"Aye Carumba... Let's Do the Rumba!!"          May 22, 2011             Jack Keating

Cicero United Methodist Church                       text:  Romans 12:11

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                        Recently while watching one of our favorite shows, Dancing with the Stars, we watched one of the dancing couples compete while dancing their version of the Rumba. The music was loud and Latin and although I don't remember the scores given by the judges, I do remember. the remarks one of them made. The "Icky Sweet" Carrie Ann Inaba and the semi-lovable old grump, Len Goodman had already weighed in. And then .. ,. The wild Bruno Tonioli had his chance to critique the performance, And in typical Bruno-style he proceeded to explain that the Rumba is a dance of Latin passion, excitement and needs to be filled with a zest for life and love! He talked about how the dance needs to leave a participant emotionally spent and physically drained after the last beat of the music dies away. Oh, and he said some other crazy things too. But I won't bother to go into those!!

            So how much is the Rumba, the emotional roller coaster ride, like our dancing with Jesus?

            Today's scripture reading from Paul's instructions to the Romans describes how we should dance our own Rumba with Jesus. The New International Version tells us .... "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." And in Eugene Peterson's The Message, we're told in even stronger terms.. .. "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant!"

            One of the popular bumper sticker themes over the last few years has been: "Let go and let God." And I understand the heart behind this. For many of us controllers, we're holding on to way too many things when God tells us to surrender them. But in a possibly more dangerous outlook, this phrase seems way too passive. We just can't sit back on our couch and hope to grow in character and in our Christ-likeness. The Bible speaks of an imperative urgency and the need for disciplines and diligence. We can't be spiritual slackers!

            Now I think some are way too passive because our caring quotient is worn out or because we think that we'll become this super Christian with just the passing of time. I have a friend who has referred to this as the "Phantom Christian Life". This, she says, is the belief that there is this victorious, problem-free life out there somewhere for me and someday, somehow, I'll get there. I just don't quite know when. But it's a life filled with bliss and beauty and all things spiritual.

            And it seems that this idea of being passive in all things has crept into our pop culture as well. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the CEO of Google predicted that in the future, Google will know so much about it's users that the search engine will be able to help them plan their lives. Using profiles from its customers and tracking their locations through their smart phones, Google will be able to provide live updates on their surroundings and inform them of the tasks they need to do. Here's what CEO Greg Schmidt said, "I actually think most people don't want Google to just answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next"

            Wayne Cordiero has written that "life will not give you what you want, neither will it give you what you think you deserve, instead life will give you what you're willing to settle for."

            A college freshman named Smitty became the field goal kicker for his football team. At the end of a game he was called on to go in and kick a game-winning field goal but Smitty wanted to make his mark so he changed plays in the huddle. The ball was hiked directly to him and he started running but was hit and fumbled the ball. The ball was picked up and the opposing player started running toward to other end zone.
Smitty's teammates couldn't catch him and then, out of nowhere, someone started gaining on him. This player was running like a streak of lightning. It was Smitty! He caught up with the opposing player and tackled him before he could score.

            The assistant coach turned to the head coach and remarked, "Did you know that Smitty had wheels like that? He beat our best athletes and made the tackle!" The head coach replied, "I'll tell you why. Those other guys were running because they were supposed to. Smitty was running because his life depended on it." Well friends, you and I must live like our lives depended on it. And, in addition, scripture tells us we need to live whole heartedly for Christ ... because the lives of others depend on it.

            I believe that one of the biggest obstacles facing any church today is the lack of passion or zeal. And that's especially true in churches that have completed some long- planned project or mission .... Like buying a conference center and expanding it's ministries! There is always the danger of any church becoming the dog that caught the parked car and trying to figure out what to do with it! In short a church can fall into the trap of loosing its zeal. Or to get a little more personal.. .. people in the church can loose their zeal.

            So today I want to propose to you that if you know that you lack, and you want to get back, then you can't slack. Or, as scripture reminds us, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

            One of my goals today is to help you memorize this short verse so that it sticks in our heads and in our hearts and then continues to work its way into our hands and our feet. So join me in saying it together, if you would ... "NEVER BE LACKING IN ZEAL, BUT KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL FERVOR, SERVING THE LORD."

            Now let's take a few minutes to break down that verse         .

            NEVER BE LACKING IN ZEAL. This is, I think, a warning about not being a spiritual slacker. The literal translation is 'in zeal, do not be lazy.' The word 'zeal' carries with it the idea of intense effort and motivation, doing something whole- heartedly, or with great enthusiasm. It is an attitude that leads to action. One author has very accurately put it like this: "Whatever is worth doing in the Christian life is valuable enough to be done with enthusiasm and care." And this is further reflected in Ecclesiastes 9:10... "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might...."

            Now sometimes crazy things are done in the name of zeal. It's easy to become zealous about a whole bunch of things like salt potatoes and chicken wings but we're cautioned in Proverbs 19:2 to make sure our zeal is tied to the truth: "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way."

            Literally the first part of Romans 12:11 reads this way, "in the diligence not slothful ... " Now some words that go along with diligence that I hope will help open up the meaning might be: speed, haste, passion, seriousness, urgency, eagerness, readiness, and dedication. One pastor has offered this super definition: "The persistent and passionate pursuit of divine directives in spite of discouraging difficulties."

            And the word lacking can be translated as slothful and has the idea of hesitating, delaying, idle, and lagging behind or being slow as a sloth. And slothfulness is one of the seven deadly sins.

            A sluggard is an idle, slothful person. In a commentary on Proverbs, Derek Kidner suggests there are four signs of a sluggard. See if any of these tendencies might be your tendencies, as well.

            (1) A sluggard will not begin things.
(2) A sluggard will not finish things.
(3) A sluggard will not face things.

            (4) A sluggard is restless with unsatisfied desire.

Kidner concludes that "The sluggard is no freak, but as often as not, an ordinary person who has made too many excuses, too many refusals and too many postponements."

            God calls out watchmen and watchwomen who were supposed to be alert in Isaiah 56:10.... "they lie around and dream, and they love to sleep." And remember how Jesus spoke those strong words to one who did not use what was given to him in Matthew 25:26: "You wicked, lazy servant!" Someone has defined laziness this way: "the tendency to remain where we are in life instead of moving to where we could and should be." With that definition, who among us is not lazy? And what are we going to do about it? If you know what you lack, and you want to get back, then you can't slack.

            BUT KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL FERVOR. If we're urged to "keep" our fervor that
means that we can lose it, right? We need to fight against our tendency to head south spiritually. I heard a missionary tell one time how she puts on her "spiritual armor" every day because she knows she's in a battle. In 1 Chronicles David wants to make sure that his son, Solomon does not become a spiritual slacker: "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind ... Be strong and do the work." There's not much passive about this, is there?

            The second phrase in Romans 12:11 literally reads, "In the spirit boiling over." I'm told that the Greek word 'fervor' means the sound that water makes when it comes to a boil. It can also refer to the glow of metal when it is super-heated. Jesus is interested in followers who boil in the depths of their souls for Him.

            Our Methodist hymnal contains John Wesley's seven instructions for singing from 1761. These directions were given because at the time the hymns were brand new and even daring people and some not-so-daring people didn't like the way they sounded. As a result, these people stopped singing. Imagine that, huh?

            So Wesley wrote point #4 which reads: "Sing... with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength." And then hear his seventh instruction: "Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself or any other creature."

            That last point makes me think of Phinehas in the Old Testament because he was known for his zeal for God's honor. Here's what God said about this man, who aimed to please God more than himself or anyone else in Numbers 25:11: "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not just put an end to them." God is still looking for men and women and young people to be zealous for His honor. Which of you will be that person?

            Now before you answer too quickly, Psalm 119:139 says that if you do have zeal for the Lord, you will probably be lonely and people's apathy will get under your skin: "My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words."

            I heard about a fire that broke out in a small-town church building. When the fire department arrived, the minister recognized one of the men as a long-absent church member. "Well there, Jim. I haven't seen you in church in a long time," he chided. To which the man replied, "Well, it's been a long time since there's been any FIRE in this church." Our zeal for God should be noticeable and verifiable to the entire community and world around us.

            Jonathan Edwards wrote some 70 resolutions as a young man. His sixth one captures, I think, the intent of Romans 12: 11: "Resolved: to live with all my might while I live." Maybe we could put it this way..... Wherever you are... be there! If you know that you lack, and you want it back, then you can't slack.

            SERVING THE LORD. Our attitude will eventually spill over into action. Zeal must be in our hearts... and then work its way out through our hands. We need to be eager and active, passionate and practicing, feeling and focused. If we are fervent for the Savior we will be faithful in serving Him. And it also works in reverse. If we have stopped serving it may be because we have lost some of our love for the Lord. The word "serving" is in the present tense, because it means it should always be our lifestyle or habit to serve. There is no room to say, "Yah, I used to serve but now I don't do anything." Our serving assignments may change over time, but our serving identity doesn't. A Christian who is not serving is a contradiction in terms.

            And I think it's helpful to come back to what the word "serve" really means. It comes from the Greek word doulos, which refers to one who is in bondage or bound to another. It was used of someone who dutifully obeyed the master's commands. You see, we are not simply "volunteers" signing up for an hour or two of our time; we are servants who are bound to the Master and what He wants. Look at how our verse ends--- "serving the Lord." In scripture Jesus is referred to some ten times as Savior and some seven hundred times as Lord. He is supreme in authority.          

            God is not interested in us just getting all excited or pumped up spiritually with some ecstatic experience. Spiritual energy is meant to be unleashed in serving the Lord, not to make us feel good. It's not about us. It's all about Him. We need sold-out servants who don't just do enough but instead go way beyond. Famous evangelist D.L. Moody once said: "The world has yet to see what God can do with a person fully consecrated to him. By God's help, I aim to be that person." If you know that you lack, and you want it back, then you can't slack.

            Romans 12: 11 is, to me, a challenge to never grow weary in being spiritual people and serving the Lord. It instructs me to begin looking for that next mountain I am called by God to climb as I live a life of commitment to serving Jesus and making disciples wherever He sends me. And I wonder how many mountains there are ahead for you and for our congregation to climb together.

            So I invite you to come along on this journey of the passionate and exciting dance of the Rumba. Give it everything you have, because as my friend Bruno Tonioli reminds us.... we should be emotionally spent and physically drained as the music plays on from the dance band. And that's another way of saying "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord". May it ever be so for each of us and this church!

Amen.