1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,960 I have preached today's sermon The Cracked Cup 21 other times. Not here. I've 2 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:20,850 preached it 21 of the times at different churches and occasions since I first 3 00:00:20,850 --> 00:00:27,180 preached it in Montreal over 30 years ago in 1987. 1987, the first time I 4 00:00:27,180 --> 00:00:35,899 preached this sermon. It is my most often requested sermon if I go somewhere. I 5 00:00:35,899 --> 00:00:43,520 even preached it at a funeral because a young wife and mother of two little boys 6 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:50,550 who died of breast cancer made me promise before she died that I 7 00:00:50,550 --> 00:00:58,949 would do two things: number one, no matter where I was in the world I would go back 8 00:00:58,949 --> 00:01:03,329 to Canada and I would conduct her funeral because she knew she was going 9 00:01:03,329 --> 00:01:12,900 to die, and number two I would preach this sermon at that occasion. Well I got 10 00:01:12,900 --> 00:01:21,180 the call one night in 2010 that she had passed and so Lise and I left our home 11 00:01:21,180 --> 00:01:29,880 in Oklahoma and we drove 1,200 miles to Waterloo Ontario Canada to officiate at 12 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:37,950 her funeral service and to preach the sermon entitled The Cracked Cup. Today May 13 00:01:37,950 --> 00:01:46,439 13th, 2018 Mother's Day I repeat this lesson and I dedicate it to all the moms 14 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:54,810 who are here and all the moms like Maureen who have passed on. One of my 15 00:01:54,810 --> 00:02:03,210 favorite stories about our family involves a cup. The cup in question was a 16 00:02:03,210 --> 00:02:09,479 porcelain cup with snow-white hand painted on it and it was purchased as a 17 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:15,960 souvenir from Disneyland when my wife Lise was just a little girl. 18 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:22,890 Now the problem with this cup was that over the years it became cracked and it 19 00:02:22,890 --> 00:02:26,010 became cracked right at the handle you know where you put your fingers in there 20 00:02:26,010 --> 00:02:30,180 and you hold the cup right at the top there right at that top spot it 21 00:02:30,180 --> 00:02:34,590 developed like a small crack you could hardly see it but you would know it was 22 00:02:34,590 --> 00:02:37,890 there because when you put it down it would go thunk you know it just didn't 23 00:02:37,890 --> 00:02:44,460 sound right. It had a little fragile sound. Now this might not be a problem 24 00:02:44,460 --> 00:02:50,760 for you and your household but you see the Mazzalongos were the world champion 25 00:02:50,760 --> 00:03:00,000 glass and dish breakers. My wife and I had four children in the space of five 26 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,790 years, someone said we should have our kids close together so they'll all be 27 00:03:05,790 --> 00:03:10,790 friends and if I ever find that guy 28 00:03:11,060 --> 00:03:17,940 telling you. So Lise and I and these four wild children broke a lot of dishes, 29 00:03:17,940 --> 00:03:26,400 glasses, windows. Paul said one day with his BB rifle shooting into a 8 foot by 8 30 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:42,570 foot glass window I said watch this bounce, 400 dollars later. But all through 31 00:03:42,570 --> 00:03:49,170 this glass breaking this little cup survived despite its crack and our poor 32 00:03:49,170 --> 00:03:55,800 track record with dishes because everybody knew that it was mom's special 33 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:04,530 cup, it was a precious souvenir from her childhood, one bump and it was finished. 34 00:04:04,530 --> 00:04:12,570 So we handled it with care and this was the days before crazy glue no crazy glue 35 00:04:12,570 --> 00:04:21,270 in those days. You see we were all conscious of its fragility and so 36 00:04:21,270 --> 00:04:25,950 whenever we used it it was with this silent understanding. 37 00:04:25,950 --> 00:04:30,460 When washing it we would always be careful to turn the damaged handle you 38 00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:36,880 know inward in the dishwasher to protect its weak spot and so the result of all 39 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,630 of this was that we ended up using this little cup more than any other dish in 40 00:04:40,630 --> 00:04:45,310 the entire house. The dishes they came, they went, a new set of glasses came and 41 00:04:45,310 --> 00:04:49,240 went, a new set of cups and saucers came and went, but this little cup it just 42 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:56,410 kept hanging on and hanging on and it became precious to us in its flawed 43 00:04:56,410 --> 00:05:05,380 state because it was the only piece of dishware that required love in order to 44 00:05:05,380 --> 00:05:13,270 be handled. I could use my big tumbler for ice and just walk it around but that 45 00:05:13,270 --> 00:05:19,960 little cup you had to be careful how you handled it. Hard to believe but that 46 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:30,370 little cup made us all become better people somehow. I think that there's a 47 00:05:30,370 --> 00:05:33,430 parallel here between our family's attitude toward that little porcelain 48 00:05:33,430 --> 00:05:39,160 cup and the attitude that we should have towards each other in the church: you and 49 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:46,120 me, and you and each other. I believe that the church is like a cupboard where the 50 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:51,640 Lord keeps all kinds of cracked and broken dishes and He's able to use these 51 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:59,260 for a service because He's careful, He uses them but He never forgets their 52 00:05:59,260 --> 00:06:06,750 weaknesses. The result is that He uses fragile things to do great service 53 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:14,560 because He uses us with love. In speaking of the Lord's tenderness in the use of 54 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:21,910 delicate things Isaiah the prophet says the following, "A bruised reed He will not 55 00:06:21,910 --> 00:06:31,090 break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;" Isaiah 42:3. And I 56 00:06:31,090 --> 00:06:37,170 might add to that passage and a cracked cup He will not break. 57 00:06:37,170 --> 00:06:42,280 Now I don't know everybody's story here I know a lot of them but I'm willing to 58 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:48,130 guess that if we are like most congregations there are a lot of damaged 59 00:06:48,130 --> 00:06:55,120 cups in this place, even some crackpots in this place and I can assure you that 60 00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:01,840 the guy in the pulpit has his share of chips and bruises. Now 61 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:09,760 the weakness and the damage may not all be in the same spot for each of us but 62 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:15,460 everybody has a tender spot and if you hit too hard on that spot they'll fall 63 00:07:15,460 --> 00:07:22,030 apart into a million pieces just like that broken cup. I don't think we're 64 00:07:22,030 --> 00:07:26,290 always conscious of this fact and that's why there is at times a lot of broken 65 00:07:26,290 --> 00:07:30,450 glass lying around the church. I 66 00:07:30,540 --> 00:07:34,870 sincerely believe that no one even deliberately wants to hurt anyone and 67 00:07:34,870 --> 00:07:40,980 certainly no one wants anyone to stomp on their own sore spot but it happens 68 00:07:40,980 --> 00:07:46,450 not only in the church but it happens at work and it happens in families, it 69 00:07:46,450 --> 00:07:52,870 happens between friends. For this reason the Apostle Paul in this passage just 70 00:07:52,870 --> 00:07:59,350 read gives us three very simple rules for handling cracked cups and handling 71 00:07:59,350 --> 00:08:06,700 them in such a way that we do not inflict further damage upon them. These 72 00:08:06,700 --> 00:08:11,590 rules hopefully will help us avoid damaging others who are sensitive and 73 00:08:11,590 --> 00:08:18,490 already suffering from broken and weak parts. So this is the part of the sermon 74 00:08:18,490 --> 00:08:26,320 that I call how to handle a cracked cup according according to Paul. Now the 75 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:31,900 passage a little bit of background on the passage here, these rules are found 76 00:08:31,900 --> 00:08:37,300 in chapter 4 and 5 of Ephesians. This passage here that was read is set in the 77 00:08:37,300 --> 00:08:40,960 middle of a very long section dealing with the problem of getting along with 78 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,700 others in the church. Apparently the Ephesian Christians had 79 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:50,050 been very zealous for the Word of God, they were very zealous to obey it 80 00:08:50,050 --> 00:08:52,820 and teach it properly and they wanted to do 81 00:08:52,820 --> 00:08:58,459 the right thing but in their enthusiasm about guarding against false doctrine 82 00:08:58,459 --> 00:09:02,480 and teachers they were becoming suspicious and mean-spirited with one 83 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:07,700 another. In this context Paul writes to them giving them instructions about how 84 00:09:07,700 --> 00:09:12,620 to do better and how to better love each other and avoid hurting those who are 85 00:09:12,620 --> 00:09:17,930 already damaged and he gives three rules in handling the cracked cups of this world 86 00:09:17,930 --> 00:09:24,350 in our families and in the church. First rule well I'll read it first just a 87 00:09:24,350 --> 00:09:28,180 section I'm looking at I'll repeat he says, "Be kind to one another, 88 00:09:28,180 --> 00:09:32,209 tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you. 89 00:09:32,209 --> 00:09:37,190 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ 90 00:09:37,190 --> 00:09:42,769 also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God as a 91 00:09:42,769 --> 00:09:49,820 fragrant aroma." So there's the passage here's number one: be kind he says. Be 92 00:09:49,820 --> 00:09:54,589 kind. The word in the Greek means literally to do good, this includes 93 00:09:54,589 --> 00:10:00,079 saying good and thinking good and doing good for other people. Spiritual maturity 94 00:10:00,079 --> 00:10:06,519 is measured by kindness not just church attendance or orthodoxy or busyness. 95 00:10:06,519 --> 00:10:13,550 Kindness is a quality of character that is so like Christ, it's easy to spot kind 96 00:10:13,550 --> 00:10:22,449 people, kind people are sensitive not just smart. They're givers not 97 00:10:22,449 --> 00:10:31,519 accumulators, they strive to be appealing rather than just attractive, and kindness 98 00:10:31,519 --> 00:10:38,449 strengthens other people, that's its most powerful trait. The best 99 00:10:38,449 --> 00:10:43,670 way to make the church grow is through kindness, why? Because people respond to 100 00:10:43,670 --> 00:10:48,860 kindness, they'll work for kindness, they'll sacrifice for one who is kind to 101 00:10:48,860 --> 00:10:57,279 them. Next to the gospel itself kindness is the most effective evangelistic tool. 102 00:10:57,279 --> 00:11:02,240 Paul's unspoken point is that if we cannot expect Christians to be kind to 103 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:03,410 each other, who 104 00:11:03,410 --> 00:11:13,209 can we expect to be kind? And so if we wish to avoid damaging all the people 105 00:11:13,209 --> 00:11:18,319 we must consciously practice kindness towards each other openly, generously, 106 00:11:18,319 --> 00:11:27,980 without prejudice. Second rule to handle cracked cups: be tender-hearted, be 107 00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:31,459 tender-hearted. To be tender-hearted doesn't mean that a person is soft or 108 00:11:31,459 --> 00:11:37,939 wimpy, tenderheartedness is that quality of character where one is so moved by 109 00:11:37,939 --> 00:11:42,680 the other's condition that he not only feels sympathy but he'll take some kind 110 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:49,970 of action. Today we use another word we use the word empathy, empathy, that's 111 00:11:49,970 --> 00:11:55,730 tenderheartedness. Tenderheartedness is present when we feel sorry for the hurt 112 00:11:55,730 --> 00:12:00,079 in the other person not feel superior because we don't have a crack in that 113 00:12:00,079 --> 00:12:05,290 spot in our own character. Well look at that guy, I never seen that guy... 114 00:12:05,290 --> 00:12:10,130 It's always easiest to spot the fault that somebody else has that we don't 115 00:12:10,130 --> 00:12:18,350 have. Tenderheartedness wants to help heal the damaged spot in the other 116 00:12:18,350 --> 00:12:27,460 person rather than criticize and condemn the other because of their weakness. 117 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,180 Tenderheartedness says that we're willing to handle with love the delicate 118 00:12:32,180 --> 00:12:37,100 condition of our brethren not just discard them because of their defects. 119 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:42,769 You ever hear that term people say this sometimes why you can't help those 120 00:12:42,769 --> 00:12:48,230 peoples, that guy's so messed up nothing to do for him, she's so far gone you know. 121 00:12:48,230 --> 00:12:55,819 I mean why even try? Is that the attitude really, is that the attitude 122 00:12:55,819 --> 00:13:00,500 that emanated from the cross? Just ask yourself that. 123 00:13:00,500 --> 00:13:05,720 I mean we're thinking on how to respond when we're thinking of how are we going 124 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,170 to deal with so and so when we're thinking you know what should my 125 00:13:09,170 --> 00:13:13,699 attitude be towards that person, should we not ask ourselves what attitude 126 00:13:13,699 --> 00:13:22,850 was emanating from the cross? Is that our attitude at the moment? 127 00:13:22,850 --> 00:13:27,290 There ought to be a sign out front that says damaged people are welcome 128 00:13:27,290 --> 00:13:33,140 here. The reason some people have difficulty being tender-hearted is 129 00:13:33,140 --> 00:13:39,020 because their own damaged or weak spot is in their own eyes, they're blind, they 130 00:13:39,020 --> 00:13:45,860 can't see themselves, they cannot see their own damage, but even for these 131 00:13:45,860 --> 00:13:53,260 people we have to be tender-hearted. Jesus was most kind to the most blind 132 00:13:53,260 --> 00:14:00,260 Pharisee of all: Saul of Tarsus. It was no coincidence that he was blinded when he 133 00:14:00,260 --> 00:14:07,180 saw Jesus and then regained his sight when he recognized how blind he had been. 134 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:16,900 And then the third rule to deal with damaged people: forgive each other 135 00:14:16,900 --> 00:14:20,360 forgive each other. Now there's forgiveness at two levels 136 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:26,180 you need to understand, first level of forgiveness: forgiveness at direct 137 00:14:26,180 --> 00:14:31,070 offenses against us. I mean things happen right people say things people do things 138 00:14:31,070 --> 00:14:37,970 nasty things we're on the receiving end of hurt. Now some people say well 139 00:14:37,970 --> 00:14:43,640 forgive and forget and some say well I'll forgive but I'll never forget well 140 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:50,390 I'll tell you something forgiving is not about forgetting some things done to us 141 00:14:50,390 --> 00:14:57,700 we will never forget. In 1963 142 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:09,160 Teddy Rogers a so-called friend of mine wrote me a check for $60 and it bounced. 143 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:22,100 63 73 83 93 2003 2013, is that 60 years plus? Teddy Roderick gave me a bump check 144 00:15:22,100 --> 00:15:29,110 for 60 bucks in 63 looks like I didn't forget. 145 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:37,800 Why? Because forgiveness is not about forgetting, forgiveness is about letting 146 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:47,130 go. I've forgiven Teddy he doesn't owe me that 60 bucks anymore especially since 147 00:15:47,130 --> 00:15:56,400 I've used his story 22 times but that's a whole other thing. Forgiving an 148 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:03,180 offense a real offense or forgiving a debt is considering that debt paid not 149 00:16:03,180 --> 00:16:08,960 forgetting that it was once owed. And I mean this sincerely 150 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:15,150 Teddy Roderick came up to me smiling today you know with $600 you know to pay 151 00:16:15,150 --> 00:16:23,810 the interest back I would refuse it because I had forgiven him that debt. 152 00:16:23,810 --> 00:16:29,400 People offend us they bump into our weak areas and we deserve to receive an 153 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:34,230 apology, we have a right to be compensated, but forgiveness is that 154 00:16:34,230 --> 00:16:38,310 action where you cancel the debt that somebody owes you, you don't owe me 155 00:16:38,310 --> 00:16:48,720 anymore. You do this, you control this, you offer this as the solution to the 156 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:55,320 problem whether they can pay or not. That puts you back into control and it gives 157 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,160 God the glory. So there's forgiveness at a direct 158 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:07,709 offense, but then there is forgiveness also as a spirit of tolerance and 159 00:17:07,709 --> 00:17:14,280 patience. You see we must also forgive the weaknesses we see in others that 160 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:24,380 don't directly offend us or affect us but they get on our nerves. 161 00:17:24,460 --> 00:17:33,760 You haven't hurt my feelings, you bug me, that kind of forgiveness. They don't 162 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:39,460 steal from us or insult us but the way they are offends our sense of how we 163 00:17:39,460 --> 00:17:46,210 think they ought to be, they don't live up to our scorecard or 164 00:17:46,210 --> 00:17:53,170 the Bible scorecard but our opinion of how people should be, that's what bugs us 165 00:17:53,170 --> 00:17:58,330 about them. You don't act or look like I think you ought to look like therefore 166 00:17:58,330 --> 00:18:07,380 you bug me. But spiritual damage control requires us to forgive others who crash 167 00:18:07,380 --> 00:18:13,690 into our weak spots, to exercise patience with those we believe have no right to 168 00:18:13,690 --> 00:18:17,410 be in the cupboard in the first place because they're way too damaged they're 169 00:18:17,410 --> 00:18:24,310 our way to cracked to be of any use to us. We need to remember that God has handled 170 00:18:24,310 --> 00:18:32,200 us so tenderly so carefully that we are still in one piece and the greatest 171 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:40,050 miracle of all is that He continues to use us despite our delicate condition. 172 00:18:40,860 --> 00:18:46,150 God has overlooked all of our imperfections and all of our damage and 173 00:18:46,150 --> 00:18:55,120 all of our cracks as we are placed into Christ Jesus. And so we need to extend 174 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:59,710 that same kind of mercy towards others when someone offends you or bugs you ask 175 00:18:59,710 --> 00:19:05,100 yourself is this where I'm going to cut off the grace of God to another person? 176 00:19:05,100 --> 00:19:10,350 No more grace for you boy I'm turning that grace tap off no more for you. 177 00:19:10,350 --> 00:19:15,250 Remember when you turn off the flow of grace for another you turn it off for 178 00:19:15,250 --> 00:19:22,120 yourself as well because it only flows down, the person who bugs you the person 179 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:25,930 who's offended you you turn off the grace for that person as you're doing 180 00:19:25,930 --> 00:19:32,320 that the Lord is upstairs turning off the tap for you buddy because it only 181 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:38,000 flows on us if we allow it to flow on somebody else. 182 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:48,080 That's spiritual, that's a spiritual law that is as sure as gravity. And so Paul 183 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:54,139 concludes with the key idea in chapter 5:1-2, the love of the saints 184 00:19:54,139 --> 00:20:00,409 for one another is like a fragrant aroma he says a perfume to God as was the 185 00:20:00,409 --> 00:20:08,059 sacrifice of Christ. The love of God in Christ, he says this is the glue that 186 00:20:08,059 --> 00:20:13,070 repairs the cracks and provides a renewed life of service. I liked what 187 00:20:13,070 --> 00:20:17,509 Titus said, now we're having to say even Titus and I who did the communion we 188 00:20:17,509 --> 00:20:20,690 didn't talk about what he was going to be talking about but what did he talk 189 00:20:20,690 --> 00:20:25,879 about he talked about us that the communion time is a time for us to be 190 00:20:25,879 --> 00:20:34,690 thinking about our unity together and what is the final up draft of my lesson, 191 00:20:34,690 --> 00:20:42,049 Paul is saying this kindness, this forgiveness, this love, this is the glue 192 00:20:42,049 --> 00:20:49,070 that unites us together, this is the way God puts us back together after we're 193 00:20:49,070 --> 00:20:56,659 all beaten and broken, He does it with His love. And we in the church we are the 194 00:20:56,659 --> 00:21:02,059 channels for this love and we are the agents that He uses in repairing all the 195 00:21:02,059 --> 00:21:06,649 broken lives that come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, without this kind 196 00:21:06,649 --> 00:21:13,759 of love we cannot grow in a way that is pleasing to God. It doesn't matter that 197 00:21:13,759 --> 00:21:19,039 we're a lot of people, really it doesn't matter that we're a lot of people, we can 198 00:21:19,039 --> 00:21:22,610 knock these walls down and there could be 10,000 people here and it doesn't 199 00:21:22,610 --> 00:21:27,620 matter. Because when the Lord comes he's not going to be looking for a lot of 200 00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:33,259 people, he's going to be looking for a faithful people, and a faithful people 201 00:21:33,259 --> 00:21:37,490 will be a people that are living with one another in love that's who He's 202 00:21:37,490 --> 00:21:41,269 looking for. Whether we're 50 united here or 50,000. 203 00:21:41,269 --> 00:21:49,549 It's the same thing that He will be looking for. So if you're a cracked 204 00:21:49,549 --> 00:21:56,910 cup, if that's you, unused, unloved, unnoticed, 205 00:21:56,910 --> 00:22:04,000 unclean, I encourage you to offer your broken dishes to God today by coming to 206 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,840 Jesus in repentance of your lack of love for yourself and lack of love for others, 207 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:16,510 your lack of love for God by disobeying His word; and baptism, the cleansing, the 208 00:22:16,510 --> 00:22:26,740 washing away of the sin, the new life in Christ Jesus. I beg you I beg you let Him 209 00:22:26,740 --> 00:22:32,410 love you, let Him repair your damage with His love, let Him cover your weakness 210 00:22:32,410 --> 00:22:39,820 with the blood of His cross. For the rest of the cups in the cupboard I read a 211 00:22:39,820 --> 00:22:46,000 poem by a brother Lewis Stevenson who summarized well the thoughts in this 212 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,679 lesson and he wrote this way back in the 80s he heard this sermon and he came 213 00:22:50,679 --> 00:22:54,760 wrote to me the next day and he said I just had an inspiration so I want to 214 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:59,110 read that little poem to you Leonard excuse me not Lewis, Leonard Stevenson. He 215 00:22:59,110 --> 00:23:03,970 says, "Please handle with care, for I have a 'crack.' And that isn't all in which I 216 00:23:03,970 --> 00:23:10,030 lack. My handle is weak, so please take care; Yes, sometimes life is so hard to 217 00:23:10,030 --> 00:23:15,520 bear! And it appears to me as I look about, everyone has 'cracks;' not all are stout, 218 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:20,670 and if not cracked, then broken or bent; or scratched, bruised, torn and rent. And 219 00:23:20,670 --> 00:23:26,410 since this is true, let's all be kind; tender-hearted, forgiving, gentle - not 220 00:23:26,410 --> 00:23:32,290 blind, to the cracks, flaws and bruises each have got; and heed the lessons our 221 00:23:32,290 --> 00:23:37,960 Savior taught. Let's bind up the cracks of one another; and especially those of 222 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:43,270 our 'sister' and 'brother.' So exercise tolerance, and patience too; but 223 00:23:43,270 --> 00:23:52,720 especially LOVE, for this is the 'glue!'" And here is Maureen. If you need to respond to 224 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:57,010 our invitation this morning then I encourage you to come forward and now as 225 00:23:57,010 --> 00:24:02,240 John leads us in our song of encouragement. Shall we stand.