Luke 23:33-43<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the 11:15 Cantonese Service of First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(After producing a clear glass, I filled it with stones and asked the question, \u201cIs this glass full?\u201d Then I added sand and asked the same question. Eventually, I poured water in the glass and finally, I can say that the glass is now full.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the point of this illustration? Some may say, \u201cYou can always cram more into life.\u201d Or \u201cThere\u2019s always more that we can do to help those in need.\u201d Although these are good possible answers, the real answer is: \u201cIf you don\u2019t put the big rocks in first, you\u2019ll never get them in at all.\u201d Or put in another way, \u201cThe main thing is to make the main thing the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the \u201cBig Rocks\u201d of life? What are the big rocks in your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding a good job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting through college with honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making a lot of money so you won\u2019t need to worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meeting someone really nice and special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doing your part in having a happy home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staying healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Planning for your senior years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are these some of the big rocks on your mind right now? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me with the retrofit project soon to begin, a big rock was to get the church building cleared out so the construction crew can come in to begin their work. With the help of so many people in the past few weeks, this big rock was finally removed! And because Joy and I are rehabbing a house in Sausalito, another big rock for us is to move from SF to Marin County sometime this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From this illustration, we need to remember to put these big rocks in first or you\u2019ll never get them in at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is the Rock<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
But our Scripture lesson for this morning reminds us that the biggest rock any of us must first fit into our lives is the rock of faith in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whenever we read passages like this one and realize how Jesus was betrayed, rejected, mocked, abused and treated as a criminal, it sends shivers down our backs.\u00a0 We shudder at the reading of the crucifixion.\u00a0 Because we can imagine how horrible it must have been.\u00a0 Jesus Christ, the Messiah was crucified.\u00a0 But against all of this horror, Jesus keeps his focus on the main thing: God is still God; God is in control; God expects obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus never lost his head. Jesus never lost his heart. It was only because Jesus kept the main thing the main thing that he could love his enemies\u2014even on the cross; forgive those who put him there\u2014even on the cross; reach out to someone in need\u2014even on the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus practices what he preaches\u2014even on the cross. He does what he has taught his disciples to do\u2014even on the cross. Jesus prays for his abusers\u2014even on the cross. Jesus prays even for his betrayers (Peter was about to betray him)\u2014even on the cross. Jesus refuses to do evil so that good may come from what he was going through\u2014even on the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus puts the rocks in the glass first; he kept the main thing the main thing\u2014even on the cross. The people mocked him for not \u201csaving himself.\u201d But Jesus did not come to save himself, Jesus came to save others. Jesus said, \u201cThose who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life will save it.\u201d (9:24)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Main Thing<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
What is the main thing in your life? You may be thinking to yourself, \u201cWhat is he saying?\u201d My main thing has nothing to do with rocks! My main thing is going shopping after church or spending time with my friends. Or my main thing is getting ready to start college in just a few days. So sometimes, our main things in our heads are the things happening now. What will I do next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another way of answering the question, \u201cWhat is the main thing in your life?\u201d is choosing. What choices might we make that will help us to keep the main thing the main thing. It is very easy to sail through life by simply focusing on the immediate things happening around you. Let things come to you, you deal with them as well as you can, and it\u2019s another day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as Christians, we may have been taught by Jesus to not judge others because we certainly have done enough things for God to judge us. But the Bible doesn\u2019t say, \u201cDon\u2019t make judgments.\u201d We are expected to make decisions and to choose God\u2019s way over our human ways. We need to learn how to put the big rocks in first and what small rocks that we have can fill in the cracks last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not long ago, there was a venture capitalist named Kirk Bains. A venture capitalist is someone who\u2019s only interest is to make money fast. Kirk discovered that he was in his last rounds of a fight against cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He had lived for \u201cthe deal.\u201d And he had been successful because he was able to know when to get in quick, ahead of everyone else, and when to get out.\u00a0 He said, \u201cThere\u2019s a difference between what I do and what you do.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t care less about the product.\u00a0 It can be oil or platinum or software or widgets.\u00a0 It\u2019s all a shell game played for big money, and once I win enough, I wave goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That approach spilled over onto his personal life one day. He said, \u201cI celebrate Christmas\u2026 the music\u2026 giving gifts. That\u2019s fun. But he wasn\u2019t convinced over the church. He said, \u201cLet me put it in my own terms. I\u2019m not a long-term investor. I like quick returns. I don\u2019t believe in working for dividends paid only in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kirk Bains signed on to be a guinea pig in a high-risk experimental treatment. For a few months the treatment seemed to work, but then the cancer came back, and the end drew near. As it did, Kirk came to question his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had always read newspapers, but for him they meant nothing but information for deals. \u201cI never really cared about the world\u2019s events or its people,\u201d he says. \u201cI had no interest in creating something\u2014not a product or a partnership with a person. And now I have no spiritual equity. No dividends coming in. And he comes to see, \u201cI was a self-absorbed uncaring jerk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Kirk Bains, he had not done too well at setting priorities, making good decisions, focusing on the main thing, getting the big rocks in first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not too late for us to see what Kirk Bains only came to see in the end: that the decisions we make about what rocks to put in first determine what kind of lives we live. It\u2019s time to start being decisive about the big rocks and the little rocks in our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Main Thing<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
The question we need to ask ourselves is: \u201cWhat is the main thing in my life?\u201d Taking the time to discern how and where God is calling you to serve him is important and critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you know why sheep get lost? Sheep just nibble themselves lost. They go from one tuft of grass to another, until at last they\u2019ve lost their way. It\u2019s like when I was little chasing after the \u201cwishies\u201d that fly through the air in the spring. After a while, I realized that I was far away from my friends. I\u2019ve lost my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s what happens in life, isn\u2019t it? Unless we make decisions and judgments about what are the big rocks, the medium-sized rocks, the pebbles and the sand, we nibble away at life or chase after “wishies” until life is gone and we have no idea where it went. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During this week, I want you to ask yourself, \u201cWhat are the big rocks in your life? How might you keep the main thing the main thing in your life?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One year ago, Joy and I were frantically packing and getting ready to move to San Francisco. It\u2019s hard to believe that I have been with you for a whole year already. When the church extended a call to me to become your Senior Pastor, I was both humbly honored and very scared.\u00a0 I was honored because you are a great church.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have led the way in many courageous ministries through the years that the whole denomination knows about. The thought of being a part of your ministry was a real privilege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it was also very scary. We had become pretty settled in Pennsylvania for over 20 years. Our two children grew up there. We knew where to shop, how to get my teeth cleaned, where to play tennis, and who are our friends. It was hard to pick up roots and leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when you called me and said you wanted Joy and me to come, we sensed an inner peace from God that everything will be okay. \u201cJust follow me and trust me to work out all your reservations.\u201d God was saying to us. For one whole year, we have been blessed by you. And God continues to lead our lives because we trust in him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have kept the main thing the main thing in our lives. By following God\u2019s call in our lives, we made sure to put the big rocks in first and know that God will take care of all the little rocks in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus, the Rock of Ages<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
If the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, then what is the \u201cmain thing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thing is that Jesus Christ is the biggest rock of all, the rock that goes in first in your life. Jesus Christ is the Rock of all ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thing is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thing is that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, beating death down forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thing is that the human struggle entails suffering. We will struggle for justice,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
peace, and truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the main thing is also that we will not suffer alone. God suffers along with each one<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thing is that if God is for us, who can be against us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main thing is that we are never alone, for there is no place in the universe we can go,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
there\u2019s no sin that we can commit, that will put us out of reach of the grace of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ\u2019s sacrifice, the gift of God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the really \u201cbig rocks.\u201d All the rest is filler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus Christ\u2014insulted, mocked, sneered at, beaten, ridiculed, falsely accused, betrayed and abandoned and finally, murdered\u2014is the Big Rock and the First Rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get it right.\u00a0 Put your faith on this Rock, and all the other rocks in life will fall into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let us pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDear God, help us to place our lives on Jesus Christ, the rock of our salvation. Bless us this coming week as we seek your plan for our lives. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
August 22, 1999 Luke 23:33-43 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the 11:15 Cantonese Service of First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco (After producing a clear glass, IContinue readingBig Rocks<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[11,18],"class_list":["post-240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donald-ng-sermons","tag-fcbc","tag-luke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2201,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions\/2201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}