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8/3/2019 James Meyer - Sermon - Meaningless - Handouts - Feb 19, 2010
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1Prayer
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2
Meaningless?
I entitled this sermon Meaningless?, frankly because Szasza asked
me on Thursday what my sermon title was, and I didnt have an
answer.
By Friday morning, this was the best I could come up with because I
wasnt done writing it yet, but she needed to print the bulletins.
Youll notice Im going to shed some light on my method of sermon
writing while going through this. For better or worse.
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3 Disclaimer
First Sermon
Never been to Seminary
Not Ordained
Just like you
First Sermon Never been to Seminary Not Ordained Just like youWith the exception of Ralph and Miguel and any visiting pastors I
might not know about.
Francis, our pastor, along with the rest of the leaders, have beendiscussing the need to train interns in all of our church functions.
Francis method of training appears to be
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4 How did I get up here?
Just Do It.
So here I am.
Im just kidding, he offered to answer any questions I had. I just
couldnt think of any.
He also offered tips and tricks along the way.
Yesterday morning, my question was how do I end a sermon?
Youll have to stick around to see the answer.
Francis has said during his sermons I dont just write these for you,
I write these for myself as well. They challenge me as much as
they challenge you.
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5 Francis Douville (Our Pastor)
And though Francis might disagree, I think hes a wise man, so, what
do you do when you start writing your first sermon? You copy the
methodology of someone who has experience, and whose sermons
you feel touch you.
Plus, hes the only pastor Ive heard preach consistently in the last
year.
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6And so, I picked one thing that would challenge me most. But,
before I tell you what it is, Im going to give you a brief background
of myself so you can start to see how my mind works.
This is a scary thing, both for me, and for all of you, I think.
Growing up my favorite TV show was Star Trek
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7 Star Trek
and my favorite character was Data and secondly, any Vulcan,
especially Spock. Data was an android, incapable of feeling
emotion, and the Vulcans had spent hundreds of years breeding
and training to distance themselves from emotion because they
saw it was destroying their race.
They lived using only pure reason and logic in their daily life. I
wanted to emulate this behaviour; I was enamoured by their words,
their arguments, and their cold calculating approach to any
problem. They never panicked; they never let feelings get in theway.
As a teenager it was seemed like it would be easier to deny the
existence of all emotions than to learn to deal with the negative
ones. And once I got my emotions under control, this is how I
learned to argue. This is how I learned to deal with situations, and
this is how I explored my theology.
Step 1 of any problem: suppress your emotional self; it will only get
in your way.
From my perspective, if you could do this, you could get to the core
of any issue. Math problems are purely logical if youre not
frustrated.
8/3/2019 James Meyer - Sermon - Meaningless - Handouts - Feb 19, 2010
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8People can be reduced to psychological profiles if you set aside your
feelings about them. Its easy to treat your enemies as your
friends, when you use the same cold and calculating response for
both.
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9And you can reduce God to a formula.
So, how do you get around all that love stuff in the Bible?
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10 What about the love?
Love your neighbour as yourself
Neighbour*love=self*love
Neighbour*love=self*love
Neighbour=self
\Treat your neighbour as yourself
Who remembers your grade 9 algebra? Or is it grade 3 now that
theyve pushed everything forward in school.
Find your variables and cancel out the ones that are redundant.
Ok, this is mostly a joke, but its a reflection of reality as well.
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11 Apostles Creed I believe in God, the Father, almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spiritand born of the virgin Mary,He suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, dead and was buried;he descended to hell.The third day he rose again from the dead.He ascended to heavenand is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic* church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.
* that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
Growing up, I learned the Apostles Creed, which I believe many of
the people here who came from other Denominations are familiar
with. I can recite it by heart, at least in a room full of people
reciting it. In many churches, this is considered the fundamental
body of what a believer needs to know. Love isnt mentioned once,
but there is a lot of stuff to know.
And so, I learned to debate. I learned to rationalize. I learned how
to find the loopholes in Christianity.I was born a Christian, but we dont truly become one until it
becomes our faith, not our parents, grandparents, sponsors, role
models, or whoever brought us to Christianity. And at one point, Irealized this fact, and I rationalized there was a high probability of
God.
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12
Done
And even if there wasnt a high probability, Pascals Wager still told
me I should be Christian.
Explain Pascals Wager
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13The Bible made sense to me. I didnt see any glaring holes as I had
in some of the other religions Ive been exposed to, and voila: I was
a Christian with a faith born of logic. Something I know my friend
Dom appreciates (he cant stand people who dont think about their
religion).
And I continued to grow in this regard.
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14I attended catechism classes (like adult Sabbath school here) until I was asked not to return, my
questions were too disruptive. I attended profession of faith classes until the elder and I had a
disagreement over what I felt to be a major point of doctrine, but she didnt. And finally a year later, in
my grandparents church, I finally became a member, the elder there was willing to humour me.
Fast forward a few years and Christina and I were married. We were steady attendees at my parents
(our) church. But after a few years, we started becoming dissatisfied.
Christina, who is the polar opposite of me, in that she is very empathetic, caring and very in touch with
her emotions, was annoyed that people kept asking if she was a visitor after years of attending.I was bored with recycled sermons (or at least topics) and I felt I wasnt growing intellectually. (I got tired
of hearing You just have to have faith in answer to every question I asked)
And so, we started skipping (we were not that far out of school, so it was an apt term).
First wed miss a week, then 2, then 4, then 8, then half a year.
Then, during our 4 year sabbatical from church, my mom received an invitation to
8/3/2019 James Meyer - Sermon - Meaningless - Handouts - Feb 19, 2010
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15 Prophecy Seminar
the Leo Schreven prophecy seminar.
She attended one night and immediately called me and said James,
you have to check this out, this is right up your alley.
So, I showed up the next night, and the next, and the one after that,
right through to the end.
It was amazing.
Here was a man who had answers!
He strung verses together like they were physics formulas.
Everything was logical; everything was perfect with mathematical
precision.
This is what I was looking for: the textbook on God, and so I
immediately began attending services here, and Christina joined
shortly after resolving her job on Saturday.
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16 Since weve been here, in the past 5 years, weve been heavilyinvolved. And every job I take on here leads me further out of my
comfort zone.
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17 Positions held at Living Word
Audio Department
Cell Group Member & Intern
Church Board
Vision Committee
Sermon Based Small Groups
Youth Group
Church Board Changed
Roots Groups
Audio Department (techy)
Cell Group Member (theology discussions)
Church Board (The church manual is my textbook, very political) Vision Committee (alright, a little spirit led, but a lot of goals
oriented, I can handle this)
Sermon Based Small Groups (we have to apply this stuff?) Youth Group (Juans Advice: Just love them What does that
mean?!)
Church Board Changed (no politics, more spirit led, this is weird) Roots Groups (you want me to share what Im feeling?!)
Half way through this, Francis showed up, and began challengingthings,
8/3/2019 James Meyer - Sermon - Meaningless - Handouts - Feb 19, 2010
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18 Dan & Verlaine Linrud
after a proper mourning period for our previous pastor, Dan. For
those who never met him, he didnt die, he just moved on to
another position.
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19Our church board read Sticky Church (parting wisdom from Dan),
Our church leadership read Sticky Teams (based on love)
Francis challenged us to Read the Bible in a year (time is about up)
(I found it really hard to ignore the message of love this time
around)
Our Roots Groups went through A Life to Die For (can you get any
more of the love message)
Francis again challenged us to Memorize the Bible (Ill admit, I
havent started this yet)
And he challenged us to Ask for Forgiveness (this one is also hard)
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20 Numbers 7:18-29On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer:
He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and
thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary;
both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one
lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And
for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the
first year: this was the offering of Nethaneelth e son of Zuar.
On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer:
His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty
shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of th e sanctuary;
both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
One golden spoon of ten shekels, fu ll of incense: One young bu llock, one ram, one
lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering:
And for a sacrifice of p eace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of
the first year: this was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.
And to top it all off, Francis is excited, visibly, when he discusses the
bible. Not just theology, but the Bible. Hes excited about Bible
passages Ive never seen pastors get excited about. Hes extremely
empathetic, he cries when people are suffering, and he laughs withpeople when theyre rejoicing. He has been the model I needed to
see during the last year.
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21So, here we are. And this has all started leading to a question that
weighs heavily on my mind:
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Does knowledge help us
in our walk with God?
Is there any use to having any of this knowledge Ive built up?
Should wisdom be a goal. Will being logical help me in any way in
my walk with God. Does it count for anything?
This was my mindset when I started looking into this topic. This
was the topic that challenged me to my core, and frankly, it scared
me.
Its a scary question for someone like me: If the Bible says there is
no point to learning, all my books, all my studying, all my
arguments/discussions will have been for nothing. If the Bible goes
one step further and says they are harmful, I will spend the rest of
my life trying to undo the persona Ive spent the first half of my life
creating.
I was worried about what I would find. I tried to start at least 2
other sermons, but I kept going back to this topic. And in the end, I
was a little surprised by what I found.
First let me show you why I was a little worried.
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23
Done
Psalms 131:1
LORD, my heart is not haughty,
nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I
exercise myself in great matters,
or in things too high for me.
Apparently David thought there were things too great for him to
concern himself with.
Ill be honest, Ive never had that thought.
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24 Isaiah 47:10b
Your wisdom and your
knowledge, it has perverted
you; and you have said in
your heart, I am, and there is
none else besides me.
During my reading I came across passages like these:
Isaiah when prophesying about the Chaldeans stated that wisdom
and knowledge can pervert you.
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25 Daniel 1:4
Young men in whom was no blemish,but handsome, and skilful in allwisdom, and gifted in knowledge, andunderstanding science, and such ashad ability in them to stand in theking's palace, and whom they mightteach the learning and the language ofthe Chaldeans.
In the book of Daniel, 10,000 Israelites were captured. The best and
brightest.Even if we assuming 2/5
thsof them died en-route (1/5 was the
death rate of an earlier exile), that still leaves 6000 of Israels finest
philosophers, theologians, scientists and teachers. 4 of them
escaped with their faith and beliefs intact. (Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego).
Things are not looking so good for knowledge and wisdom.
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26
Meaningless,
meaningless, everything
is meaningless, a chasing
after the wind
During my Bible reading, I came across Ecclesiastes. And for those
who havent read it, the most popular phrase in that book is
Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless, a chasing
after the wind. A lot of people find it disheartening. I loved it for
some reason except for this passage:
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27 Ecclesiastes 1:16-18
I said to myself, "Behold, I have obtained for
myself great wisdom above all who were before
me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great
experience of wisdom and knowledge." I applied
my heart to know wisdom, and to know
madness and folly. I perceived that this also was
a chasing after wind. For in much wisdom is
much grief; and he who increases knowledge
increases sorrow.
There was a point in Solomons life, who, according to the Bible,
was the wisest man in the history of mankind, where he concluded
having great wisdom and knowledge amounted to nothing. In fact,
it only increased his sorrow. This is not what I was hoping to find.
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28 Ecclesiastes 2:16
For of the wise man, even as of the
fool, there is no memory for ever,
seeing that in the days to come all
will have been long forgotten.
Indeed, the wise man must die just
like the fool!
He concluded that we will all be forgotten by men, wise or foolish.
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29 Ecclesiastes 7:4
The heart of the wise is in
the house of mourning; but
the heart of fools is in the
house of mirth.
And that wise men will mourn while fools are happy.
This is just going from bad to worse, the wise guy cant get a break.
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30 Ecclesiastes 7:16
Don't be overly righteous,
neither make yourself overly
wise. Why should you
destroy yourself?
So now we have a warning against being overly wise, IT CAN
DESTOY YOU.
Now I was worried.
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31 Acts 4:13
Now when they saw the boldness of
Peter and John, and perceived that
they were unlearned and ordinary
men, they marveled; and they took
knowledge of them, that they had
been with Jesus.
I read in Acts how Jesus picks unlearned ordinary men to be his
companions.
Is that it? Warnings to stay away from knowledge? To be happy
without wisdom?
Then I remembered Proverbs. I love Proverbs. You know why? It is
full of sayings about wisdom and knowledge.
In Solomons reasons for reading the book of proverbs he writes:
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32 Proverbs 1:4
To give prudence to the
simple, to the young
man knowledge and
discretion.
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33
Done
Proverbs 1:7 fools despise wisdom and
instruction.
Proverbs 1:22 fools hate knowledge
Proverbs 1:28-29 Then will they call on me,
but I will not answer. They will seek me
diligently, but they will not find me; Because
they hated knowledge, And didn't choose the
fear of Yahweh.
Solomon is big on wisdom, knowledge, education, instruction:
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34
Proverbs 10:14 Wise men lay up knowledge:but the mouth of the foolish is near
destruction.
Proverbs 11:9 A hypocrite with his mouthdestroys his neighbor: but through knowledge
shall the just be delivered.
Proverbs 19:2 Also, that the soul be withoutknowledge is not good; and he that hastenswith his feet sins.
I felt a little better after that.
I was starting to get the idea that knowledge might not be the
answer to everything, but it definitely has its uses.
So far I had nothing conclusive though, so I kept searching looking
for the answer.
I started looking at Pauls letters.
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35 1 Corinthians 8:1b
Knowledge puffs up,
but love edifies.
Paul warns against knowledge, suggesting love instead.
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36 Ephesians 3:19
to know Christ's love
which surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled with
all the fullness of God.
Then he states love surpasses knowledge.
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37 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak with the languages of men and of
angels, but don't have love, I have become
sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. If I have
the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and
all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to
remove mountains, but don't have love, I am
nothing. If I dole out all my goods to feed the
poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but
don't have love, it profits me nothing.
Finally he just comes out and says it. If you dont have love, all the
knowledge in the world wont do you any good.
And finally, at 6 pm, sitting in the Emergency Room at Henderson
hospital with my wife,
Tell about Francis offer to have Ralph preach
on Wednesday night, I found this.
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38 2 Peter 1:5-8
And for this reason, giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And
to knowledge self control; and to self control
patience; and to patience godliness; And to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness love. For if these things be in you, and
abound, they make you that you shall neither be
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
This leapt off the page at me.
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39 Love is the end of a process?
Faith Virtue Knowledge
SelfControl
PatienceGodliness
Brotherly
KindnessLove
Knowledge wasnt useless, it was just step 3 of 8!
Im a software engineer, I can get behind a process, no problem.
Now Ive even got a road map.
In all honesty, that was my first thought. But after a few readings, I
no longer believe this is a step by step process.
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40Love is one component of a well
rounded Christian
I started to see instead a list of attributes a Christian should have to
be efficient and productive for God.
But now I knew that knowledge is an important aspect.
But knowledge by itself is dangerous.
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41 James 3:13-17
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among
you? let him show out of a good life his works with
meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and
strife in your hearts, boast not, and lie not against the
truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly,
sensual, demonic. For where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from
above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and
without hypocrisy.
If you try to gain wisdom for the sake of wisdom, or knowledge for
growing in power, to be better than others, it will turn on you.
Proper intent is key.
The flip side of this, in the beginning of the verse, tell us that if you
have knowledge, you have to use it.
My wife, Christina, said a couple of weeks ago you have really
weird hobbies. And shes right. But I think a lot of them are
directed by God.
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42 Some of my interests
Quantum Theory Explain how God can be omnipotent (know
everything, even the future)
Particle Theory and E=MC2 Explain how Big Bang th eory and Creationism
can co-exist
General Theory of
Relativity (specifically time
dilation)
Discussions on young universe theory
Neuro-Chemistry Explain why its so hard for us to break patterns
and how to retrain your brain
Military Strategies To discuss how there can be prophecy an d free
will
Sometimes people just want answers. And hugging them just isnt
enough. And if theyre anything like me, telling them You just have
to have faith will just make them more frustrated.
Right now Im learning Japanese. I have no idea why, I dont know
anyone who speaks Japanese, but maybe one day God will put
someone in my path that does.
Now, I want to show you why knowledge is important within the
context of a loving nature.
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43 Philippians 1:9-11
This I pray, that your love may abound yet
more and more in knowledge and alldiscernment; so that you may approve the
things that are excellent; that you may be
sincere and without offense to the day of
Christ; being filled with the fruits of
righteousness, which are through Jesus
Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
The Message Bible says You need to use your head and test your
feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental
gush.
Knowledge is necessary to know what is good and what is not.
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44 So, what did I learn?
So, what did I learn?
I learned Knowledge is good, but not absolute. I cannot rationalize
my way into heaven.
Knowledge by itself is dangerous for that very reason, and others.
It can pervert, it can destroy, and it can make you miserable.
It can cause you to reject Gods teachings because you can think of
a reason why the Bible doesnt really mean what it says.
I cant hang on to my knowledge or use it when Im dead, people
wont remember me just because I knew a lot of stuff.
So what I have, I better use in this life and I better use it helping
other people and glorifying God.
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45 Balanced Christian Life
Patience
Godliness
Brotherly Kindness
Love
Faith
Virtue
Knowledge
Self Control
Knowledge is part of a balanced life, but its not everything. We
need to constantly add to our other qualities so that we, in the
words of Peter, shall neither be barren nor unfruitful .
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