We have lived here in downtown Derwood for a little over seventeen years now—long enough for many people around town to call me by name when they see me out and about.
- For example, whenever I enter the barber shop, Bruce—the man who cuts both of my hairs once a month—says, “Hi, Mark!” And I say, “Hey Bruce! How are your twins doing?”
- I have been in CVS so many times over the years that Terry, the cash register clerk, knows me as well and whenever I enter she says, “Hi Rev. Adams! Buying more green tea today?”
- There was a time when there was a waiter at Ledo’s who called me by name. His name is Gus and he no longer works there but he served me so often that not only did Gus know my name—he also knew what I always ordered for lunch. Before I’d even sit down, he’d say, “Hey Mark! Do you want to order the regular?” I’d say, “Yes,” and a few minutes later he’d bring me a tuna sub with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and black olives. Gus would also keep my glass of ice water with a slice of lemon full without my asking!
- In my days as a youth minister, I was on a first name basis with the owner of Little Caesar’s Pizza (which is now Hungry Howies). In fact, I’ve always thought this would be a good way to finish the statement, “You know you’re a youth minister if…you’re on a first name basis with employees at the local pizza parlor.” We ordered so much pizza from Little Caesars that Daisy would say, “Mark—how many pizzas do your youth want today?”
And—I have to tell you—it feels good to be recognized and called by my name. It makes me feel—well important and special. I’m sure you know what I mean because we all like to be known, valued, and respected—and when people call us by name we feel all those things. Now—if it is meaningful to be called by your name ONCE—well, then I would say that it is especially meaningful when you are called by your name TWICE. I remember a newspaper story several years ago that featured a picture with the caption, “DADDY! DADDY! SON! SON!” It showed a ten-year-old boy, leaping into the arms of his waiting father, as he disembarks from a plane. The story below told of how, twelve months prior to the picture, the boy had been burned over 65% of his body while trying to start a backyard barbecue with paint thinner. Doctors said that he would almost certainly die from his injuries. But God had performed a miracle at Brooks Medical Center in Texas, where, with special medical techniques and plastic surgery, the doctors not only snatched the boy from the jaws of death but also restored him to a normal, active life. The picture in the paper showed this newly recovered boy joyfully leaping into the arms of his dad and you could almost FEEL the depth of emotion in their reunion as that little boy cried, “Daddy! Daddy!” and his dad joyfully sobbed in reply, “SON! SON!” Can you imagine that scene!?
To me, this illustrates the fact that it is indeed very meaningful when someone calls us by our name—not once but twice. With that in mind, this morning I want us to look at the three times in the New Testament that Jesus did this—three times our Lord called someone by their name two times. I think Jesus used this double salutation to get that person’s attention. He called their name TWICE to reach out to a person in a time and situation where Jesus had something vitally important to say. I want us to study these texts on this Sunday that we recognize our graduates because I think these vital lessons will be beneficial to them as they head out into life…and it will help us “older” people as well. I hope you brought your Bibles!
(1) The first time Jesus did this is recorded in Luke 10:38-42. Turn there and follow along as I read.
38 – As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him.
39 – She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.
40 – But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 -“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
42 – but only one thing is needed.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
I would remind you that in this familiar passage, Jesus has come unexpectedly to visit with a family who lived in the village of Bethany—and remember this wasn’t just any family. It was a family that Jesus dearly loved made up of two sisters, Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus—whom our Lord would later raise from the dead. The Gospel writers tell us that their home was a home away from home for Jesus and His followers. Apparently it was about lunch time when Jesus showed up at their door, and Martha said, “Come in! Come in! Sit down, Lord, and I will go to the kitchen and fix us something to eat.” So Martha hurries off to the kitchen, probably assuming Mary would be right behind her—but Mary goes with Jesus. Instead of working in the kitchen with her sister, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens with eagerness and joy as He begins to teach. It’s not long before Martha—busy in the kitchen—becomes very frustrated because Mary is in the living room, enjoying herself—while she does all the WORK of preparing the meal. In my mind she’s banging pots and pans around in an attempt to both show how she feels about doing the KP all by herself…and she’s doing it loud enough to get Mary’s attention so she’ll come and help. But this doesn’t work and finally Martha reaches her boiling point. She’s had it with Mary—and she stomps into the living room and in a childish “tattle-tale mode” she says,
“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to You that my sister just sits here while I do all the heaving lifting!? Tell her to come and help me!” And I think that at this point Jesus stands and gently puts His arm around Martha’s shoulders and says, “Martha! Martha!”
Now—isn’t that interesting? Jesus doesn’t say, “Now Martha…calm down.” No…Jesus intentionally calls Martha by her name TWICE . And then, once He has her attention He gives the lesson she needs to hear at this point in her life. He says, “Martha! Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things but only ONE thing is needed and Mary has chosen it.” In other words, “Martha! Martha! You have let your life get so mixed up that you are putting the emphasis on the wrong things.” Or “Martha! Martha! If you are not careful you will spend your days so busy with trivial things that you will miss out on what is truly important.”
I think this is a lesson that we ALL need to learn—but especially you graduates as you prepare to head out into the world. You see, the fact is many times our frustration in life…our lack of joy…our lack of fulfillment…many times all this stems from the fact that we are putting the emphasis on the wrong things.
In his book, The Tyranny of the Urgent, Charles Hummel wisely advises, “Don’t let the URGENT take the place of the IMPORTANT in your life. Oh, the URGENT will really fight, claw, and scream for attention. It will plead for our time and even make us think we’ve done the right thing by calming its nerves. But the tragedy of it all is this: While you and I were putting out the fires of the URGENT (an everyday affair), the IMPORTANT was again left in a holding pattern. And interestingly, the IMPORTANT is neither noisy nor demanding. Unlike the URGENT, it patiently and quietly waits for us to realize its significance.”
Well, I think in this text Jesus was telling Martha—and you and me as well—that it is very possible for us to major on the wrong thing…it’s possible to waste our lives dealing with the urgent instead of the important. I read a story once about a salesman for a major manufacturer named Gooch and his supervisor, Jim. Now Jim wasn’t sure why he hired GOOCH. He certainly didn’t seem to have the qualifications. In fact, if murdering the English language was a crime, Gooch would be on death row. But Gooch had a uniqueness about him that motivated Jim to give him a chance—and that turned out to be a very wise decision. At the end of Gooch’s first week out in the field, he sent Jim this note. I’m putting it on the screens so you can see his spelling and grammar:
“Dere Bos, I seen this outfit which they ain’t never bot a dimes wuth of nuthin from us and I sole thim a cuple of hundred thousand dollars wuth of guds. Now I’m gwine to Chawgo.” The letter was signed, “GOOCH.” Two days later, a second letter arrived at the home office from the field. It read:
“Dere Bos, I cum hear and sole them half a milyon.” The letter was also signed, “GOOCH.”
The next day, the boss posted both letters on the bulletin board with a note that went like this:
“We ben spendin’ to much time hear trying to spel inteed of trying to sel. Let’s watch these leters from Gooch who is on the rode doing a grate job for us. Go out and do like he dun.” It was signed, “BOS.”
Now, I’m not advocating that you graduates head off to college or the military or wherever, and as you do, forget all the spelling and grammar you have learned these past twelve years…but I do think that this story reminds us that there are times in life—and I think especially here in Montgomery County—there are times in life when we focus on the wrong things. Like Gooch’s boss said, in a very real sense, we spend too much time, “trying to spell instead of trying to sell.” We choose the secondary instead of the primary. We focus on the temporary things of this world instead of on the eternal things of the Kingdom of God. We major on the minor and minor on the major.
Most of you graduates have been raised in this hurried county where life is filled with more demands than we can possibly meet and so many times many of us make the wrong choices and as a result our lives are even more hurried and meaningless. You’ve heard the expression, “I’ve got too many irons in the fire?” Well, the real problem around here is that we have too many fires and not enough irons to go around so we need to listen to Jesus today as He says, “SON! SON! DAUGHTHER! DAUGHTER! Let Me teach you what is really important in life—those things that SHOULD be your priorities.”
Think about it. What would you say are the top ten MOST IMPORTANT things to you right now? Make a quick mental list. Well, are the things that are on the top of your list TRULY important? Are they things that will impact eternity? Or—are they things that fall into the category of things that, “…moth and rust corrupt and thieves break in and steal?”
Jesus is saying that we need to constantly evaluate the “to do lists of our lives” — and take care that we not get trapped by the trivial at the expense of the vital. We need to focus on building HIS kingdom—because it’s the only one that will last.
I have a suspicion that if we let Jesus help us to eliminate some of the trivial things we are spending so much time doing, we will enjoy our lives more. We’ll be happier…less frustrated…less burdened with guilt…and our lives will be far more satisfying and meaningful.
This past Wednesday our power was out for about eight hours and once we got over the frustration, we gathered as a family in our candle-lit living room and had a great time. Believe it or not we took turns reading and discussing our favorite portions of C. S. Lewis’ book, Mere Christianity. It was SO fulfilling…so meaningful. We were able to make a precious family memory…because our power outage forced us to slow down and just enjoy time together talking about vital things. Instead of another evening going in seven different directions…instead of three hours watching TV…we related as a family. We talked about our faith. I thanked God for that storm!
(2) The second time Jesus uses a double name is in Luke 22:28-34.
Turn there and follow along as I read. Jesus is speaking to His disciples on the night of the first Lord’s Supper and He says,
28 – “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials.
29 – And I confer on you a kingdom, just as My Father conferred one on Me,
30 – so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
31 – “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 – But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 – But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death.”
34 – Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Let me try to help you picture this scene. It is just hours before the cross and Jesus has His disciples gathered around Him…these dear friends who have been with Him for the past three years. As He looks at them, I believe there is a great strain of emotion in His heart…because He knows what they don’t. He knows that in a few hours He will be arrested, beaten, and taken out to be nailed to a cruel Roman cross…where He would die for the sins of all mankind. Jesus also knows what these disciples would go through over the next few days…and as He is thinking of all this suddenly His eyes fall on Simon Peter and I believe there is deep emotion in His heart and voice as Jesus cries out not once but twice: “Simon! Simon!” Now I want you to notice that Jesus calls him “Simon” and not “Peter.” He refers to the big fisherman by his OLD name—and I think He does this to accentuate the weak part of Peter’s nature and not the strong. It’s kind of like Jesus is saying, “Simon! Simon! Be careful. You CAN be weak! Do not overestimate yourself! satan has it in for you Simon! He wants you. He’s making plans to get to you Simon. So watch out! In these next hours remember—you don’t have to be weak. You CAN be a like a stone! Remember when I called you? I said, ‘You are weak and wavering like a reed…’ but remember I also said, ‘You will become like a stone…as solid as a rock. So…in the next few hours when satan attacks, STAND FAST. Simon! Simon! Stand fast. Be like a rock!”
Jesus warned Simon because you see, Simon’s problem was that he tended to be overconfident. Like many of us, he made the pride-filled statement, “This is one thing I will NEVER do.” We must take care never to say things like that because if we do it will mean that we will not guard that one area of our lives. We will pride-fully believe ourselves incapable of that particular act and not guard against it…we’ll make the same mistake Simon Peter made in the difficult hours that lay ahead.
As I’ve told you in the past I love historical fiction and in reading books by Bernard Cornwell based on the period when England’s King Alfred ruled…I’ve learned that time after time castles were captured because the attackers took the route which seemed un-attackable and un-scalable. They succeeded in their assault on the fortress because at that very spot, the defenders were few and the ones who were there were off their guard. They didn’t think an attack would come at that point. In fact, any time Cornwell describes a fortress as invulnerable to attack I am suspicious, because I know later in the book someone is going to find a way to bring down those unscalable walls! They are going to find that one spot where the defenders believe an attack could never succeed…and they’ll take advantage of that pride and pull those walls down right at that “invulnerable” point. The principle I want you to get is this: satan is a fool but he’s no dummy. He is smart and can be very subtle. He can and will attack at the point at which we are too sure of ourselves, because he knows that at that point we are most likely to be unprepared.
It’s ALSO important for us to remember that satan won’t come and tempt us to do something that we would obviously not do. He’s too smart for that. No…he works in other, more effective ways. For example he might sneak in and tempt us to do little “innocent” things—actions we don’t think are THAT wrong. But he’ll tempt us to do them again and again until his will entwines our heart like a Kudzoo vine.
Larry Richards has written a book entitled The ScrewLOOSE Lectures inspired by C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters. Like Lewis’ great work, Richards’ is a collection of letters from a fictional demon…this one named Screwloose…who is lecturing other demons on how best to tempt man to sin. Screwloose says that it is ineffective for a demon to encourage humans to do the wrong thing for the wrong motive. He says and I quote: “In practice this is to be avoided. Such acts are so clearly unethical that even humans will be hard-put to rationalize them away, and one day may be convicted of sin. However, if we can encourage actions which are at least PARTLY good, we can easily focus a client’s attention on that ‘good’ element and lead him to be highly insulted should anyone, even his own conscience, suggest that somehow his actions carry the taint of sin.”
Screwloose goes on to say that his goal is to get humans to do the right thing for the wrong motive or the wrong thing for the right motive, thus enabling them to sin comfortably. For example, Screwloose says his goal is to get humans to believe that if something is natural then it must be right. According to Screwloose, sex is natural so any expression of sex or any approach to meeting sexual needs is therefore right and good.
You guys and gals heading out into the world need to heed this warning. You may not encounter demons named Screwloose—but you will meet people who have bought into satan’s lies. Our adversary is certain to steer them into your path. In the spirit of growing up and learning to think for yourself, they’ll tell you to ignore the instruction of your parents because it is “out-moded.” They’ll tell you to satisfy your desires even if doing so goes against the Bible’s teaching and they’ll rationalize that kind of thing by saying, “Everyone is doing it so it’s not really wrong.” or “What could be more natural than satisfying your body’s natural desires?” They’ll tell you that drinking until you’re bombed out of your mind is no big deal—in fact it’s expected of people your age, so what’s the harm?
Without going into this any further, I would just remind you that in a fallen world, the majority is not always right. As someone once put it, if a million people believe a ridiculous thing to be true—it’s still a ridiculous thing. So don’t get tricked by satan. Don’t waste or even RUIN your life by doing ridiculous things!
Another tactic satan uses is to make sin look good—taste good. I mean, let’s be honest. Sin does taste good for a season but as the Scripture says, that season never lasts. The writer of Proverbs says: “There is a way that seems right to man—tastes good to man—but in the end it leads to destruction.”
Do you know how Eskimo hunters used to catch wolves? First he coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he does it again and again…adding layer after layer of frozen blood until the blade is completely concealed and looks like some sort of deep red popsicle. Next the hunter fixes this knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the blade, he ravenously licks it tasting that fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster and faster, more and more vigorously. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in that cold Arctic night. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize the instant when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to crave more until he bleeds to death and then in the morning light the wolf is found dead in the snow.
Friends, satan knows that so many times we base our decisions on satisfying our sinful desires—so he uses this tactic over and over again. He knows that down through the centuries millions have let their lives be guided by what tastes good or feels good, only to find that these actions lead to destruction and despair. He’s thrilled when in an attempt to satisfy our desires we destroy a marriage or family or parent-child relationship. And he’s absolutely overjoyed when we ruin our Christian witness. So—I think that today Jesus would say to us as He did to Simon Peter, “Son! Son! Daughter! Daughter! Be on your guard! Don’t be fooled by the devil. Don’t be tricked by his distortions of the truth. Don’t be led by the crowd down the broad path. Don’t be ruled by your desires!”
Well, what about it? Is Jesus talking to YOU as He did to Simon that night? If so, then heed His warnings. Stand fast. Let Jesus enable you to be like a ROCK! Instead of the crowd, let Jesus be your Guide and Counselor. If you do, He will help you understand the truth and follow it!
(3) The third time Jesus used a double name is in Acts 9:1-6—another passage that should be familiar to you. Follow along as I read.
1 – Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest…
2 – …and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3 – As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
4 – He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
5 – “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.
6 – “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
I know this is another familiar passage but just to make sure we remember the setting I would remind you that this takes place in the early days of the church. Saul was a Pharisee from a very important Jewish family. In short, when it came to religion—he was as religious as you could get. In fact, Saul was passionate about his religion—passionate enough to make it his one goal in life to round up all these “Christians” — people he thought of as false teachers. In the name of religion he went after…there heretics…these threats to his faith…and either arrested them or killed them. At this point in his life he was taking his passion on the road. With permission from the synagogue leadership he went to Damascus to try and route out any Christians—followers of THE WAY—who were spreading their nonsense there. His main desire was to find these people who followed this false prophet known as Jesus Christ and put an end to their heresy.
Well, on the road to Damascus he met our risen Jesus face to face and that encounter changed everything—including Saul’s name. He became PAUL…the greatest Christian missionary the world has ever known.
Now the thing I want you to note is that Saul sincerely thought he was doing the right thing. He thought his actions were pleasing to God. He thought that following religion…was all it took for him to be righteous in the eyes of God. And it is at this literal crossroad of life that Jesus came to him and said, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?” Now what was Saul’s response? He asked, “Who are You Lord?” Saul thought he knew God—or at least knew what God wanted—but he was wrong. God was a Stranger to this very devoutly religious man. He met Him face to face and didn’t know Him. Well, forgive me if this seems too blunt but I wonder—graduate—do you KNOW Jesus? I’m not asking if you know ABOUT Him. I’m not asking how “religious” you have been in attending church. I’m asking, Do you KNOW Jesus?
There is no more important question for us ALL to consider because Saul’s experience shows that it is possible for us to be very sincere in our religious practice but not actually, personally KNOW Jesus Christ. You see, unfortunately if we’re not careful, religious practice can act like a vaccine against genuine faith. Do you remember how a vaccine works? Doctors inject you with a tiny amount of a dead virus so as to protect you from the real thing. And religion can work like that. We come to FUEL and SUNDAY SCHOOL and worship RELIGIOUSLY. We sing all the praise songs…but we never ACT on what we hear…and in essence with our religious practice we vaccinate ourselves. We get enough lifeless religion in our veins to “protect” us from the real thing. We think that going through the motions of religion is all it takes.
Well, graduates I don’t want you to leave us without your answering this question. So, what do you say, DO you KNOW Jesus? Let me ask the rest of you as well because I don’t want to take this for granted. Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in.” Well, have you ever opened the door? Have you ever prayed and said, “Jesus I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sin. Forgive me and come into my heart and life. Be my Savior and Lord.” And you got up from your prayer and from then on you spent time in personal prayer and Bible study such that you go to know Jesus better and better? Listen. Becoming a Christian is a personal decision. It’s something YOU decide on your own. So, have YOU ever decided to invite Jesus into your life? Is Jesus saying to anyone this morning, “Son! Son!” or “Daughter! Daughter! Open the door. Invite Me in!” Once Paul prayed this prayer, once he met Jesus, his life was never the same again. God used him to take the gospel to people who desperately needed to hear of His great love. And graduates old and new, God wants to do the same with your life. He wants to use you to take His love to places it is needed: your dorm, your military barracks…your job.
LET US PRAY
Father God,
I pray that right now—you will speak to each of us. Call us by name such that we listen. Then tell us the decisions we need to make to make our lives more pleasing to You. Speak to those of us who have our priorities out of wack and are experiencing the frustration and emptiness that comes from focusing on temporary things. Speak to those of us who have foolishly yielded to temptation. Forgive us and empower us to be strong—rock-like when the adversary attacks. And Father, I pray that right now You will speak very clearly to those present who DON’T know You. Knock on their heart’s door. In the power of your Spirit, give them that hunger that only a personal relationship with You will satisfy. Challenge us all to be like Your servant Paul—make us bold witnesses who are eager to share Your love whenever and wherever You give us an opportunity to do so. I ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.