2018 Pastor

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“The Meaning of the Mess” – 7/15/2018 Pastor Kevin Canterbury Today’s message comes from personal experience, it comes from a real-life situation a few weeks ago involving my kids. Not every sermon I write comes to me in that way but this message comes from real-life because life will preach to you, if you listen. And it’ll preach to you harder if you don’t listen. How many of you know that to be true? Here’s the story, you may have noticed, but these shoes are brand new and they are sweet. I got these shoes for Father’s Day. My youngest son, Theodore, stepped on them the first day I wore them, scuffed them up with dirt right away. I take off to the bathroom to clean them up – they’re new, I wanna keep them nice and it’s literally been 40 seconds! So, while I’m attempting to clean them up I start thinking, “Man, I can’t have anything nice anymore. These kids run this house, I’ve lost control of my house, some husband I am, some dad I am, I’m supposed to have my life together and I can’t even keep shoes clean a minute…” And so I’m beating myself up over this, you know you beat yourself up over the smallest things, so I’m lecturing myself over the fact that I can no longer have nice things when I begin plotting: How can I avoid this from ever happening again? - Never wear them, which ain’t gonna happen - Well, if Theodore wasn’t around he wouldn’t scuff up my shoes, but that’s not happenin - Transport them to church in a box and change into them when I get there, Yeah! Which is what I literally did to get them here safely today, yes, I am extra but that’s who I am as a person. But that previous thought stuck with me, “Well, if Theodore wasn’t around…” And it just stuck with me, “If he wasn’t around.” What a sad, selfish thought, right? No one in their right mind would think stupid things like this, having nice things instead of meaningful relationships in your life but there I was. So, at this point I’m feeling pretty sentimental so I just stop and listen to my boys laughing in the next room and I just think, “Man, there will come a day when I will wish for scuff marks on my shoes again.” Now, to rewind just a bit, when we first moved up here I was at the Riverview Campus in one of my first ever pastor’s meetings there at Baxter’s with Pastor Jeremy and it was a big deal. I wanna impress the big guy, show him he made a great choice in hiring me. Well my wife, Kelsey, walks in with my boys and they instantly run up to me to hug and see me but the whole time I’m looking at my wife and say to here not verbally but with my eyes, “HONEY, I’M TRYING TO BE PROFESSIONAL HERE I CAN’T HAVE KIDS CRAWLING ALL OVER ME. I’M TRYING TO IMPRESS THE NEW BOSS.” I said all of that with my eyes. But Pastor Jeremy got down on their level and talked to them, made them laugh, and stopped the meeting to play with them and when they ran on to the Playscape, he sighed and said, “Kevin, enjoy them while they’re young, man. There will come a day when you’ll wish they were that small again.” That thought echoed in my mind while I was cleaning this mess off my shoes. I will wish for scuff marks on my shoes again. I will wish for the mess of my kids. 1

Instead of beating myself up over these dirty shoes, I started thinking, “What does the dirt on my shoes represent? What does it really mean?” Does it really mean I’m a slop and can’t keep things clean? Or does it mean that I have a very excitable little boy who loves his daddy so much that he can’t be away from me for a second? Does the dirt mean that I can’t have nice things or does it mean I’m a very loved dad? Does the mess really mean that I’m a terrible person or does the mess on my shoes mean that my boys had a blast outside playing in the mud? What do the mess really mean? So, I start reading different passages and scriptures about dirt and mud and dust throughout the bible and I had no idea how much of it was in the bible, I mean, we started in the dirt! “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 You see, we come from the dirt and dust and I want to take a little bit of time today to talk about this because this is where we all started! And maybe, just maybe God is going to give us some direction in the dirt. Maybe there’s meaning in the mess. So, the first thing I want to talk about is this idea that we misinterpret our mess. We misinterpret our mess. There’s a phrase I’ve been saying for years now and certain weeks it is truer than others but it is simply this: No mess, no ministry. And I got this from Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” - You see, us young pastors pray God will give us a great ministry, but real ministry is messy so if you don’t want to have any problems then you aren’t going to have any people in your church. That’s the meaning of Proverbs 14:4, everyone wants the strength the oxen bring, but no one wants to shovel out what the oxen produce. - No mess, no ministry! - No dirty footprints on my new Nikes, no tiny feet to put them there! You know what I started doing recently? Listen, I began looking at other areas of my life and wondering what else am I missing out on? What other messes am I misinterpreting? I came home this week and was frustrated at first because my boys left their battery powered ATV in the driveway and I couldn’t pull in all the way. So, I hop out to move it and I start rehearsing a lecture on responsibility in my head to give my boys upon entering the house, but the thought comes to me: Does the ATV in my driveway really represent a couple of irresponsible little boys or does it represent a good gift from our neighbors to my boys because they love us? I don’t doubt that there are people who can hear my voice right now who wish they had a Kid’s ATV to move out of their driveway because there are plenty of people who live without the

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things you complain about. There are plenty of people who live without the things you complain about because we misinterpret our mess. - No mess, no ministry! - No mess, no marriage! - No mess, no mission! - No dirty footprints on my new Nikes, no tiny feet to put them there! We misinterpret our mess over and over and over. It’s in the mess of life where some of the most meaningful things happen to us because there’s meaning in that mess! I have officiated a lot of weddings and a lot of funerals in my life and I can say I have had more meaningful spiritual conversations with families surrounding the mess of a funeral than the celebration of a wedding. If you look back on your life, some of the most important moments that grew and stretched you and showed you who you really are came from a mess. Don’t misinterpret your mess, don’t dismiss your mess because you’ll lose the meaning! Early on in our marriage Kelsey would apologize for the mess in the kitchen after she would fix a big meal and I told her she really needs to stop with the apologies because I noticed a connection between the mess in the kitchen and the food in my stomach and the bigger the mess the better the food; someone shout amen to that. Baby make those dishes messy. See, you have to stop beating yourself up over the dirt on your new shoes, over that failed relationship, over that awful thing you said to your him, to your her because the mess is an opportunity for God to grow you. The mess is an opportunity for God to heal you. The mess is an opportunity for God to speak to you – what mess in your life are you misinterpreting? What would happen if you actually went back home today and saw the same things you left but you didn’t see the mess, but you saw through the mess because in the mess is a message, in the mess is meaning, in the mess is the ministry, in the midst of your mess there is something God wants to do because there’s meaning in your mess! There’s a meaning in your mess. Don’t miss what the mess represents. People say, “I’m such a mess.” Of course, you’re a mess, you’re human, do you forget where you came from? You know a lot of moms are really hard on themselves after they have a baby – you pushed a baby out of your body, you’re allowed to look different! Yes, that’s fine because it’s messy having kids, like literally having kids is so messy, I think it would inspire teenagers and young people to practice abstinence to witness a birth firsthand cause that stuff is messy! Don’t misinterpret your mess. Now I want to shift gears here and talk about the mercy within your mess because Jesus does something in the Book of John that is crazy, and He gives us some direction using dirt. Check this out. John 8:2-11 3

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. These people must’ve thought Jesus done lost his mind because they are about to kill this woman and what does He do? He bends down and starts drawing in the dust and this is something that scholars have debated for centuries: What did Jesus write in the dust? It’s interesting what the bible comes out and says and what the bible leaves out. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. I have studied for so long a bunch of different theories as to what it was Jesus was writing on the ground and there are some cool theories out there so I want to share a few with you: Theories as to what He was writing: 1 He was doodling. 2 He was writing a bible verse. 3 This is the most interesting theory to me, that He was writing the names of the people in the circle holding those stones to kill that woman and their secret sins. They thought, “We’ve got dirt on her!” But Jesus has dirt on them, doesn’t He? So He gets down in the dirt and begins writing. Could you imagine Jesus actually doing that? “Michael” – “Lust” then draws a line out to “Steve’s wife.” So then Michael drops his stone and gets up real quick to leave and Steve follows him to have a little discussion. You know what’s crazy, the scripture says in verse 9 that the older ones left first! I think it’s because they had the longest lists and no one wants to stay around for that! Imagine the Pharisees showing up like that, “We’ve got the dirt on her!” But Jesus starts writing and says, “The one who has never sinned can throw the first stone.” You see, we know the ending of the story since we have the bible but at this point the woman is probably still terrified because while Jesus said, “You who is without sin can throw the first stone” and everyone else left there is still one standing there in front of her because He had never sinned before and what’s He going to do? What’s He going to do with her dirt?

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10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” The only one who could throw a stone chose not to. You see Jesus had all the dirt on this woman but He chose not to drag her through it but instead to raise her up into a new life of forgiveness and there’s someone here today that needs to hear that. You’re here today and feel like a failure. You’re here today because you feel weak and worn out. You’re here today because you feel like your past is holding you back but you need to listen to the voice of Jesus saying, “I do not condemn you now go and sin no more, go and live differently” because there is mercy in the midst of your mess. There is mercy in your mess. There is mercy in your mess, just like this woman because Jesus has all the dirt on you but He refuses to pick up those rocks and throw them at you but the enemy will. The enemy will pick up those rocks and he’ll throw them at you, he’ll remind you of what you did, he’ll remind you of what you said, and he’ll remind you over and over and over but every time he tries to remind you you remind him that Jesus has redeemed you, Jesus has not condemned you, the only one who had a rock to throw didn’t throw it so next time the accusations start to fly about how your worthless, about how your lousy and how dirty you are, remember how Jesus got down in your dirt and wiped your past clean and then He stood up not to condemn you but to change you, not to shame you, but to rescue you. Why? Because there is mercy in your mess! Don’t be fooled into thinking God wants you to clean yourself up before coming to Him because if you know the story of the Prodigal Son then you know his dad didn’t wait for him to get home and change his clothes and clean himself up before hugging him – no! His father met him out in the road, smelling like pigs, covered in mud, and his father embraced him and said, “Welcome home” and that’s what God is telling us today, just as you are, with the past that you have, with all of your dysfunction: Welcome home! Ok, here’s the last thing. Who knew there was so much to learn from the dirt, from our mess? There’s a miracle in your mess. So, we just read about Jesus and the woman caught in adultery but in the very next chapter we read another strange story. John 9:1-7 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 5

The bible says the man was blind but he wasn’t deaf so he can hear that Jesus is close by and he can hear people talking about him and his situation, he can hear it all. And Jesus was very popular for healing all kinds of people and that included the blind so I’m sure this man is expecting Jesus to heal him too. I love this, check this out: John 9:6, 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Man, you gotta feel bad for this guy. Here he is, blind, while everyone else can see and he can hear them talking about the reasons he’s probably blind. He’s just thinking, “I was born this way, I had no control over it.” But now Jesus shows up and I don’t doubt this man was excited because he knew who Jesus was, everyone knew who Jesus was whether they liked Him or not. So this man is probably thinking, “Here it comes, I’m gonna get healed! He’s going to put his hand on my eyes and I’m gonna be able to see! Finally!” And then what does he hear? - Insert spitting sound here You can still hear that man’s inter-dialogue you know, “That was a weird noise. Maybe He’s just clearing His throat or something…” You gotta feel bad for this guy. Now, don’t just read the bible like it happened to somebody else, put yourself in the bible and think of this, you hear that sound, you’re wondering what’s going on, and then you feel something wet and muddy on your face so the situation has just gone from bad to worse. But then Jesus gives him further instruction… Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The question becomes, why did Jesus spit and wipe mud on this man’s eyes? If the man went down to the pool to wash anyway, why would Jesus humiliate him like this? I think it’s deeply profound what Jesus is doing here because throughout the bible dirt represents humanity. Dirt represents our weak and fragile state because it’s where we come from and, one day, where we will return. Recognizing that we are fragile and that we come from the dust should keep us humble. Jesus healing this man involved more than just dust, right? He needed saliva, too. And water almost always represents God’s Spirit in the bible. So, Jesus takes the dirt (the weak, the human) and He takes something that represents the divine – the water (the Spirit) and so what I feel like God is telling us today is that if your life feels like dirt, if your heart feels like dirt, if your marriage feels like dirt, if your situation feels like dirt here’s all you gotta do: Just add water. 6

What you are without Jesus is common but what you are with Jesus is uncommon and you need to understand that miracles are always messy because when Jesus makes a change in your life He always makes a mess. But when He pours into your life, when He pours into your struggles, your sin, your weakness, your past, your mess, and when He pours in His grace, His compassion, His mercy, His power, and His love He says, “I want to make a miracle out of your mess! Bring me your dirt, bring me your shortcomings, bring me your regrets, bring me your mess, and I’ll show you a miracle! Steven Furtick put it this way: What the world calls failure, God calls fertilizer. We must take situations in our lives that seem hopeless, that seem dark, and that seem dirty and allow God to add His Spirit to your mess and watch what happens because there’s a miracle in your mess. Don’t let the mess make you miss the miracle. You see, we must be people that come to God and simply say, “Do what you gotta do. Spit on me, Jesus, if you have to. If that’s what it takes for me to see what you’re really doing then go ahead because no matter how much it hurts, or how messy it is I know there’s a miracle on the other side.”

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