing good causes more harm than we might realize.

But then maybe Peter is aware of all of that, which is why he moves on from verse 13 and immediately says, “but even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.” Maybe he is more aware of the world in which we live than it seems at first. And of course, he is. If this is Peter, or represents something of Peter’s thinking and example, then, yes, he does understand a complicated world. He walked with Jesus; he talked with Jesus; he witnessed lame people walk, blind people see, the sick become healed, the outcasted welcomed home. He walked on water, he saw Jesus become transfigured, he figured out who Jesus was, and let’s not forget that he denied Jesus three times. He saw how complicated the world can be, but he also saw how the stories of the people brought change to a hurting world. Jesus wasn’t afraid to do good and neither should we because through our good deeds we are blessed.

He goes on to say, “Don’t live in fear; don’t hesitate to do good…” John Wesley stated, “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” Don’t live in fear of your story, but allow your story—who you are—to bring good to this world. Furthermore, “don’t let the threats cause you to not do what you know your faith calls you to do and to be.” Don’t let people tear you down or apart because of your story. It’s not their story; it’s your story. And your story has been given to you by God and not them. Allow your faith to guide you to new places and dreams. It is a call to not be quiet, to not keep things under our hats, but to live out loud in a way that draws attention to what we are doing and who we are and most importantly to why we do what we do. This is a call to evangelism, to knocking on doors and telling our story. Jesus doesn’t want us to live in fear, after all we are told 365 times in the Bible to not be afraid. Rather, Jesus wants us to be proud of our story and to allow our story to build up our faith.

As learn to tell our story, we will “give a defense to anyone who demands an account” and we will do so knowing that Jesus is with us. Some see that as an out. As long as no one asks me, I don’t have to say a word. Well, we could also argue that the world is demanding an account all the time. Certainly, the brokenness of the world demands an account; the emptiness of the world demands an account. The hunger of the world demands an account. We believe that we have what the world needs. How dare we keep it to ourselves? When you tell your story, don’t be afraid to tell it because the story was made by God, proclaimed by Jesus Christ, and lived out through the Holy Spirit. Don’t live in fear, but live in the goodness of Jesus’ hopeful Resurrection. Tell your story to do good things. Tell your story to change the world, to bring hope and resurrection.

Second, tell your story with a clear mind. Peter states in verses 16 and 17, “ yet do it with gentleness and respect. Maintain a good conscience so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:16-17).  Peter is quick to tell us how we go about telling our story and becoming a stone for God’s kingdom foundation. We don’t tell our story with anger; we don’t tell it with force and annoyance, with tricks and sleight of hand. No, we tell our story with gentleness and reverence, Peter writes. And tell the honest truth, as you know it. Don’t make up stuff or you will get caught, says Peter. Don’t say you’re brave when you aren’t. Don’t say you won’t run when you will. Don’t say you are perfect when you and probably everyone else knows you are far from it. You get the point. Tell your story with a clear mind. Tell your story the way Jesus would tell his story and possibly your story.

Peter says we speak with integrity. We speak as those who did not deserve the grace by which we live, but who were baptized into a new life, a new way of living. We speak as those who are being made into disciples of Jesus Christ, not as those who have finished our labors but are seeking to continue to do the work of God. Our story is not meant to be told with force or even forced upon anyone. Rather, our story is simply meant to be heard so that others may realize that who we are is who we are: we are children of God who have come, with gentleness and reverence, to remind others that their story matters and that their story is embedded in the ways and works of Jesus Christ. If we can’t share our story with a Godly and clear mind, then the meaning of our story falls short of the hope within us. If we tell our story with force, we may miss the important pieces that have changed our life. More often than not most of those important pieces come from a state of feeling vulnerable and possibly in times of suffering and pain.

In moments of suffering, Jesus came and set us free. I remember hearing a quote that said, “God does God’s best work in our darkest moments.” That is the context from which we speak, from which we give an account of the hope within us. In dark moments we find our hidden hope. Not by our own merits or our own goodness, but by the grace of God in Christ. If doing good, for the sake of Jesus Christ, leads to suffering, then that’s what we need to do: it’s embedded in our story. Our story has dark moments—moments that we don’t want to think about or even consider, but yet they have helped us become who we are today. Those dark moments have allowed God to do His best work in our lives so that we can begin to “see the light.”

No matter how hard we try to eliminate the suffering in our life, to set it aside, and carry on, it is still with us. It is still with us because it is part of our story, of who we are. Peter writes, “Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear his name” (1 Peter 4:16). When you bear his name, your story takes a deeper meaning and you realize that “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate [you] from the love of God in Christ Jesus your Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). When you embrace your story—the good, the bad, and the ugly, the joy and the sadness, the blessings and the sufferings—and allow the hope within you to help convey your story, the love of God will shine through because you have become a beacon of hope for someone else. Tell your story with a clear mind, and love and goodness will be the hope of new beginnings.

Third, we have a story to tell because Christ suffered for us.  Let that sink in for a moment: we have a story to tell, to proclaim, to share, because Jesus suffered for us, for you, and for me. Peter states in verses 18 and 22, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him” (1 Peter 3:18 and 22). Jesus suffered so that your story could be told. So that your story would bring goodness to many people, so that your story would bring hope to the hopeless, be a source of light in the darkness, and be an ever-flowing stream of love for everyone you meet. Your story is alive today because of what Jesus did on the cross: he suffered, he cried, he screamed out in pain, he said he was thirsty, and he breathed his last so that you and I would be set free. There is a song in the musical, Hamilton, that simply says, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” You tell your story. Others tell your story. Jesus tells your story. Your story rests in the hearts of all those who you encounter in your life. Jesus’ suffering is the good news that reminds of the hope within us—a hope that overcomes our suffering.

The psalmist in Psalm 66 tells a similar story. But instead of suffering, the psalm speaks of being tested as silver is tested. Indeed, the psalm speaks of all sorts of difficulties and struggles as having a divine origin. Yet, the attitude of the writer is not one of frustration or anger but understanding and a willingness to praise. Rather than casting blame, the psalm suggests that there is no human experience that is outside of the will of God. There is nothing that can or does happen to us that is a sign that God has abandoned us. In the end, we could argue that the witness here is that God is present even in difficult times because he understands what we are going through: he suffered for us and he suffers with us. The good news of God’s presence in the midst of pain and suffering is what adds depth and meaning and hope and restoration to our story.

The result of this understanding is that the writer will speak of God’s goodness, that’s you. The psalmist will “tell what God has done for me.” Like Peter’s call, Psalm 66 says we must be always ready to make a defense for the hope that lies within, for the story that God has given us. And given the difficulties faced, there is no doubt that there will be those who will ask, “How can you still have hope?” Your response is, “come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what God has done for me” (Psalm 66:16).

Jesus suffered so that our story may continue. Jesus suffered so that our story may be heard. Jesus suffered so that our story, our legacy, may help change lives and lead others to Christ. We will suffer along the way, but we will also give praise for what God has done for us.

Conclusion:

Notice one more thing about this telling. Nowhere does it ask us to count the numbers who believe us. Nowhere is there supposed to be a measuring of the response to the words that are spoken. Psalm 66 tells us that God has listened. In the end, that is the audience for whom we speak. That is the measure of our faithfulness. Not how many “souls we have saved.” Not the crowds we drew or the attention we gathered. In fact, it may seem like no one at all is responding, is turning their lives around, is making any change based on our words. That doesn’t matter in the least. Yes, of course, we hope to make a difference in the world around us; we hope to bring influence for the cause of Christ and to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But in the end, our audience is God. God will take care of the response. Our task is to always be ready to tell our story: to tell it with goodness in our heart, with a clear mind, and with the realization that Jesus suffered so that we can tell our story today and every day.

Through the Resurrection of Christ, we come alive. Through the Resurrection of Christ, our story is heard. Through the Resurrection of Christ, we have been given a hope within us that guides us to be the stone of the church as we help people become God’s kingdom today and every day. Remember what that old hymn tells us, “The Church is not a building, the church is not steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people.” The church is the people and each person has a story and that story constructs the church.

Don’t be afraid to tell your story. And most importantly, always be ready to tell your story because you never know how your story can bring hope to someone else in your life. What is your story? Let it be so…

Closing Prayer:

 Let us Pray: Dear Jesus, through your resurrection, we are reminded that you suffered so that our story may be heard. O Lord, guide us, as we tell our story, to do good, to tell it the way you want us to tell it, and to be thankful for wonderful opportunity to tell our story. Because of you, O Lord, and all that you have done for us, we have a story to tell. Let us be ready to tell that story as we give honor and glory to you. All honor and glory is yours now and forever, Amen.

Benediction:

What is your story? You all have story to share; and your story is what builds the kingdom of God. After you tell your story, I invite you to simply say, “This is my story. And it has been created by God.” Do good, don’t be afraid, and let your story bring hope and love into this world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go, living and experiencing the resurrection of Christ in your life and in your story. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.