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AFFIRM LIFE
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
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."
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> Fellowship with
other church members. Get to know them on a personal level as well as
spiritually, let them know that you care for them the way that Jesus cares
for you..
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.
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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