goal

Keeping the Goal in Mind

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Keeping the Goal in Mind

July 28, 2024*

By Pastor John Partridge

2 Samuel 11:1-15                   John 6:1-21                Ephesians 3:14-21

Although last week we talked about how God sometimes distracts or redirects us so that he can take us to someplace better, this morning we remember that sometimes it is also important for us to keep the goal in mind, put our heads down, and grind it out. Although I am not in that kind of physical condition now, a few years ago, I got into a regular routine of running and eventually ran a half-marathon. During such a long race, there are plenty of times when you are out of breath, or your feet hurt, or you start to get cramps, or some other part of your body tries to convince you that quitting would be a good idea, or even that just walking for a while would be helpful. Much of that is why you train, after a while, after putting lots of miles behind you, you are familiar with most of those feelings, and you learn how to deal with them or simply to overcome them. And so, during the race, the important thing is to keep the goal in mind, even if you redraw the boundaries so that your new goal is just making it to the next telephone pole, and then the one after that, and the one after that.

Likewise, there are times when we are raising children, that we are ready to give them back, or to give them away to strangers. My own mother told of times when church people would say that I was just so cute, and they could take me home with them. Mom’s reply was that they could, and they would laugh at her joke, but Mom confessed that there were times when she was absolutely not joking. But as hard as it can be, in those moments of desperation, to think a decade or two into the future, those are the times when we need to keep the goal in mind. The goal of childrearing isn’t just to survive the day, although sometimes that is all that we can manage, the goal is to raise decent, kind, caring, and thoughtful human beings who have a solid relationship with Jesus.

And, as we read the scriptures for today, we discover that, in each case, keeping the goal in mind makes a difference in the choices that are made, as well as the direction of the story, and of the lives of those in it. We begin this morning once again with the story of King David, this time when David did not keep the goal in mind, and one bad decision leads to another, and then another, and so on, and so on down a road that he should never had travelled at all, as we read from 2 Samuel 11:1-15.

11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So, Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So, he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So, Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

David’s first mistake was the one that led to all the rest, and we find it in the first sentence. “In the spring… when kings go off to war…” Joab and all of Israel’s armies, conscripts, and mercenaries, go off to war with the Ammonites. They defeat the armies of Ammon in the fields and now besiege the walled city of Rabbah, which is, today, known as Amman Jordan. But in the days when kings go off to war, David, the king, does not go off to war, but instead loses sight of the goal, does the thing that is contrary to every other story that we have read about David since he fought against Goliath as a teen, stays home and lets others fight his battles for him. Having done that, David is now in a place where he should never have been in the first place, and his mistakes, and his sins, begin to pile up upon one another. David looks when he should have looked away, asked when he should have remained silent, sent messengers when he should have been conducting business, slept with another man’s wife when he already had more women than anyone needs, and then conspires to cover it all up and make it go away. In each case, David lost sight of the goal and it led him to seek the destruction of one of the most honorable men that we meet in all of scripture.

And then in John 6:1-21, we read two stories, each of which tells a story about goals.

6:1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing, and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

First, we find the disciples trying to work out how to feed the crowds of people who had come to hear Jesus. Philip is gobsmacked by the impossibility of feeding them all. In Matthew’s version of this story the disciples suggest sending everyone home before it gets too late so that the people in the crowd can eat at home or find someone to sell them something to eat.  But Andrew, even though he doesn’t fully understand, keeps the goal in mind. Andrew knows that the goal is to minister to the crowd and to care for their needs and so, even though he isn’t sure how it can help, he is hopeful, insightful, and faithful, and offers Jesus the sack lunch that the mother of one small boy had sent along with him. And because of Andrew’s insight, Jesus feeds more than five thousand people. It is worth noting here that although I have heard folks try to explain this away, that this wasn’t really all that miraculous, and that what really happened was that the boy’s generosity inspired others in the crowd to share the food that they had brought, that is not what the story says. John clearly says that in the end, they gathered twelve baskets that were filled “with the pieces of the five barley loaves” that were left over.

Next, after Jesus withdraws to a mountain, by himself, to rest, the disciples lose sight of the goal. We would expect that the goal, in this case, is for Jesus to minister to the people and for the disciples to minister to, or to at least follow, Jesus. But at some point, the disciples seem to decide that home and a comfortable bed are not that far away, they leave Jesus, and head back to Capernaum without him. On the way, they encounter a strong wind blowing against them, and so they cannot sail, and they are forced to row against what John says was not just a breeze, but a strong wind. Rowing three or four miles against a strong wind had to be an ordeal. But then they see Jesus walking on the water, take him into the boat once they stop being terrified that he might be a ghost, the wind stops, and they miraculously reach the shores of home.

And finally, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul reminds us of the goal we should all keep in mind. Reading from Ephesians 3:14-21, we hear this:

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every familyin heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul says that he prays so that Christ would live in the hearts of the people through faith. He prays so that they would be rooted and established with love and so that we would have the power to understand how amazing the love of Jesus is, and Paul’s hope is that the people of the church would be filled with the same measure of love.

David and the disciples of Jesus are reminders of what can go wrong when we fail to keep our goals in mind. The real goal of following Jesus is to be filled with the love of Jesus and to love others the way that Jesus did.

All the rest, as important as it might be, are details.

The real goal of following Jesus is to be filled with the love of Jesus and to love others the way that Jesus did.

Let us pray that might keep that goal in mind.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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Almost Saved

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Almost Saved

October 31, 2021*

By Pastor John Partridge

Ruth 1:1-18                 Mark 12:28-34            Hebrews 9:11-14

I know some of you don’t watch football, but this past week there was a play that is worth talking about because it tells us a story that makes sense of a spiritual theme that we read in today’s scripture passages.  During a game between Troy and South Carolina, Jahmar Brown recovered a fumble, ran fifty yards toward the end zone and, one yard before he crossed the goal line, stated celebrating and threw the ball into the air.  The referees ruled that it was not a touchdown because he did not have possession of the ball when he crossed into the end zone.

He had the ball.  There was no one nearby that could stop him, success was certain, but he became overconfident and started his celebration before he actually crossed the goal line.  When our children ran track, we saw the something similar happen more than once.  A winning runner would start easing off just before they crossed the finish line and, at the last moment, the second-place runner passed them and won the race.  These stories remind us that it isn’t a touchdown until you cross the goal line, and you haven’t actually won the race until you cross the finish line.  The difference between winning and losing often depends upon whether you commit the effort to finish what you started. 

A spiritual lesson with the same theme can be found in scripture.  We begin this morning with the story of Ruth.  Ruth was a daughter-in-law of Naomi and, and both women were widowed while they were living in Moab.  Naomi, her husband, and her sons, were citizens of Bethlehem, but moved to Moab during a time of famine.  We join the story in Ruth 1:1-18.

1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So, a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.”

Then she kissed them goodbye, and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”

14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Naomi and her family move to Moab, her sons both marry local girls, and then both Naomi’s husband and sons all die leaving her a widow with two dependent children widow children.  Since the famine in Israel is over, and since she has no job, no family, and no support system in Moab, she decides to return to Israel where she at least has some family from whom she can ask for help.  But as they begin their journey, Naomi recognizes that, as much as she could use the help, her return to Israel won’t do any favors for her daughters-in-law.  In Israel, they will have the same problem that she has in Moab.  They will be far from home, separated from everything they know, and have no family or support system upon which they can depend.  And so, out of compassion, Naomi sacrifices her own needs and tells her daughters to return to their families where they have a better chance to be cared for, or to find new husbands and families for themselves.

Orpah resists and initially rejects Naomi’s offer, but ultimately agrees and returns to her family, but Ruth does the same thing that Naomi had modeled for her.  Instead of returning to her family and doing what was best for herself, Ruth sacrifices her own needs for the good of Naomi because of her loyalty and love for her mother-in-law.  And the sacrifice that we see in the story of Naomi and Ruth is a foreshadowing of an even greater sacrifice that Jesus would make in order to offer a path of rescue, reconciliation, and restoration to the entire world.  But knowing about the sacrifice of Jesus isn’t enough, just as knowing about God, memorizing, and even following, the commandments isn’t.  And that’s what Jesus is talking about with one of the teachers of the Law in Mark 12:28-34 where we hear this:

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Jesus says that it’s good that this teacher of the law understands the law and the commandments.  It is good that he follows the law and the commandments.  Understanding and following the law and commandments is almost enough because Jesus says that in doing so the teacher is “not far from the kingdom of God.”  Because he knows, understands, and follows the law and the commandments, the man is almost saved.  But something is still missing.  Jesus has hinted at it, but in Hebrews 9:11-14, Paul explains it more clearly.

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtainingeternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

There are several things here that we, as well as the original recipients and readers of Hebrews, already know.  We know that Jesus is our high priest who intercedes between God and humanity.  We know that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin and willingly offered himself as our sacrifice so that we could be redeemed in the eyes of God forever.  We know that because Jesus sacrificed himself for us, we are forgiven of all our sin, can stand before God, and can live with a clear conscience. 

But after Paul repeats these things that we already know, he concludes by saying why God did these things.  He says that God did these things “so that we may serve the living God.”  The reason that God has offered us salvation and rescue is so that we can offer him a life of service.  We were purified for service.  We were saved for service.  The reason for Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the reason for our rescue, is so that we can serve God. 

This is the same thing that we saw modeled for us in the story of Naomi and Ruth, and the same thing that Jesus was hinting at in Mark.  While it is good to believe in God, to know the law, the commandments, and the rest of the scriptures, and while it is good to follow the instructions of God, that isn’t enough.  The thing that Naomi knew, that Ruth learned, and that Jesus was teaching, is that after we begin to follow the instructions of God, we must also be so filled with compassion and love that we begin to model the sacrificial nature of God, to sacrifice ourselves, to sacrifice our wants, our needs, and our desires, for the good of others and for the good of God’s kingdom.

Knowing, believing, and even following are all good things, and they are almost enough.  Doing those things will bring us to place that is, as Jesus described as “not far from the kingdom of God.” 

But Jahmar Brown started celebrating and dropped the ball before he cross the goal line.  The whole point of football is carrying the football across the goal line.  And Paul says that the whole point of God’s redemptive work through Jesus Christ is so that we will live lives of service and sacrifice to God.

Let’s not miss the point and quit before we cross the goal line.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.