Children Playing

“Children Playing”


Brimfield Faith UMC / January 29, 2012

Zechariah 8:3-8



THE WOES

I often get questions about how the Bible applies to our lives. There a great number of promises and blessings spoken all throughout the Scriptures. How do we know which were only for the people of the time and which are for us today? The prophets in the Old Testament spoke tremendous and powerful words of promise, hope and blessing to the people of their time. Throughout the Bible the Israelites found themselves under attack, oppressed, occupied, and exiled. They needed words the criticized the status quo, words of encouragement, words that energized them, words that broke through the numbness they experienced. They needed hope. Depending on how you count, there are at least 17 books in the Old Testament that are strictly prophetic books, including 12 minor prophets, referred to as such because they wrote short books. Over the next several weeks, I hope to explore the prophetic promises declared in the Old Testament and see how those declarations can apply to our lives.

To understand the promises and blessings of the prophets it is helpful to understand the men and women who made these declarations. The prophets were real people that spoke to real people caught in difficult situations. The prophetic book we are looking at this morning is Zechariah. Zechariah was the son of Berechiah son of Iddo speaking to a people ruled by Darius. The prophet’s role is frequently believed to simply be to predict the future. The role of the prophet is much more complex than that. The prophet’s role begins by criticizing the status quo in order to creatie an alternative reality rooted in heaven. That is accomplished by energizing and amazing the people towards that vision and that prophetic promise. The prophet gave people hope and brought people through difficulty into the promises of God.



PROPHETIC PRINCIPLES

The specific promises spoken to the people by the prophet were intended for those people and to be fulfilled in the future, hopefully the near future. Yet, that doesn’t mean they don’t apply to us today. Specific prophetic promises may not directly pertain to us but that doesn’t mean we need to ignore them. Behind Biblical prophetic promises are principles that speak powerfully into our lives.

Let’s look at Zechariah 8 together. In verse 3 God says, “I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.” He goes on to describe a city full of peace where old men and women walk the streets with staff in hand and boys and girls will be playing. On an initial read, we might think that’s nice but it isn’t for me. Zechariah is speaking to specific people about a specific place. Nice sentiment but not for me. We could talk about the theology of the church and its relationship to the prophetic promises of the Old Testament, but I don’t want to put you to sleep. Instead, I want to you to see the prophetic principle behind the text. God longs for a city of peace for his people to reside.

When we find the principles the promises, we unlock our ability to reclaim the promises. These prophetic words are in many ways invitations for us to claim the principles. We can read a passage like this and say I want this for my life. I want this for my family. I want this for my church. I want this for my city. Therefore, Prophetic principles are meant to be reclaimed as promises and transformed into realities. That is the role of the prophet. That is the role of every Christian today.



CRITICISM

The process of fulfilling principles and reclaiming promises today begins by criticizing that which surrounds us. It means critiquing the status quo. It means breaking through the numbness of the masses. It strives to deprogram wrong ways of thinking. It exposes wrong for wrong, injustice for injustice, and oppression for oppression.

In Brimfield it might mean crying out against the meth problem ruining our young adults and running rampant in our motels. It might mean crying out against the lack of support for our school districts and library programs. It might mean waking people up to the gambling places invading every empty building in town. It gets upset about broken homes, divorce, and addiction. Instead of accepting the hopelessness of the world, Prophetic criticism crushes the perception that normal is normal.

Certain people are really good about crying out against the woes of society. I spoke just yesterday to another pastor who was fired up about another store being granted a license to sell beer and wine. He was crying out against the status quo. Every time something “evil” tries enters Brimfield, he is there to rally to the troops against it. While I agree on many of the issues that rile this pastor up, I only know him for what he is against. The prophet cannot only be known for what he is against.



ALTERNATIVE REALITY

An effective critique of society’s woes will awake the consciousness of the masses. Once the masses are awakened, we must energize people towards an alternative reality. The prophet must move people towards an alternative reality. The prophetic principle found in Zechariah is that God desires safe place and cities to exist in the world. God longs for pockets of people to exist in a chaotic world. Peace can be found internally. It can be nurtured in a family. It can be fostered in a community. It can be developed in a region. Zechariah’s prophetic promise for Jerusalem is peace. The prophetic principle for today is still peace.

Prophet cannot create these places by themselves. You cannot create peace on your own. You must mobilize others to work with you. We must work together if we are going to transform a community and transform the prophetic principles back into promise which can become realities. We look for assets in our church and our community to partner to create alternative realities. Those safe places. We must be creative in how we create these safe places.

Recently I have seen creative in our community to overcome difficulty that can help us create safe places. Two examples I have seen are in our community are our police department and are schools. Our police department has gained quite a reputation in the greater Cleveland area. We are regularly on the news for catching criminals that other departments haven’t been able to catch. They have a free tank and a free hummer because of Chief Oliver's creativity. They are working to create a safer community. They do this with two duty officers on shift at a time and a police station housed in an old auto shop. They carry the prophetic mantle to creating a better Brimfield. The question becomes, how can we, as the church, partner with them to reclaim even more of the promises of God for this city?

Another example is the Field School district. There is a lack of support financially due to failed levies. Please start voting yes on the levies, our entire futures are at stake. God’s heart is for our children to have safe and excellent places to be educated. The schools are working hard to fulfill this reality despite its obstacles. At Suffield Elementary, they have started a jump roping club before school. Over 100 kids come regularly with excitement to jump rope. One of the reasons this is so exciting is that PE has been drastically cut, almost completely out of the school curriculum. The schools ought to be fulfillments of prophetic promises of peace and yet many places we fail. The teachers at our schools are overcoming obstacles. How can we partner with the schools to make them refuges of peace in the community?





THE REAL REALITY

I believe God has called Brimfield to be a place of refuge and peace. If that is going to happen, our church and the churches of Brimfield need to be on the leading. To be prophetic means we know the needs of our community and cry out against it. We support some great alternative realities: Boy Scouts, AA, the Food Cupboard, the youth group, the Kidz Program. We must continue to create these alternative realities. We need to self evaluate, to look from within, and to listen to the voice of God. Breaking out of the mindlessness the world teaches us and into God’s reality is difficult. It requires people to speak out, to cry out as the voice of God. The church’s role is to make creative safe places for people to live. Places of freedom. Places of purpose. Of love. Of acceptance. Of peace. Of joy. And not just in the church but in the community.

ALL Altnerative realities begin by hearing the voice of God. Know this... Prophecy is not dead. God is still calling people to be his mouth pieces. In fact, each of you is encouraged to seek the gift of prophecy.(1 Corinthians 14). Everyone has the ability to hear from Heaven and speak it to those who need to hear a word of hope, encouragement, strength and comfort. We each can create a place of refuge and alternative reality. This church has succeeded in that task and has miles to go. If we can continue to listen to God’s voice, heed the cries of the prophet and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, then we will continue to create radical alternatives. We will apply the principle and claim the promise of Zechariah 8 where we see peace reign in the city. Where people can walk safely in the streets and where children have safe places to play.

The redecoration and rededication of the nursery in memory of my son, Jude, is a prophetic fulfillment of Zechariah 8. It is creating a radical alternative in the church. A place where children are energized, safe and loved. I am eternally grateful for those financial gifts that made it possible and the gifts given every Sunday that make our call to bring the Kingdom of heaven down to earth. For me, the nursery is evidence that God is still speaking, that the Holy Spirit is still moving, and that hope is still alive. The prophets of old still have contemporary promises for us to claim today. I hope you see and hear that the prophetic voice of heaven is alive and active in this place.

Let’s pray.