Union Bridge COB, Union Bridge, Maryland, Mid-Atlantic District

James Benedict, Pastor

Sermon for Sunday, Sermon for Sunday, March 8, 1998 - Genesis 15:1-12;17-18


                        "COUNT THE STARS"

     We don't usually think of the world of professional ice hockey as a place to
turn for wisdom or life lessons, but today I'd like to quote the all time scoring
leader in National Hockey League history and recommend you tuck this tidbit
away for frequent future reference.  File it under, "Missed Opportunities."  Wayne
Gretzky, a.k.a. "The Great One," was telling the truth about more than ice hockey
when he said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."
     I'm convinced that most of us feel defeated in life not because of the shots
we've taken and missed but because of the shots we haven't taken. We haven't
tried and failed; we've failed to try.  We haven't given ourselves an opportunity to
score.  We've been too timid.  We've been willing to settle for less, instead of
stepping forward to take a shot at living an extraordinary life.
     Well, this morning I'm going to take a shot at trying to convince you that
you don't have to go through life feeling defeated and that you don't have to settle
for a less-than-extraordinary life.  I'm going to try to show you that what God has
in mind for each of us is far more magnificent than anything we could imagine on
our own.  I'm going to talk about how every one of us can seek and claim our own
unique spot in the universe and do things that will make a difference for us and for
others for eternity.
     But first, I'm going to talk about what holds us back.  What keeps us from
trying, from taking our shot?  Sometimes it is our fear of failure, but that is
foolishness.  Why be afraid of failure?  Failure is the prelude to most of life's
significant successes.  Our failures point us in the direction of success.  People
who aren't failing frequently aren't trying often enough.  Failure is nothing to be
afraid of.
     What else holds us back?  Sometimes it is just a lack of imagination.  I love
the story about the two elderly friends   Mabel and Joe    both widowed and
living in a retirement community.  His hearing is not so good, and she doesn't get
around so well, but every day they get together and talk.  They eat lunch together. 
They really enjoy each other's company.  
     After a while, it occurs to Joe that their friendship could be something more. 
So one day at lunch he says to Mabel, "Mabel, wouldn't it be nice if the two of us
could be married?"  And Mabel says, "That would be wonderful.  But considering
our age and condition, who do suppose would have us?"  A lack of imagination,
wouldn't you say?
     In the fifteenth chapter of Genesis, it is a lack of imagination that almost
holds Abraham back from the extraordinary life God has planned for and
promised him.  Abraham has already left his family and homeland to follow God's
leading, and Abraham has already experienced God's power in the form of
protection along the way.  At the very outset of the journey, however, God made
some amazing promises to Abraham and now Abraham has begun to doubt that
these promises will ever be fulfilled.
     Among other things, God promised Abraham descendants, but Abraham
and his wife Sarah have no children.  Now they are old, past the typical child
bearing years.  Abraham is disappointed, you can tell, and who can blame him? 
Abraham complains and states what he takes to be the simple fact of the matter: he
will have no natural descendants; Eliezer of Damascus, Abraham's chief servant,
will be his heir.   Abraham imagines that Eliezer   a slave, not a son   is the only
one who can carry forward his heritage.
     But Abraham's imagination is too feeble.  God has other plans.  Abraham
may be ready to settle for Eliezer, but God is not.  God invites Abraham out of his
tent and orders him to look at the night sky.  "Count the stars," God says.  "So
shall your descendants be."  God reawakened Abraham's imagination by repeating
the promise.
     Then Abraham's response is described in words that have echoed down the
centuries.  The scripture says, "And (Abraham) believed the Lord; and the Lord
reckoned it to him as righteousness."  Abraham trusted God, and on the basis of
that trust was empowered to fulfill his destiny.
     The reason these words have echoed down the centuries is because they
describe how every one of us can be empowered to fulfill our destiny.  In this one
short verse is the key, the difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary
life.  Abraham trusted God, and acting upon that trust, saw God's dream for him
come true.  And each of us can do the same: we can trust God, act upon that trust,
and see God's dream for us come true.  Our faith in God can give us the courage
to take our shot, to dare to be what we've been called and gifted to be.
     Now I must be careful not to be misunderstood.  I'm not saying that faith in
God will ensure success at whatever we try.  That is "positive thinking," and I
don't believe in "positive thinking."  "Positive thinking" says that God wants us to
have what we think we want to have.  It says, "Bring your dreams to God and He
will bless them."  I don't believe that.  I think most people who approach life and
faith that way are likely to be very disappointed.
     Christian author Joan Webb has helped me understand this.  In her book,
Meditations for Christians Who Try to Be Perfect, she writes about her own
experience.  She says, "Years ago, after I asked God to fill my cup, it seemed,
instead, that he ate my lunch.  As I saw my dreams fade away, I worked harder to
hold on and eventually burned out.  I wondered where God was and why he let it
happen.  Now, as I reflect back, I wonder if he could not fill my cup because I
already had it full with my personal agenda.  I wanted to accomplish great things,
but I had my own ideas.  Perhaps God was waiting for me to empty the unusable
contents so he could pour in his plan."
     The extraordinary life that awaits all of us is not necessarily the one we
have in mind for ourselves.  Faith is not asking God to bless our plans.  Faith is
consenting to God's plan.  Faith is making God's dreams our dreams.  Then we
will be filled with courage.  Then we will be empowered.  Then we will see the
dreams come true.
     "Many descendants" was not just Abraham's dream for himself, it was also
God's dream for Abraham.  It was part of God's plan for reaching and redeeming
the world.  Every successful man and woman in scripture has found their place in
that plan.  And so can we.
     There is not one person in this room incapable of living an extraordinary
life for God.  There is not one person here today for whom God has not promised
and prepared a full and satisfying life.  But too often we are willing to accept less. 
We are willing to settle for "Eliezer," because we fear failure or our imaginations
are weak. 
     Before we can take our place and play our part in God's plan, we have to
believe, like Abraham.  We have to trust God.  We have to trust God enough to set
our imaginations free, and dream bigger dreams   God's dreams.  And we have to
trust God enough to try, to act on our faith in accord with the promises made.
     Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish theologian and philosopher, used to tell a sad
parable about a community of ducks waddling off to duck church to hear the duck
preacher.  The duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks
wings with which to fly.  With these wings, there was nowhere the ducks couldn't
go, there was no God-given task the ducks could not accomplish.  With those
wings they could soar into the presence of God himself.  Shouts of "Amen!" were
quacked throughout the duck congregation.  At the conclusion of the service, the
ducks left, commenting on what a wonderful message they had heard.  And then
they waddled back home. 
     I guess what I'm trying to say is that the only faith that counts is faith that
makes you willing to "flap your wings," faith that makes you willing to try.  What
a shame it is when we who were made to soar through the heavens are content to
waddle through life.  No wonder we feel depressed, discouraged and defeated.
     But it doesn't have to be that way.  We don't have to waddle.  We don't
have to settle for "Eliezer."  We can discover and claim God's dreams for us.  We
can have faith, like Abraham's, that makes us willing to press forward, and to keep
trying.  We can find our place in God's plan and live extraordinary lives.  
     If you're not sure what God wants you to do, or what special role God has
for you to play, make it your number one priority to find out.  That's where true
happiness is waiting for you.  And if you know   or even think you know   give it
a try.  Don't be afraid to fail. 
     Trust God.  Take your shot.  Spread your wings, and fly.
     Amen.