Rev. David Holwick F
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
February 6, 2000
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
AFFIRM LIFE
I. Life has a tenacity about it.
A. Found in deep sea vents, and boiling hot springs of Yellowstone.
B. Found miles deep in earth. (gold veins in South Africa)
C. Found in rock from Mars?
II. No life is as complex as humans.
A. In what sense are we alive?
1) We breathe, like animals.
2) We are spiritual, unlike animals.
a) They have a consciousness, we have a soul.
b) (Ezekiel's vision of dry bones)
B. We can be spiritually alive on two levels.
1) All humans are created by God and have spiritual potential.
2) Only some will realize that potential and become truly
alive.
III. The gospel of Jesus is life-affirming.
A. Jesus loves those whom the world rejects.
1) Outcasts.
2) Criminals.
3) Prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners - like you.
B. Jesus loves YOU.
1) He wants you to have life to the fullest. John 10:10
2) He wants you healed and whole.
3) He wants your life to be eternal.
IV. Evangelicals are noted for their views on life.
A. Often takes negative slant.
1) Oppose abortion, even to bombings and assassinations.
2) Oppose doctor-assisted suicide.
3) The negative must be addressed, but it is not the whole
picture.
a) The positive is the most important.
B. How we can affirm the life of others.
1) Helping with the extremes of life.
a) Those who struggle with pregnancy.
b) Haiti mission to help the lowest of the low.
c) Help those who are dying.
1> Al Reynolds helps with hospice.
d) Show simple consideration to all people.
John W. Schlatter tells about two boys, Mark and Bill.
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed that
the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all the books
he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat,
a glove and a small tape recorder.
Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered
articles.
Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of
the burden.
As they walked, Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that
he loved video games, baseball and history.
He also found out Bill was having a lot of trouble with his
other subjects and that he had just broken up with his
girlfriend.
Mark went home after dropping Bill at his house.
They continued to see each other around school, had lunch
together once or twice, then both graduated from junior
high school.
They ended up in the same high school, where they had brief
contacts over the years.
Finally the long-awaited senior year came.
Three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they
could talk.
Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first
met.
"Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home
that day?" asked Bill.
"You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to
leave a mess for anyone else.
I had stored away some of my mother's sleeping pills and I
was going home to commit suicide.
But after we spent some time together talking and laughing,
I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed
that time and so many others that might follow.
So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you
did a lot more.
You saved my life."
#4566
2) Witness to others about our faith in Jesus.
a) Yesterday in hospital visits I encountered three
people who are not long for this world.
1> Each was surrounded by family and friends.
2> Each has had some exposure to church and Jesus.
b) Two of them I expected, the third I did not.
1> Ran into a couple I know, related to a member.
2> Her brother, 44 years old, is in last stages of
cancer.
c) This life will end some day.
1> It will come sooner than you expect.
2> It could come today.
3> Would you be ready to meet your God?
A> What would you say to him?
V. How we can get the most out of life.
A. Accept God's love for us.
1) Put him at center and everything else can begin to fall
into place.
2) Life can just "happen" or it can be a journey with
a goal.
a) Make God your goal.
B. Seek to improve the quality of your life.
1) Physical exercise.
2) Social relationships.
a) Seek to build up your family.
1> Easy to get in a rut, take loved ones for granted.
2> When was last time you did something "special"?
b) Get to know other Christians.
1> Bill Brunner and prayer partners before Easter.
3) Spiritual devotion.
a) Get close to God.
b) Form spiritual habits that will strengthen you.
C. Choose life even when it is hard.
1) Many people go through periods of discouragement.
Remember Phyllis Diller, the self-deprecating comedienne
with the crazy hair and wild laugh?
Last month she was on "Larry King Live".
But Phyllis wasn't on the King show to be funny: she was
one of several guests on the program that evening,
the others being medical experts.
The subject was depression.
It seems that Ms. Diller, though looking anything but glum,
dressed in bright red and making clever quips, was
recently in the grip of a deadly depression.
Phyllis had had many health problems and was hospitalized.
She had a severe reaction to a drug and was paralyzed.
Finally, she wanted out.
She asked her doctors to give her a drug so she could
"just float away."
They refused, citing the law.
"Dr. Kervorkian was in jail," she added.
So, thankfully, the good "Dr. Death" did not make a call
to her hospital room.
"Why did you want to die?" they asked her on the King
Show.
"Did aging have anything to do with it?"
"No," she said. It was being paralyzed. Helpless.
She could see no way out.
So what happened?
Her body healed, the paralysis left, and now she is in
good health again.
Larry King asked if she was glad her physicians didn't do
as she had asked.
Phyllis grinned and assured him: "You better believe I am!"
People who want to die, like Phyllis Diller, see no way
out.
They are suffering and want to end it.
But God allows suffering, pain, and dying in this world
for many purposes.
Some people take this time to reflect on their lives, to
make amends, and to heal family rifts.
Friends and family may have a meaningful experience with
the suffering person, maybe for the first time.
And people who would never have done so before often seek
and find God in a crisis.
If someone cannot bear the pain, doctors should relieve
it.
If they cannot cope with their situation, then others
should help.
But no one has the right to "play God" and end a life.
At the show's end, Larry King said to Phyllis, "We're
glad you're still here."
She was glad, too.
#5146
a) Major losses or disabilities will depress us for two
years, on average.
b) After this, normalcy usually returns.
1> Your despair can be real.
2> But it does not have to be eternal.
c) Keep trusting in God and see what he does.
2) Focus on others, not just yourself.
VI. We all face choices.
A. Choose what affirms life, not destroys it. (Moses to Israel)
B. Choose God's way.
1) Salvation in Jesus.
2) Must be a conscious decision.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#4566 "A Simple Gesture," by John W. Schlatter, from Condensed Chicken
Soup for the Soul, copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor
Hansen & Patty Hansen; daily internet version May 11, 1999.
#5146 "The Funny Lady Is Dead Serious: The Real Risks Of A Too-easy
Exit," Breakpoint Commentary by Charles Colson,
January 13, 2000.
These and 5,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/illust.html
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