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Discipline

Finding the sweet spot

July 9, 2006 Text: Acts 8:9-13, 18-24

9) Now a certain man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. 10) All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." 11) And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12) But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13) Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.  

…Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19) saying, "Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20) But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money! 21) You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. 22) Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23) For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness." 24) Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me."

NRSV 

      Police are called to an apartment. They find a woman standing, holding a 5 iron in her hands. A man lies on the floor, unconscious.

      The officer asks, "Ma'am, is that your husband?"

       "Yes."

      "Did you hit him with that golf club you’re holding?"

       "Yes, yes, I did." She drops the club, and buries her face in her hands.

 "How many times did you hit him?"

 "I don't know. Five, six, seven.....Put me down for a five."

      Ah, golfers.

      Speaking of golf clubs…

      This used to be a high tech golf club—a driver. It was made 25 years ago.

      Here’s a modern driver, a more expensive one, with the trade name “Big Bertha.”

      Now, you can hit a ball with both drivers equally far. The difference is that the modern club has a bigger “sweet spot.” The “sweet spot” is that place on the club that, if you hit the ball there, it goes more or less where it should.

      With “Big Bertha” here, you don’t have to be so precise in your swing. You can be a bit sloppier, and still produce a shot that will make the spectators applaud.

      Isn’t this neat?

      Here is the secret of successful golf—SPEND MORE MONEY!

      Get the most expensive equipment you can—the equipment with the biggest sweet spot. You won’t have to work on your swing as much—fewer trips to the practice range, fewer lessons. All you have to do to improve and have more fun is shell out some dollars.

      That was the philosophy of a man named Simon.

      He wasn’t a golfer. He was a magician.

      He had become a Christian after hearing the apostle Philip preach. Maybe more to the point—he said he was a Christian, because he saw Philip do what appeared to be “magic”—Philip laid his hands on some people, and they were healed.

      Soon Peter and John came to town. They touched people, and people “received the Holy Spirit”—they started speaking in tongues, as in what happened on Pentecost.

      And Simon said, “I got to get me that trick!”

      Simon had become a magician because he loved the adoring looks from the crowd. He liked being the center of attention. He lived for people going “oooh” and “ahhhh” when he did his magic.

      If he could do the trick that he saw Peter and John do, the crowd would REALLY think he was great!

      So he pulls out a roll of bills.

      “Guys, guys!” he whispers to them in a loud voice. “How much you want to show me how you did that???”

      Simon, Simon, Simon—you’re so much like us!

      We WANT to be a Christian, a good Christian. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be here this morning.

      We WANT to be a good Christian…but we want to be one NOW. We want all the benefits of discipleship, but without the work, the practice, the demand of time, energy, effort.

      We want peace, but without paying the price.

      We want happiness, without enduring hardship.

      Peter, John—we see the power at your fingertips! Power whenever we want, power whenever it suits us! Snap our fingers and POOF, magic!

      Peter, John—here’s our MasterCard! Show us the secret, so we can start snapping our fingers before sunset!

      Peter, John.

      How were they able to lay their hands on people, and convey the Holy Spirit?

      Let’s see.

      Had they been thumbing through the Jerusalem Times and found an ad, “Become a Magician in Your Spare Time?”

      No. They weren’t magicians. They had been fishermen.

      HAD been.

      Years before, they had left their nets to follow Jesus, taking a chance that he was the Messiah.

      They had been with him day in and day out, month after month, for three years. They had talked with him, listened to him, saw what he did. They had been both comforted and confronted by him.

      They had deserted him, left him on a cross to die, cried for him, grieved for him.

      They had witnessed his Resurrection, had been forgiven by him, then commissioned by him to spread the Gospel.

      As they went about spreading the Gospel, they had lost friends, been threatened, and had been thrown in jail.

      THIS is how Peter and John could convey the Holy Spirit by laying their hands on the believers’ heads. Peter and John had risked everything for Jesus. They had opened their lives to him. They had said, “Master, we will go where you send us. We will do whatever you ask. Our lives are not our own—they’re yours.”

      Jesus had changed their hearts, their lives, through the years of both tears and laughter.

      And now Simon says, “Show me how you did it—here’s some money!”

      No wonder Peter responds angrily,

“Your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you!”

      THERE IS NO DIVINE DRIVER THAT YOU CAN BUY. THERE’S NO BLESSED BIG BERTHA, THAT CAN DELIVER TO YOU THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, QUICK AND EASY.

      You can only experience the power that Peter and John had by saying to Jesus what they said to him: “I’m with you for the long run. I’ll leave my nets. I’ll be with you around the campfire. I’ll mourn at the cross. I’ll rejoice at the opened tomb. I’m with you for the long run!”

      In other words, you can only experience the power of the Holy Spirit when you say, “Jesus, my swing is all messed up. I want you to be my instructor. I’ll listen to you, I’ll work with you, I’ll do what you say.”

      That’s a tough thing to say. Because, like it or not, we all have flaws in our swing.

       Simon the magician’s flaw was his vanity and pride.

      Is that what yours is, too? To look good and save face, regardless of the cost?

      Or is your flaw greed?

      Some of you might have heard of John Newton. He was a slave trader in the 1700’s. He became a Christian. To express his joy in accepting Christ he wrote a hymn—“Amazing Grace.” What you might not know is that Newton, after writing that hymn, continued in the slave trade for a number of years. It was profitable. It took the on-going work of that Holy Spirit to bring to Newton’s eyes the flaw in his Christian “swing”. It took the on-going work of the Holy Spirit to let him see it and work on it until it was corrected. 

      Vanity. Greed. What other swing flaws are out there? Laziness? Jealousy? Anger? Prejudice? Stinginess? Self-righteousness?

      Whatever it is, that is what you have to work on if you want to experience the power that Peter and John experienced. Your flaw is what you give over to the Instructor. It’s not pleasant to acknowledge that flaw. It’s not easy to work on it. But just because it’s not pleasant or easy doesn’t mean you don’t do it.

      That’s what DISCIPLINE is all about.

      Discipline is saying, “I’m not going to buy a better club. I’m going to work on a better swing.”

      You can’t commit yourself to Christ and then say, “Oh, I didn’t know it was going to take this much TIME!”

      You can’t commit yourself to Christ and then say, “Oh, I didn’t know it was going to be this hard. It’s going to take a lot more EFFORT than I thought!”

      You can’t commit yourself to Christ and then say, “Oh, I’m so busy. I can’t make this a TOP PRIORITY in my life right now.”

      --adapted from Marshal Goldsmith, Fast Company, 8/05, p. 88—

      You can’t commit yourself to Christ and then say, “Oh, I didn’t know I had to be part of a FELLOWSHIP. I thought I could do my own thing, whenever I wanted.”

      Just as you can’t be a weekend golfer and expect to clean up your game, neither can you be a weekend Christian.

      It takes—and repeat it after me—TIME, EFFORT, PRIORITIZING, FELLOWSHIP.

      See clearly whatever flaw you have—don’t ignore it, don’t mask it. And have the discipline to work on it. Take the TIME. Make the EFFORT. Do the PRIORITIZING. Seek the FELLOWSHIP.

      But as you go about doing this hard work, something happens.

      There’s an interesting thing about this silly game of following Christ—just as there’s an interesting thing about the silly game of golf. When you’ve committed to get better, you don’t mind working at it. You enjoy going and hitting a bucket of balls. You enjoy studying the game. You enjoy exploring new golf courses. You enjoy the people you play those courses with.

      Slowly, amidst the mistakes, your game gets better, more solid. You take more pride in it, in a good way. Things that bothered you before—flaws in your swing—have slowly gone away. You’re free to enjoy the game more, and ready to take on new challenges, new shots.

      You grew into a golfer not because of the money you invested.

      You became a golfer because you invested your heart and passion into the game.

      You become a real Christian not because you go to church out of habit, and throw money in the plate for a tax deduction.

      You become a real Christian by committing, day-by-day, year in/year out, to yielding your soul to the Master. And in the process, you experience the Master in real ways. You experience the intoxicating joy of discipleship. You experience strength you never thought possible. You discover courage to face obstacles you never thought you could face. You find hope, the ability to see light when all those around you see only darkness.

      Being a Christian isn’t just a today thing. It’s a life-long thing…And you wouldn’t have it any other way!

      In the 1968 Olympics, held in Mexico City, something unusual happened in the marathon event.

      Entering the stadium in the dark, an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line, was a lone runner. John Akhwari, from Tanzania, had suffered an injury. His leg was bloody and bandaged, and pain hobbled every step. Yet, he kept moving toward the finish line.

      The few spectators that were left gave him a standing ovation.

      A reporter asked John why he had not quit earlier, since he had no chance of winning.

      He seemed confused at first by the question. He then gave an answer that reflected his heart, a heart shaped by his dedication, devotion, discipline. You who’ve committed your life to this amazing man Christ—you will understand his response:

"My country did not send me 9000 miles to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me 9000 miles…to finish the race."

--"The greatest last-place finish ever," Fast Company, 10/00, 331.