FOUNDRYcast

When was the first time your heart hurt?

Not some high school love heartbreak, but a genuine brokenness for other people. For me, it was seeing the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. The storm didn't affect my family, but it had changed the lives of many of my friends. It was also felt like it was in my own backyard. I remember gutting a house, 9 months after the storm, that stood not 150ft from where I lived as a small child when my Dad was in seminary.

My heart broke for disaster relief and it's still something I am passionate about now. I might not know you, but your situation rests heavy on my own soul.

Late in the story of the New Testament, a man named Nehemiah found himself broken-hearted for others. While he was serving the king of Babylon as Jew, his people had been sent back to Jerusalem from exile. And it wasn't nearly as fun as they hoped and expected.

In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, "Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire."

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 1:1-5

This brokenness would take him on a journey for the rest of his life. It was a journey of leadership for the sake of others.

Burdens Break Us For the Mending of Others

When our heart is burdened, we are physically taking on the hurt and pain for others, and making decisions upon what to do about it. Nehemiah shares with us a fantastic pathway towards both discerning the proper reaction to burdens, and the proper pathways to go alongside the situations that are breaking our heart.

How comfortable are you with the unknown? Finding something that you know you need, but you don't know exactly what it is can be terrifying?

It's a dangerous thing. It's also tiring.

Have you ever been looking for something, or desiring something…and simply giving up and going back to what you know? We are all trying to find something. What direction are we looking towards?

What God gives us today prepares us for tomorrow and we are sustained because of yesterday.

Having what we need for tomorrow is tricky, but what we need tomorrow isn't necessarily what we need today. And yesterday's solutions can very well be today's disaster.

This week, we are learning about this from part of the story of the Exodus.

Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.

3 "If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt," they moaned. "There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death."

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual."

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?" 8 Then Moses added, "The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us."

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Announce this to the entire community of Israel: 'Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.'" 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the Israelites' complaints. Now tell them, 'In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.'"

13 That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. 14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. 15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. "What is it?" they asked each other. They had no idea what it was.

And Moses told them, "It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. 16 These are the Lord's instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent."

17 So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. 18 But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

19 Then Moses told them, "Do not keep any of it until morning." 20 But some of them didn't listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.

21 After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. 23 He told them, "This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow."

24 So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor.25 Moses said, "Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord. There will be no food on the ground today. 26 You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day."

27 Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. 28 The Lord asked Moses, "How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? 29 They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord's gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day." 30 So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.

31 The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.

32 Then Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt."

33 Moses said to Aaron, "Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the Lord to preserve it for all future generations." 34 Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant—in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. 35 So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

36 The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two quarts. Exodus 16

This lesson isn't really about food, but it is about recognizing the way that God both has the ability to provide everything, and how the power comes when we fully realize the day to day work of provision.

As we look at the world around us, I think it would be hard to realize we struggle with the idea of morality.

Did you know we have a significant issue even talking about it? In this article, Jonathan Merritt shares how tough it is finding words to use for religious conversations. In it, he references a study that shows our usage of words of the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) has gone down significantly in the last 100 years.

Why is this?

Our final fruits tell us the story. We have forgotten to be involved in our own salvation and growth. They are the final two fruits, and they are the ones that often cause us the most self-reflection. They expose our own attempts at making a world that we can easily control and predict. Gentleness and Self-Control tell the story about who we are.

Gentleness & Self-Control

Here are the two passages we will be reading.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

James 3:13-19 NRSV

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

2 Peter 1:3-9 NLT

What's so funny about both of these is they seem to be the markers of people many of us would consider weak. But what scripture shows is gentleness and self-control are actually some of the strongest ways we can conduct ourselves.

Let's dive into two books we haven't heard from in this series, with authors who understand the life Jesus calls us to really well. And let us learn to use the words to speak of the faith we believe in.

What does it mean to be a good person?

That's a tough question. I'm sure you have as big of a definition as I do.

For the most part, we can probably look at these two verses and think this makes up a good, short list of what it means to be a good person.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Each week we've been talking about how this list goes beyond the idea of being "good" or "nice". This list is a sequence of qualities that are part of who God is that he has implanted into us (through the Holy Spirit). This week we are focusing on conversations of patience and kindness. And I can think of no two qualities that describe "good" people. My mother is an extremely patient grandmother. My own grandmothers were extremely patient with me. They are both kind as well. In fact, I am pretty sure I thought my great-grandmother looked like God until I was around 10 years old.

But patience and kindness go significantly beyond the conception of a nice grandmother.

Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, 12 so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:9-12

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Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? Romans 1:4 NLT

What if patience and kindness are something much bigger than simply being nice and good?

Weakness can be a tough thing. How do you handle things you struggle with not doing? Or maybe it's a part of your personality that isn't part of you? If you are a fan of any sort of business or management strategy like Gallup's Strengthfinders, you probably do everything you can to eliminate the need to function in the realm of your weaknesses.

As we journey into an investigation of the Fruits of the Spirit, we slowly begin to realize that we simply can't ignore the things that might not appear to natively manifest themselves in our life. Just looking at our strengths, or even deeper, just the things that make us happy, isn't really an engagement with the fruits of the spirit. They are us engaging with our own self, which doesn't lead us to salvation or show the world of Jesus in our life.

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

Paul instantly calls us into this truth. God's kingdom is one that manifests God's own attributes through His people.

He Makes Is Us What is Unmade in Him

Paul lists out three different fruits in this verse. None of them can't be accomplished through human endeavours, but only by each of us learning to rest in the presence of God and allow Him to transform us.

Jesus describes two of these fruits in his final words to His disciples in the gospel of John.

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:11

"I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. John 14:27

Joy and Peace. Two attitudes that show the power of the Holy Spirit in our life. And we can't create them on our own. No matter how hard we try.

Country singer (and writer of the greatest redneck Christmas song ever, Merry Christmas from the Family) wrote a song called Love's a Word I Never Throw Around. I think we could all stand to process that idea and talk about our use of the word. Just this afternoon, while on a break from writing this sermon, I told someone I loved gas station meat pies. Clearly, I need to spend more time reflecting on the true meaning of love.

So what is love? How do we talk about love if we don't really want to experience it? What if we have some hangups on the whole idea of love?

You see, we see love as an after effect. It's a response. It's never pre-existent. And if we are looking at the fruits of the spirit as characteristics of God which the Holy Spirit plants un us, the direction love comes from matters.

This is from 1st John, a book in the New Testament.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 1 John 4:7-12

The direction of love is before the action. It isn't an after effect, in fact, it just well might be the first action. So how do we apply that to our lives? How do we love like Jesus loved? Do we really need to love? What about the people I really don't want to love?