Attitude Adjustments: Faith

Desert Pete’s Instructions

Mark 1:16-20

June 17, 2007

Opening Words: Austrian psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor Victor Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.” He knew what we often forget, our attitudes about life is extremely important. They affect the way that we experience life. It is for this reason that I have decided to dedicate this section of our year to examining our attitudes. I have called this fourteen week sermon series, Attitude Adjustments. Today we look at our attitude about faith. Do you consider yourself a faithful person? Let me call this morning’s message Desert Pete’s Instructions.

Mark 1:16-20 ¹⁶As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

I love the story of the man walking through the desert. He was dying of thirst and desperately needed water. Against all odds he comes across a well. It was an old fashioned kind of well with a pump handle. He is excited and relieved. There was an old tin can next to the pump with a note inside of it. He pulls the note out and reads it. This is what it says:

This pump was fine in June of 1932. I put a new sucker-washer into it and it should be good for five years. But the washer has dried out and the pump has not been primed. Under the white rock, I buried a bottle of water. It is out of the sun and all corked up. There is enough water in the bottle to prime the pump if you don’t drink any. So pour about one-quarter of the water in to wet the leather. Pour the rest of the water at medium speed and pump like crazy. You will get water. It has never run dry. Have faith. When you get the water fill up the bottle, return it back under the white rock for the next fellow.

Desert Pete

PS Don’t go drinking up the water first. Prime the pump! Prime the pump with it and you will have all the water you can hold.

If you were that man in the desert what would you do? Would you grab that bottle of water under the white rock and drink it? Or would you follow Desert Pete’s instructions. If you are going to follow Desert Pete’s instructions then you better trust him. If you are going to follow Desert Pete’s instructions then it is going to involve some risk. If you are going to follow desert Pete’s instructions then you better be prepared to do some work. It all boils down to one question. How much faith do you have in Desert Pete? This is the question the church has been asking for generations. How much faith do you have in Jesus Christ?

The issue of faith is extremely important. The salvation of your very soul depends on it. But let me warn you now, having faith in Jesus is not just a Sunday morning experience. If you have real faith in Jesus then it should influence every aspect of your life. Martin Luther once said, “God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.” Are you a person of genuine faith or is your faith fraudulent?

In order to help you identify the condition of your faith I am going to give you a little quiz. It is not a long quiz. This quiz requires no preparation. As a matter of fact there are only three questions. Each question revolves around the issue of faith. Each answer is rooted in your life. Here is the truth. You may consider yourself a person of faith and you may be wrong. Is your faith genuine or are you a fraud? If you are ready to take this little spiritual test say, “Amen!” Each correct answer is illustrated in this morning’s scripture lesson.

Are you teachable?

This is question number one. Are you teachable? Faithful people are open to what lessons God has for them. In the story of Desert Pete you had to know how to prime a pump and wet the leather. In the Bible story of Simon, Andrew, James and John they had to learn much more. They had to learn a mountain of information.

We understand Peter, Andrew, James and John to be the pillars of the early church. That may be true today but it was not true that day. They knew very little about the faith. Through the eyes of God that day on the shore was the first day of school. Let me be honest. Those four men were not their class valedictorians.They had very little formal education but they were full of potential. To unlock that potential they needed some training. They traveled with Jesus for three years and received instructions from the greatest teacher, the greatest rabbi, who had ever lived, the son of God, Jesus the Christ. Your heart today is full of potential. Maybe all you need to live a faithful life is a little training. The training will enable God to tap into your potential but without the training your potential lies dormant. Are you making yourself available to God or are you off limits to God. Do you want to hear what God has to say to you or are you in love with your own opinions? Are you teachable?

My sister Janet has been a fifth grade teacher in the Colorado Springs, Colorado public schools for years. (If you think about it preachers and teachers have a lot in common. Everyone has an opinion about our vocations but no one would step into a classroom or behind a pulpit.) The other night she told me about this year’s class of fifth graders. There is one student who really concerns her. The student’s name is Megan. According to my sister, she is a bright little girl but the chaos in her home makes her unteachable. Several years ago, Megan’s father was killed in a trucking accident between Colorado Springs and Denver. It was shortly after that fatal accident Megan’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Through all the treatments her mother is weak and ill. Megan really has no other family in the area. Friends try to help but there is a limit. The weigh of the entire family rests on this fifth grader. She is responsible for the family chores and the care of her younger brother and sister. To the surprise of no one her grades are suffering. She is not achieving up to her potential. My sister says Megan sits in school physically but is a million miles away mentally. How do you teach a child that is living in the eye of the storm?

Maybe that is one of the reasons we have such little faith. We are living in the eye of a storm. God is not able to teach us because our lifestyles don’t permit God to teach us. Americans live at a faster pace then any other people in the world. How much have you accomplished in the past seven days? You had to go to work everyday. You had doctors’ appointments. You had family responsibilities. How many graduation parties will you attend this year? Your calendar is full. It is hard to find time for yourself. It is even harder to find time for God. How much time have you given God lately? Maybe that is why our faith is weak? We are living in the eye of a storm. Physically we are here but spiritually we are a million miles away. Many are un-teachable for this reason. I believe we should take a little Sabbath everyday. And all of God’s faithful people said, “Amen!”

Are you able to take a risk?

This is question number two. Are you able to take a risk? Faithful people are willing to take a risk for God. In the story of Desert Pete you had to risk that bottle of water to prime the pump. In the Bible story the disciples risked every thing to follow Jesus. Using your sanctified imagination return to the scripture lesson with me, Jesus has offered an invitation to Simon, Andrew, James and John. They accept the invitation and follow the Master. Notice one thing, it is an open ended invitation that they accept. There are no conditions set on the invitation. Jesus does not say let us go around the corner and get a cup of coffee. Jesus just says follow me. The invitation is open ended. The four do not know where they are going. They do not know how long they will be gone. They certainly do not know how much their lives are going to change. We consider Simon, Andrew, James and John faithful because they were not afraid to take a risk. Are you ready to take a risk for Jesus? Sherwood Eddy said, “Faith is not trying to believe something regardless of the evidence: Faith is daring to do something regardless of the consequences.”

Following church today Kathy and I leave for Lakeside. We will meet your lay delegate, Nancy Jarvis. It is once again time for Annual Conference. I must admit it has grown on me through the years. I didn’t care for it at first because I didn’t know anyone. I have been going to Annual Conference now for over twenty years and I have met a few people along the way. Most of the people that I will see this week are jealous of me. On Wednesday afternoon I will be appointed back here for a fourteenth year. I am the second longest tenured pastor in the old Youngstown District. Only my good friend Russ Libb has been here longer. He has been at Berlin Center for 35 years.

We used to be the best kept secret in this Annual Conference. That is no longer true. We are on the map. People know this is a wonderful appointment. Just think about this place. In the middle of an area that is staggering economically we are making progress. We are not exploding but our church is growing. We run four services in the summer. It is only my opinion but we have the best chancel choir in the Annual Conference. We have an outdoor chapel that is second to none. We have just dedicated a first class pavilion. We have active youth growths. We have mission activities at every level, locally, nationally, and internationally. One year from now we are going to sponsor the Mill Creek Workcamp, being approximately 500 young people to our area to help some of our community’s needy. And that is not all. I am planning now on starting a new satellite location of this church on Western Reserve Road for Sunday night worship so we can reach a new generation with the gospel. We are going to be the largest church in this district. By the way did I tell you we paid all of our apportionments last year and God willing we are on target to do it again this year? No wonder people are jealous of me!

Do you know what I respect so much about this church? We are not afraid to take a risk. I shouldn’t be surprised. You took a risk on me. We have tried some risky things through the years. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t but we always move forward. We understand that if it is a God thing doors open. If it is not of God door refuse to open. It is like they are welded. We understand the worst thing is not failure. The worst thing is not trying. They worst thing is not risking. Faithful people are willing to take a risk. And all of God’s faithful people said, “Amen!”

Are you willing to work?

This is question number three. Are you willing to work? Faithful people are willing to work for God’s glory. In the story of Desert Pete you had to prime to pump and pump like there was no tomorrow. You had to work to get water. In the Bible story Jesus has just offered an open ended invitation to Simon, Andrew, James and John. They accepted the invitation because they trusted Jesus and were open to learn something new. They accepted the invitation and proved to their world they were not afraid to take a risk. The wording of the invitation is significant. Verse seventeen quotes Jesus. It says, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” The four invitees related to the wording of the invitation because they were fishermen. Jesus met them where they were. They understood fishing was not just spending time with dad on Father’s Day. They were well aware of the long hours and the physical labor that were involved in their occupation. For them fishing was not a recreational sport. If they didn’t catch fish, they didn’t eat. They didn’t consider fishing a distraction from life. It was life, it was work. We consider Simon, Andrew, James and John faithful because they worked to create a new organization called the church.

I love the story of Homer and Emmy Lou. They were young and in love. Homer was a little slow. On evening they sat on the porch swing. Homer looked at Emmy Lou and said, “Emmy Lou, if I had a thousand eyes they would all be looking at you.” Then he just sat there. A few minutes later he said, “Emmy Lou, if I had a thousand arms they would all be holding you.” Then he just sat there. A few minutes later he said, “Emmy Lou, if I had a thousand lips they would all be kissing you.” Emmy Lou got tired of just sitting there.She looked at Homer and said, “Homer, will you stop complaining about what you don’t have and use what you have!”

This is the point. People of faith use what they have for God’s glory. Just think about all the things God has given us in the past thirteen years for doing nothing. We did not receive these things for our own amusement. He gave them to us to use them to benefit others. It would be a sin to waste it. It would be a sin to hoard them. May we always find new ways to do something for God. And all of God’s faithful people said, “Amen!”

Let us end where we began. You are in the desert. Your mouth is dry but God is good. You find a pump with instruction near it in a tin can from a guy by the name of Desert Pete. You have never met him but your life is dependants on you trusting him. If you drink the water in the bottle under the white rock it will give you temporary relief. However, if you drink the water in the bottle under the white rock, you won’t have enough water to prime the pump. Do you have faith in Desert Pete’s instructions or not?

This is the bigger question. Do you have faith in Jesus Christ? You know it is true. Once you taste his living water you will never thirst again. Having faith in Jesus means you are going to be open to God’s lessons for your life. Are you making yourself available to God? Having faith in Jesus means you must be ready to take a risk in the cause of Jesus. Having faith in Jesus means you are going to roll up your sleeves and go to work. And all of God’s faithful people said, “Amen!”