Out of the depths I cry--Will I also cry the Gospel from the ends of the earth?

Out of the depths I cry
Will I also cry the Gospel from the ends of the earth?
June 25, 2006
Psalm 61.1-5, 8
Genesis 3.9-15
2 Corinthians 4.13-18
Mark 3.20-35

1-Prayer
Lord, use my lips, use my voice, and use my mind, to provide your Word this day. ? Amen
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
2-Cigar story
Have you ever been caught doing something wrong?
I asked this question to my family. It?s funny how we could all reflect on a time we were caught. Maybe even confess a thing or two that one of us didn?t even know about now. Think about a time that you were caught. Put yourself back in that story. Get a feel for that time and what emotions you were going through.
Two young brothers gathered together on a summer morning years ago when life was simple and summers were easy. The older of the two boys, maybe about twelve or thirteen years old finds a discarded cigar butt in the gutter in front of the house. He dares his younger brother who is about five years old to smoke the cigar butt. The boy begins to think.
You see the younger of the two brothers had been secretly smoking a cigarette or two with the Tate boys from across the street. They would hide in the bushes and sneak a smoke now and then. The older brother, Jimmy, never approved of his younger brother smoking. But today, Jimmy thought it would be fun to toy with his brother.
The younger brother takes the dare. Smokes the cigar butt and feels big about it. Until?
Later in the day the Father asks the younger brother, Billy, if he had smoked a cigar earlier in the day. Caught! Billy confessed that he had; but told his Dad that Jimmy made him do it. Jimmy dared him to smoke the cigar. None of that mattered. I was punished.

Well, that?s a true story and I was guilty at the young age of five. I figured for sure that Jim had set me up and ratted me out to Dad to be cruel. But years later, Jim has no memory of the event. Maybe he didn?t tell Dad. Maybe my feeling that Jim set me up was just my own excuse for my wrongful actions.
Does this story sound familiar?
Not too far from a man- a woman- a snake- and our Creator.

3-Hearing God walk
When Adam was caught, he heard God walking in the garden. Have you ever heard someone walking?
Most of the time we don?t pay a bit attention to the sound of someone walking. But when we are hiding in fear of being found?you can hear the walk.
How about a time when you were playing hide and seek. You were hiding. The person who was "it" is approaching your hiding place. You hear the walk. And it sounds really loud. Louder and louder?closer and closer?till you can?t stand it anymore and you have to run like a bolt of lightening towards base.
I can imagine that was how Adam felt when he heard God walking in the garden towards him. I can imagine how Adam wanted to bolt and run.
4-Hearing God speak
And God called to Adam?"Where are you?" ? Come on! God knew just where Adam was!
This call of God in the word "cry" comes from the Hebrew verb kaw-raw? which means to cry or utter a loud sound.
Adam hears God?s voice and Adam knows that he has sinned. Adam?s mind goes into high gear. He needs to shed his guilt. He needs to point the blame elsewhere. He needs an excuse.
But really there is none.
5-my cry of sin
In the reading from Psalm 61 the Psalmist cries to God. Things are reversed now. First God cried out to Adam. Now the cry goes up to God. The Psalmists cry comes from another Hebrew word rinnaw, which is a ringing cry. A cry is a lament that comes from the end of the earth, where the earth ends and the underworld begins, where life ends and death begins. And in this cry there is a correlation between suffering and spiritual insight. Between loneliness and fear. The place where one feels utterly alone.
And I can imagine that Adam felt like the Psalmist at this point. Utterly alone. Caught in his sin. No decent excuse to be had. He took the dare and smoked the cigar. Adam caught!


6-Naked stick man
(Draw the stick man on a poster board)
Adam felt like this man here.
Naked!
Exposed!
A new pastor moved into town and went out one Saturday to visit his parishioners. All went well until he came to one house. It was obvious that someone was home, but no one came to the door even after he had knocked several times. Finally, he took out his card, wrote on the back "Revelation 3:20" and stuck it in the door.
The next day, as he was counting the offering, he found his card in the collection plate. Below his message was a notation "Genesis 3:10."

Revelation 3:20 reads: Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.

Genesis 3:10 reads: He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Now I just created this "stick" man. Does he know that he is naked? How does he even know what naked means? If I haven?t created clothing for him how does he even know the difference?
Now that Adam and Bill have been exposed to sin. They know the difference between good and evil. It was so much better when we only knew good. But things have changed now. I have sinned and I know what naked before God feels like. Guilt ? Shame- Deception- Blame.
Naked "stick" men.
7-Hearing God walk
Yet even today ? in my sin- I can hear God walk. God walks to me in Spirit- God walks to me in flesh ? God comes to me in Jesus my Savior. In my sin, I can hear God walk. Day after day I can hear him walking beside me. But this walk doesn?t seem to scare and frighten me. This walk brings comfort.
Jesus walked with people on this earth years ago. He walked and came to us to heal us. To relieve us from our sin and evil ways. He walked and still does walk with each one of us here today throughout life.
Yea- I still am naked before my Savior- but Jesus is with me in the guilt ? Jesus stays with me in the shame- Jesus has compassion for my pain and releases me to live in his grace.

8-Hearing God's grace
And in his grace I hear the voice of God singing loud and clear. I know you have sinned. But I love you anyway. I give my life for you and forgive your sin. I come to you to offer you life and salvation, love and joy, peace and harmony.
9-Confronting my sin
You see Jesus was good at confrontation. Just as he confronted the Religious Authorities accusing him of having an evil spirit. Just as he confronted family who thought he was mad. Jesus in the same way confronts my sin. And I must confront my sin also. I must smell the stench of that cigar. I must confess to God what I have done. I must own up to my sin. I must humble myself and put all my trust and hope and faith in the salvation that God has to freely offer through Jesus.
10-Feeling God's grace
And it?s in God?s grace that I feel my nakedness. I feel the depth of his love. I feel the pain Jesus had to suffer for my transgressions. I feel the love he has offered. But I cannot understand it. I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. You see?He came to me! God walks to me and walks with me. But I do know that the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church day after day he fully forgives my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day he will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true. ? There is some Luther- but more so there is some Savior Jesus Christ!
11-Responding in Love
Wow! I can only respond to that unfathomable love with joy and thanksgiving. Service and love. And as the Psalmist reply was---
So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
12-Living God's promise
I think that Jesus was there that day too with Adam in the garden. There was another tree in that garden that day ? a different tree from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ? that "other" tree mention in Genesis 3.22 the tree of life?
Yep there is Jesus! ? The tree of life ? The tree in God?s garden.
And in this tree of life is the Word for today.
And in the presence of this "Tree of Life" ? in the presence of our Savoir Jesus Christ we are free to live God?s promise of forgiveness- free to live and serve in his Kingdom. Day after day.
Out of the depths I cry
I will also cry the Gospel from the ends of the earth!



I would like to play for you now my favorite hymn
1.
There in God?s garden stands the Tree of Wisdom, whose leaves hold forth the healing of the nations: Tree of all knowledge, Tree of all compassion, Tree of all beauty.
2.
Its name is Jesus, name that says, "Our Savior!" There on its branches see the scars of suff?ring: see where the tendrils of our human self-hood feed on its life blood.
3.
Thorns not his own are tangled in its foliage; our greed has starved it, our despite has choked it. Yet, look! It lives! Its grief has not destroyed it nor fire consumed it.
4.
See how its branches reach to us in welcome; hear what the Voice says, "Come to me, ye weary! Give me your sickness, give me all your sorrow, I will give blessing.
5.
This is my ending, this my resurrection; into your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit. This have I searched for; now I can possess it. This ground is holy.
6.
All heav?n is singing, "Thanks to Christ whose Passion offers in mercy healing, strength, and pardon. Peoples and nations, take it, take it freely!" Amen! My Master!

Take it, take it freely!" Amen! My Master!