STIRRIN’UP THE WATER

PSALM 63:1-4; ACTS 10:44-48; JOHN 7:37-39

Gordon E. Ellis
October 21, 2007

STIRRIN’ UP THE WATER

WATER! We can’t live WITHOUT it. It’s one the KEY elements of creation! And in the ANCIENT Middle East, as in the Middle East TODAY, people go to great LENGTHS in order to have sufficient WATER. One thing that impressed me MOST on my 2 trips to the HOLY Land was both the SCARCITY of water AND the great FEATS of engineering that have gone into AMASSING and UTILIZING water. In ANCIENT Israel, and throughout the Roman Empire in JESUS’ day, great AQUEDUCTS were created to COLLECT water and carry it to villages and cities MILES and MILES away. And these great AQUEDUCTS are STILL very impressive! And in Israel TODAY, the Jordan River is much SMALLER than it USED to be, because ON its journey from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, MOST of its water is SIPHONED off to irrigate the CROPS. SO, water is a RARE commodity in the Middle East.

Maybe that’s why water is SO important in the Bible. It’s a symbol of cleansing and renewal, as it is EVERYWHERE in the world, but it ALSO symbolizes much MORE. The waters of the SEA, for example, symbolize the ABYSS, or at least the ENTRANCE to that MYSTERIOUS, unknowable place, the UNDERWORLD, the place of DEATH, that is so FOREBODING to humankind. So, when Jesus WALKS on the Sea of Galilee, or CALMS the Sea in a storm, it’s MEANT to be interpreted far more deeply than just a LITERAL translation.

Likewise, WHENEVER God STIRS up the water in the Bible, it’s SYMBOLIC of God’s SPIRIT being ALIVE and at WORK, and MIRACLES happening. IN the CREATION story in GENESIS, God STIRS up the water and causes creation to BEGIN. Listen to the first 2 VERSES in the ENTIRE Bible: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a FORMLESS void, and DARKNESS covered the face of the DEEP, while a WIND from God swept over the FACE of the waters. Yes, God STIRS up the water and a MIRACLE happens! LATER in Genesis is the POWERFUL saga of NOAH and the ARK. And God STIRS up the water AGAIN to bring about a NEW miracle: the RE-CREATION of our planet, as God makes a wonderful COVENANT with humankind, symbolized by a RAINBOW.

And WHO can forget the EXODUS of the HEBREW people OUT of their BONDAGE in Egypt, when the God STIRS up the waters of the Red Sea and the waters PART for the Hebrew people to pass through UNHARMED, as if on DRY land? ANOTHER miracle! THEN, as the Hebrews journey through the wilderness and grow THIRSTY in the desert sun, God tells Moses to TOUCH his rod to a STONE, and miraculously, WATER pours FORTH for ALL to drink. Before I visited the HOLY Land, THAT was just a nice story, but then I actually SAW water pouring out of STONES at the BASE of Mount Hermon to form the HEADWATERS of the Jordan RIVER. Yes, God STIRS up the water in the wilderness and MIRACLES happen!

THEN, after 40 years in the wilderness, the Hebrews stand at a SWOLLEN Jordan River, WAITING to enter the LAND of milk and honey that God has PROMISED them, a land they have gazed at LONGINGLY from Mt. NEBO. And God tells their new leader, JOSHUA, to have THOSE carrying the ARK of the Covenant step INTO the Jordan River with BOTH feet, even though the water is OVER their heads. And when they DARE to DO it, God STIRS up the water again, and the water upstream STOPS, and they ALL cross on dry ground, reminiscent of their parents’ EXODUS out of their CAPTIVITY in Egypt. And it’s ANOTHER miracle!

Later in 2^nd Kings, when the prophet, Elisha, takes over for his predecessor, Elijah, God STIRS up the waters of the Jordan AGAIN -- and there’s ANOTHER miracle! ALSO in 2^nd Kings, when Elisha tells the foreign general, Namaan, a LEPER, to go wash 7 times in the Jordan River, much to the general’s DISMAY, God STIRS up the water again, and Namaan is miraculously CURED of his LEPROSY!

And it’s NOT just in the OLD Testament that God STIRS up the water. We find God’s MIRACLES in the NEW Testament as well. At the BEGINNING of Jesus’ MINISTRY, John the Baptist is baptizing MULTITUDES in the Jordan River, and JESUS shows up to be baptized. And God STIRS up the water AGAIN as Jesus has a POWERFUL religious experience, which REVEALS to Him His IDENTITY as God’s beloved SON! And that experience SETS the AGENDA for His entire LIFE and ministry, DEATH and resurrection.

And of course, Jesus’ FIRST miracle is changing WATER into WINE, as God STIRS up the water AGAIN! THEN, Jesus calms the Sea of GALILEE in a storm, and later WALKS on the Sea of Galilee! Miraculously, PETER is able do the SAME thing, as LONG as he keeps his FOCUS on his LORD. God STIRS up the water AGAIN when Jesus HEALS the PARALYTIC at the POOL at Bethsaida, and then when He HEALS the man born BLIND, having him GO and wash his muddy EYES in the Pool of SILOAM. And what about the SAMARITAN woman at Jacob’s WELL, as Jesus offers her LIVING water, a SPRING of living water, welling up from WITHIN her? It’s God STIRRING up the water AGAIN by stirring up her SOUL?

Well, there are many MORE biblical stories of God STIRRING up the water, but let me finish with just ONE: PENTECOST, when literally THOUSANDS of people are BAPTIZED as they CONVERT to following the Risen Christ, because God’s SPIRIT is ALIVE and at WORK in the preaching of the APOSTLES, causing MIRACLES to happen in people’s hearts and souls. Yes, WHENEVER God STIRS up the WATER in the Bible, SIGNIFICANT events happen! MIRACLES happen! NEW life happens!

Well friends, for THOSE with eyes to SEE it, it’s STILL happening TODAY! God is STILL stirring up the water, and IN so doing, is STIRRING up our SOULS… and therefore, miracles CONTINUE to happen!

Well, AS my MINISTRY among you comes to an END, my HOPE and my PRAYER for you is that YOU will continue to INVITE God to be PRESENT in this church, and to CONTINUE stirring up the WATERS of your baptism, AND stirring up your SOULS. In fact, may THAT be your continuous PRAYER: that God’s Spirit CONTINUE to be ALIVE and at WORK here in this church, so that miracles will CONTINUE to happen here! We’ve seen so MANY miracles during our 17 years together, haven’t we? And I have NO doubt but what many MORE are ON the WAY! You JUST need to continue to INVITE God to be AMONG you and to CONTINUE stirring up the waters of your BAPTISM, and thereby stirring up your SOULS!

Well, I’d like you to REFLECT on that thought for a few moments, as I share with you a wonderful SONG by Peter Mayer. It’s called, Stirrin’ Up the Water. The words are on the screen AND in your bulletin. May you listen PRAYERFULLY!

SONG: Stirrin’ Up the Water by Peter Mayer

And NOW, as I continue to SING, I would invite you to COMMIT yourself AGAIN to this church, AND to DOING God’s work IN and THROUGH this church. INVITE God’s to STIR up the waters of your BAPTISM, to STIR up your SOULS, so that you CONTINUE to be the WONDERFUL church that you are, and so that MIRACLES will CONTINUE to happen. Yes, COMMIT yourselves once again to your BAPTISM, to THIS church, and to DOING God’s work IN and THROUGH this church. And if YOU can MAKE that commitment, and you WANT God to STIR up the waters of your baptism (and I HOPE and PRAY that you CAN and you DO), then I invite you to come FORWARD, beginning in the REAR of EACH section, to have the minister or Deacon in front of you, MARK on your forehead a CROSS of water. And may it BE, for you, a SIGN of your commitment to your BAPTISM and to this CHURCH, as well as a SIGN of your INVITATION to God to STIR up the water of your baptism, to STIR up your SOUL, and to make MIRACLES happen. AS you come forward, I will just keep on SINGING until ALL have received the SIGN and been MARKED with the CROSS of water. You may come FORWARD whenever you’re ready.

SONG: Stirrin’ Up the Water

PRAYER: Holy God, we THANK You for stirring up the WATER, AND stirring up our SOULS, on this October Sunday morning. May this event be one of SIGNIFICANCE for EACH of us. And seeing our COMMITMENT to YOU, and to YOUR work of love and PEACE, may Your SPIRIT be ALIVE and at WORK, blessing THIS church with MANY miracles. May Your Spirit ALSO be ALIVE and at WORK in MY new ministry in KEENE, creating BLESSINGS and MIRACLES galore. Holy God, we pray these and ALL things in the name of YOUR Son, OUR Lord, the RISEN Christ, to whom be HONOR and GLORY forever and ever, and who has taught us to PRAY saying: Our Father…..

THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

CLOSING SONG (& OFFERING)

GORDON’S FAREWELL: By way of farewell, I have 6 things to say to you today:

1. First: Keep the FAITH. This church has accomplished some great things on faith, and so have most of YOU. So DON’T take your faith for granted. CHERISH it. NOURISH it! And KEEP it growing, so that it will always BE there for you. Remember the Sacred Circle of Discipleship: COMMUNION with God, COMMUNITY with one another, and MINISTRY in Christ’s name. Make all 3 elements part of your life.

2. Second, TREASURE this church. THIS church is UNIQUE! I know of NO other church like it. So, DON’T take it for granted. Give your time, your talent, and your treasure to KEEP it strong. But also keep working hard to make it better. Never rest on your laurels. And cherish EACH and every style of worship that you offer, and the people each one draws, because TOGETHER, you make this church what it IS.

3. Third, cherish your STAFF! You have an absolutely FABULOUS staff in this church! So, ENJOY them, LOVE them and SUPPORT them.

4. LOVE your NEW minister, AS you have loved ME. Make them think they’re the BEST minister there IS. And perhaps, they WILL be.

5. Fifth, know that you will be in my CONSTANT thoughts and prayers -- THROUGH this transition time, and BEYOND.

6. And finally, and most importantly, my family and I THANK you for EVERYTHING! You have been a SUPER church family to us! We’ve had 17 WONDERFUL years together! And I have to say that I love EACH and every ONE of you! I will MISS you terribly! But I’m desperately GRATEFUL to have SERVED you.

PAUL ROCHELEAU has asked he could speak at this as well.