ARE YOU ON THE LIST?
Would you get out your message notes? Last week we started this new series called, “Heroes: Ordinary People Living Extraordinary Lives.” It’s based on the hit TV series called Heroes. I’D LIKE YOU TO WATCH THIS VIDEO - “HEROES INTRODUCTION”
Last week we learned that those who are heroes have certain identification marks. In the TV version, those who are heroes are also on a special list. A scientist from India discovered that certain people had “special abilities” so he made a list of their names, addresses, backgrounds and abilities.
The title of the message today is, “Are You On The List?” Did you know that God is a God of lists? Throughout the Bible you’ll find all kinds of lists mentioned. There are lists of genealogies, families, tribes, individuals, servants, kings, sins, blessings, cities, countries and many other lists mentioned in the Bible.
During the Christmas season we hear how “Santa is make a list and checking it twice.” Maybe this Christmas season you’re making a list of people who you’re going to buy gifts for. In case you’re wondering, my name is spelled, “Mark Jackson”. Maybe you’re making a list of things you need to get done before Christmas. Or, maybe you’re making a list of items your going to buy for Christmas dinner and the people you’re going to invite.
Psalms 15:1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? (MSG)
As special as it would be to come to your house for dinner, don’t you agree that it’s even more special to be invited to dinner at God’s place? How do you get on God’s guest list? That’s the real question, isn’t it?
In biblical times the Greeks used two words for “time”, one is “chronos” which we get the word chronological from, it refers to general calendar time like a date, week, month or year. That would be like me asking you come to my house for dinner at 5pm on Monday, December 3, 2007.
Now in each one of our lives there are moments that stand out. These are defining moments. They are moments that you remember forever. So the Greeks used another word called “cyros” to describe this kind of time. Chronos and cyros are radically different in terms of time.
While chronos refers more to the general aspect of time Cyros refers to a specific moment in time that can change your life. It’s a moment when you’re confronted with a choice or a decision or a potential action that holds the possibility of changing your life forever. Cyros moments are decisive moments. They’re moments where we either move ahead or stay behind. Cyros moments are break-through moments. They can either catapult you forward or backwards depending on what you do with them.
An example of a “cyros” moment is God giving you an opportunity to accept Jesus, get baptized, or join the church. Those are defining moments in your life.
Acts 2:41 Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day. (NCV)
That was a “cyros” moment for these people. They were immediately added to God’s list. They were all ordinary people that chose to live extraordinary lives.
This morning I’d like us to look at some lists mentioned in the Bible and learn from some of the defining moments in the lives of some heroes who stand out on God’s list. These are ordinary people who stepped into the cyros moments of their life and chose to live an extraordinary life.