We are finishing up our series No Wake Zone and today is our fifth and final message in this series. We’ve entitled it Wakeboarding. We’re going to talk about that a little bit. On your way out this morning, I think these are really cool, we have a gift for you. You got up early, lost an hour of sleep but we’re going to give it back to you with a refrigerator magnet, because that’s what you came here for this morning. This magnet is meant to remind you of this series. So, we want one per family, if you could, take one of those. It’s just reminding us of the basic keys that we’ve talked about in this No Wake Zone series.
In week number one we talked about assessing our wake. All of us in life, we throw a wake and our wake is, really, the results that our life leaves behind. And, we’re one hundred percent responsible for our wake so it’s important from time to time to turn around, walk to the back of the boat, if you will, and take a look at the wake that you’re leaving, how is it affecting people in your life.
Then in week number two we begin to talk about how to build this no wake zone, because that’s what we want. We want a no wake zone home. I want no wake relationships around me. So, we spent the next three weeks talking about how to build a no wake zone. That’s what you’ll see on this magnet if you get one, just to remind you of the building blocks of a no wake zone.
Number one is authenticity, that’s what we looked at. You can’t have trust without truth. Authenticity is not just telling the truth but it is the courage to tell the truth, the courage to deal with hopes, fears and dreams, those kind of things that you have in your life. In week number two we talked about forgiveness. We said that forgiveness is a choice and it is a process. You’ll never have a no wake zone in your life without this building block of forgiveness. So, you can think about that. Last week we talked about selflessness, that’s how we build a no wake zone, because we get in the way. We throw a large wake when we’re selfish and that destroys relationships around us. So, we begin to build a no wake zone when we die to ourselves and we practice honor. Honor is literally blessing another person by giving them the worth that is theirs because they are a creation of our heavenly Father.
So today, we’re going to look at a whole different issue. We’re not building a no wake zone today; we’re talking about how to deal with high wakers. That’s a phrase you won’t see in Webster’s Dictionary. It’s just something that we’ve just come up with here at New Vision, a high waker. Who are high wakers?
Well, let’s think a little bit about them. We all have high wakers in our life. You can choose your friends. As it comes down to having some folks that you hang out with and develop friendships, you just won’t hang around a high waker very long, you’ll just move on to someone else. You can’t really pick your family so you’ll have high wakers in your family, or maybe folks that you work with or do business with that are high wakers, or you may go to school with them, or they may live in your neighborhood. One thing that we all have in common here today is that we have high wakers in our life. We have difficult people in our life that throw off a really high wake. Today we’re going to talk about how to deal with that.
We’ve entitled the message Wakeboarding. I borrowed my son Will’s wakeboard. He said, "You can take it as long as you tell them it’s mine." I don’t have a wakeboard. That would kind of freak you out if I did. Have you ever tried to ride one of these? Anybody tried to ride one of these things? Show of hands. I don’t know, two or three of you. It’s hard. It’s really hard. When somebody’s good on a wakeboard it’s the coolest thing. To watch them and they’re jumping and spinning around. After a while I’ll look at it and I’ll think that looks easy. So, I tried it. It’s not. It’s not easy at all and I looked foolish. We’re going to talk about how to deal with those.
It’s interesting, through the history of time, how people have dealt with high wakers. If you were a high waker, if you were a person who cheated in business or you were immoral or if you were a child who was continually rebellious to your parents, you know what they did in the Old Testament world? They just killed you. They stoned you. That’s how they dealt with high wakers. In the Old West, sort of similar, right? If you had a bad reputation, you threw off a high wake long enough, somebody took you outside in the middle of the street and they shot you. That’s how they dealt with high wakers there.
Now, we don’t have that option today in our culture. It’s different. So, how do I deal with these high wakers? Here’s what I want you to do to make this exceedingly practical today. Husbands, don’t let your wife look. Wives, don’t let anybody look on. Kids, don’t let your parents look. In your notes, I want you to write down the highest waker in your life. Don’t let anybody look. It’s funny because you want to look on your neighbors. You want to make sure that you’re not the high waker, right? "I hope it’s not me. That’d be terrible."
If it is the person beside you, just don’t do that because the risk is too high. Who is the highest waker in your life? I know. If you would ask me that question I could immediately spit that out to you. I know who that is. So, I want you to think about that. In that context, we’re going to take a look today at a new perspective. That’s what we’re going to talk about, a new perspective, a new lens, if you will. A new way of looking at high wakers.
I would say to you today, I would contend that it is the right way, or the only way, to deal with difficult people. Here’s the thing. We talk about relationships as if they’re so mysterious and so hard. I’ve even said that. As I’ve studied this week and thought, I’ve just been convicted by that. I don’t think that’s right. I think there’s really only one way to do relationships right. There are a myriad of ways to do relationships wrong. There’s really only one way to do relationships right. As it comes down to high wakers, there’s really only one way to have a relationship with a high waker that is right. We’re going to see that from God’s Word.
If you have your Bibles, let’s go ahead and open them up to I John, way back at the very end of your Bible. I John 4. John who wrote the fourth Gospel. John who wrote the letter of Revelation. John was able to say more with fewer words than any other writer in the New Testament. He was the beloved Disciple. He had closest access to Jesus because he was the youngest of the disciples. John, really, influenced by the Holy Spirit, speaks a word of truth to us about how to deal with difficult people relationally. There’s really no way around what John has to say.
I John 4:19. If you would, let’s stand as we read from God’s Word this morning. We’ve been doing that the last couple weeks because we are coming under the authority of God’s word. I John 4:19, John says, "We loved because he first loved us," talking about the Lord. "If anyone says I love God yet hates his brother, he is a liar." Don’t you wish John would just shoot straight with you? I mean, quite beating around the bush, John. Tell me what you’re thinking. He’s very honest. "For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God." To that, we would stop and say, "We’ll who’s my brother?" That’s pretty strong. If anyone says that you don’t love your brother then you can’t love God, "Well who’s my brother?" That reminds me of something, and we’ll finish reading this text. Jesus was engaged with that kind of question when an expert in the law came to him and, probably, he was taught up by the Pharisees to try to trick Jesus. He says, "Hey Jesus, how can I really inherit eternal life." Jesus said, "Obey the law." Jesus understood this guy’s heart. So the guy says, "No, you tell me, how do you read the law?" Jesus says, "Well, it’s this way. It’s to love the Lord your God with your heart, soul and your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." The expert in the law says, "You’ve done well Jesus." He starts to walk away and then he says, "Who’s my neighbor, because I hope it’s not somebody I don’t like. I hope it’s not a difficult person." Then Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus is saying, our neighbor is everyone that we do life with. We are to forgive, as followers of Jesus Christ, everybody of everything all the time. We’re to love those in our life. That’s what Christ is talking about.
Now back at I John, "For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command, whoever loves God must also love his brother." Father today, as we’re studying your word and talking about a very difficult principle, teach us some truth. Give us a lens. Help us to see these high wakers different than we’ve ever seen them before in our life. Lord, I pray that, consequently, as we come under your authority and obey, Lord that you’d bring some relational freedom in our life in such a powerful and profound way. In Jesus’ name, Amen. You can be seated this morning.
Let’s look at our notes today. We’re talking about this first point. Here’s all we’re talking about. A new perspective. A new way of seeing these high wakers in our life. I hope you have that person in your mind. I hope you’re playing along here with me. I hope you’re thinking about someone. Maybe it’s somebody at the office. Maybe it’s an extended family member. Maybe it’s somebody from your past. Maybe it’s a neighbor, whoever that is. We’re going to talk about a new perspective for looking at these high wakers.
Let’s understand quickly this morning what God said in his Word. We saw in I John some very, very basic principles that we have to take into consideration. Here’s what John said. Let’s look at our notes. God’s love towards me is the motivation of my love towards others. That is what motivates me, that God loved me. Let’s think about this today. God chose to love me while I was exceedingly selfish. I don’t know about you. When God began to move and work in my life and convict me of my sin and show me that I had a need for relationship with him, I was exceedingly selfish. I wasn’t very lovable. So, that is what motivates me, or that is the model. That’s how I am to love other people, the way that God has loved me.
Look at this, the second thing that we see. I love others for God’s sake, not for mine. Love for us in our culture’s just very self serving. As long as someone is meeting my needs, as long as someone votes politically the way I vote, as long as someone likes the team that I like or whatever, we’re in. The moment that anything they do is different from us then we have a problem.
If you’re a parent, let me say this. Have you ever said to your kids, when you’ve asked them to do something and they don’t want to do it, "Would you just do this for me this one time?" You ever said something like that? I find myself doing that a lot. I’ve told you before. We talked about it last week. When I’m in a restaurant and I see some members of our church sitting there, I say, "Guys, please behave. Do it for me. Do this for your dad. For the next thirty minutes help me. I need to keep this job until I can get you guys at least through college. So, please." We say that, do this for my sake. And, we have to put pressure on them. This is what the Lord’s saying. "Hey, it’s the unlovable, it’s the high waker. Would you love them for my sake, not for yours. This really isn’t about you. This is a way that you love me."
This is what John says that is exceedingly convicting. Look at our notes. How can I hate a visible image of God’s creation and pretend to love the invisible creator? That doesn’t really work. That doesn’t make sense. That’s the dilemma that John’s having. If we say we hate someone who is a physical creation of God, another human being, yet we love the invisible creator, John says that doesn’t seem to make sense at all in my life.
What John is saying is that our love for the unlovable is really a defining characteristic of what it means to be a Christ follower. Two weeks ago on a Friday night, Doug and I were flying back from Dallas. We’d been knocked off two straight flights. There was a lot of weather in the northeast so they were routing people through Nashville and we were having trouble getting on a plane. I told you before, I preach because I can’t sit still. I could not do what you’re doing today. I’m hyper. I’m always like that. So, I was miserable in the airport, and ill. Finally we get on a plane late that evening and come back. The plane is just packed. It is just slam packed with people. We got three seats, Doug and me. I’m praying that the third person does not show up beside me so that we can have a little space because we’re both bigger guys. We need our room.
It looked like we were going to be saved and the third person wasn’t coming. Then, right at the very end it was just like scene out of a movie. Right before the door closes, here she comes. She comes walking back and she sits down beside me. They ruined the chance that Doug and I could get some space between us in the middle. She sat down. Just out of a reaction, I just leaned over to her and said, "Hey, how you doing?" She put her book down and she looked at me right in the eyes and she said, "You’re a Christian aren’t you?" I said, "Not a very good one right now if you knew what I was thinking. Not a real good one." I said, "Well, yes ma’am I am." I just could hear Doug chuckling over there beside me.
She said, "I fly all the time. I fly just about every day, all over the country. I’m just flying all over the country." She says, "Do you know what’s so fascinating to me?" I said, "No, but tell me, because I want to chat it up for the next hour and a half, that’s what I want to do." She says, "Christians are the only people that ever talk on a plane. I’ve noticed that. Christians are the only people that will ever turn in and talk to you." She said, "That is so interesting to me." Isn’t that fascinating? That is exactly what John is saying in John 13:34-35, "This is a new command," Jesus says, "I give you. That you should love one another, and by your love will all people know that you’re my disciples." It is a defining characteristic of us, loving the unlovable.
Let’s think about this today. Let’s try to apply these principles just a little bit. Here’s what I want to try to do. For the next few moments, I want to try to give you a lens. I want to try to help you see the unlovable person in your life different then you’ve really probably ever seen them before. Do you understand what I’m asking and what I’m going to try to do? I’m not saying I’m going to pull it off. I hope the Holy Spirit’s going to help me. I think we need a new lens for seeing these difficult people in our life.
Let’s look at the first thing here today. High wakes in the present often reveal hurtful pain from the past. That’s a complicated way of saying the high waker that is in your life, there is a reason, most likely, that they are throwing off a high wake. It is, most likely, because they have some pain, they have some weight, they have some baggage from their past. If you could begin to see, probably, that high waker in your life is a hurting person. A person who’s had some difficulty in their life. It’s a start to begin to see them differently.
I have a friend who has a wakeboarding boat. That’s pretty cool isn’t it? I love boats. My wife is...when I’m driving down the road, if I see someone that’s pulling a boat behind them, I will break the speed limit. I will do whatever so I can pull up beside and just take a look at the boat. She says, "It may not be a woman that cause you to look and run off the road but it is going to be a boat that causes you to kill your whole family." So, that’s a stronghold for me. I love them. This guy’s got a wakeboarding boat. He took my boys and I out in his boat. Wakeboarding boats are specifically designed to ride one of these. In his boat, he can hit a switch or a lever, and allow water to come in to the hull of that boat and weigh that boat down. Do you know why? I’m going to tell you. When that boat sits lower in the water, it throws a bigger wake. Wakeboarders like big wakes because the bigger the wake the higher they can jump and the more tricks they can do. So, it creates greater drag.
I was hoping he’d turn the switch off so we didn’t get too low in the water right? There’s a point that that’s overkill. But anyways, that’s what I’m asking you first and foremost to see. Do you remember the person you wrote down on your paper? The person that you have in your mind right now? Are you playing along with me? Do you understand? The reason, most likely, that they are throwing a high wake is because they’re sitting real low in the water. They’re very heavy because of something that has happened in their past.
Hurting people only know how to hurt people. We’ve talked about that before. That’s the next thing in your notes. Some of you already went ahead and are filling that in. Way to go. Hurting people only know how to hurt people. Now here’s another thing. I am in this battle with you. If you came and asked me, "Hey, who is the highest waker in your life?" I could spout that person’s name off in a nanosecond. I know who it is. Every time I’m around this person, they know how to push my buttons and I have, consequently, over the years, I know how to push their buttons. It’s pretty easy. So, I’m in this today. I’m not saying that I have overcome this. I’m in this with you.
Look at this. You might even put that person’s name down in your notes, if you really want to get serious and get exceedingly practical. High wakers are not the enemy but they may be influenced by the enemy. Do you understand that we have an enemy? Do you understand that today? The Bible says, "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but every spiritual principality in the heavenlies." Could somebody nod? There is spiritual warfare going on. There is a real enemy. When I look at that person, I want to make them the enemy. Don’t you? I want to get so angry because of the way they have responded and reacted to me in the past and how they’ve hurt me. The things they’ve said to me and to my family. My tendency in my flesh is to make them the enemy. Anybody else like that? That’s easier for me because we want to draw the battle lines. I want to know what I’m up against.
Well, here’s what we’re up against. That person is not the enemy. There is a real enemy. He may use people, and he does use people in our life to hurt us. When I begin to see that person, "Hey, you’re not the enemy." I have to say that. I did that this week as I was with that person and they said something that irritated me and angered me. I just had to go through this and I had to put that lens over my eyes and had to say, "You know what? Father, I realize they’re not the enemy. They aren’t the enemy. There is a real enemy that may be influencing this person." I would just tell you, just for me, it helped me. It made a big difference even in the way that I was thinking or feeling in that moment. I hope it helps you.
Now let’s look at this. With high wakers, and we all have them. They may be a family member. Again, I don’t know who yours is, neighbor, co-worker. I don’t know. With high wakers in my life, it’s not my job to fix them, nor is it my job to figure them out. Now, let’s think about that for a second. This is what we do, especially guys, I think. We fix things. That’s what we do, or at least try to. I don’t have a lot of luck with that. But that’s my tendency. With this high waker in my life, for the last, I don’t know, fifteen years, I’ve been trying to figure this person out. I thought that was my job. I’m like Dr. Phil in their life. I need to figure them out. I need to figure out what’s going on with this person. That’s why I’m on this planet, to figure them out. I’m going to walk in and save the day. I’m going to fix them. That’s why I’m here. Do you know what? Now, after all these years, I don’t understand them anymore and I haven’t fixed them. Do you know what I’m realizing? It’s not my job to figure them out and it’s not my job to fix them. It is my job to do one thing and that is, turn into them. Now my secretary said, "Please help people understand." When I say turn in, I’m talking about lean in, change direction, lean into them, not be just like them, not morph into them. Do you understand that? Lean into them and love them.
Let’s think about this. Just play along with me. How many of you have ever been pulled behind anything in a boat, an inner tube? Most of us here have done that. Skis? Wakeboard? We’ve done that. Back when I was a kid, I used to go with my neighbor and he had an old inner tube off a tractor tire. That’s what we did. Had the big metal thing coming out of it, you could have killed somebody. We were just tickled to death to be out there riding that thing. They’ve got everything now today.
Here’s what interesting. The first time you’re pulled behind anything in the boat, it’s really pretty exhilarating isn’t it? I mean, it’s a little scary. I wasn’t scared but you probably were. It’s exhilarating and you’re holding so tight. When you first get up, whether that’s on an inner tube or on a set of skis...you see people and you can always tell the first time somebody’s skiing can’t you? They’re bent over like this. Their arms are out. They’re just hanging on. Where are they? They’re right behind the boat aren’t they? They stay inside the wake. Then, after they’ve skied a little bit, they start to get confidence. What always happens? Usually with little boys quicker, what do they want to do? They have to get outside there. That’s where the good stuff is, right? I mean, you’re back there and as soon as you get your senses about you and realize, "I’m up. I’m doing this. It’s on. Look at me." You think, "Boy, it looks a lot smoother over there." So, you lean out and then that’s where it gets dicey. Because, before you can get to the good stuff what happens? What do you have in between you? You’ve got a wake. You’ve got a big wake. You think, "Okay, I’ll try it on the other side because I see good stuff over there." So, you lean to the other side and guess what? You’re trapped by wakes aren’t you?
You can stay there. You can stay in that small, confined space. It’s not smooth. I mean, you’re catching the propeller. The water’s choppy there. You can stay there. It’ll beat you to death, right but you can stay there. It’s relatively safe. You’re not going to experience any abundance, but you realize that good stuff is outside the wake. That’s where we are relationally. Some of us stay locked in to unhealthy stuff because we don’t want to turn in and face that high waker in our life. We will never experience the abundance that God wants us to experience until we turn in and face that person in our life. Quit trying to figure them out.
Let me tell you something I think that’ll help you. I want you to change the way that you look at this high waker today. We’ve mentioned a few things. Realize that they’re probably throwing off a high wake because they’re hurting. They’re not the enemy. They may be influenced by the enemy but they’re ultimately not the enemy. Would you agree with that? Some of you are giving me such a weird look because I know what you’re saying, "If you could just, let me tell my story because I the rules don’t apply to my high waker." Hang on. Hang on.
Look at this. Look at your notes. I want you to see them as a person who provides a great opportunity for you to show off spiritually. That’s what high wakers do. High wakers provide you a great opportunity to show off spiritually. In fact, I would ask you to think, today, that the high wakers that God has allowed in your life are a test. They’re not going anywhere until you pass the test. Do you see that? God wants to use it to grow you, to refine you, for you to step out of your comfort zone and turn in, turn away from what you want to do and walk in obedience to what God wants you to do, to face that difficult person in your life and watch God bring you over. If you’ve ever been out on the lake and seen somebody who’s really good on a wakeboard, every time they come by a group of people in a boat, anytime there’s a crowd, you see them swing way out, pick up some speed and they come back and they do a trick. They want somebody to notice. It’s just no fun if you can do cool stuff and nobody can see it. That’s no fun is it? What is that? I can just stay at home. If you can do cool stuff, you want people to see you don’t you? You better believe it.
So you watch, and sometimes you’ll be out at the lake, you’ll hear people clap or yell out. Here is the deal. I believe one of the reasons God has allowed a high waker in your life is because he wants you to use that person to show off spiritually, for you to love them in a way that you can’t do on your own, to show what he’s able to do in impossible, difficult situations. God specializes in the impossible doesn’t he? Do you believe that? He specializes in the impossible. Christ walked out of the grave after three days. Death couldn’t hold him back. Do you think that high waker in your life is going to keep you from experiencing what God wants you to experience? Absolutely not. God is allowing that person, I believe a test.
Now let me say this. Sooner or later we’re going to have to face this issue and deal with it. If not, it never goes away. We have to see if we can pass that test and grow spiritually past that, and then we can show off spiritually in our life. Let me say this to you today. The high waker may be your spouse. I don’t know who it may be in your life. It may be somebody really close. Some of you today will go home and you may pick up the phone, or you may sit at the computer and you may turn in just a little bit to that person because the preacher said to do it. God said to do it and so I’m going to turn in. You’re going to turn in and the angelic music is not going to happen. They’re not going to say, "I’ve been waiting for you to call for two years. Oh, this is so amazing. I love you so much and I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you. I’ve really been a jerk. In fact, I’ve come up with this word about myself. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard it, I’ve been a high waker in your life." "Oh, that’s so amazing. We were talking about that today at church. How cool is that?" That’s not going to happen. In fact, you may just turn in to them a little bit and put yourself out there some and say something sweet, or do something sweet, and they may just really cut you to the quick again. You may crash.
It’s kind of like when I take my boys. I tried to teach my oldest son to ski. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not the most patient person in the world. I think I tried to share that. I would go over the rules with him. "Now here’s what you do. You hang on, Dad’s going to hit the gas. Lean forward. You got it?" He’s back there in this fetal position and I’ve given him a hundred rules. "All right when I get...just stand up. It’s easy. Do it." So, I hit the gas and he crashes.
Now here’s the thing. When somebody falls skiing, it’s about ten minutes before you can loop back around and get the rope lined up. They usually miss the rope the first time, so there you go again. Ten minutes and you’re ready to try it over again. It can be exhausting. I know you’re feeling for me, "What a guy that he lays himself out there that much. Boy, what a servant. The guy is so sacrificial." It is tough. It just takes some time. He gets up, and he may stay up just a little bit longer but he falls again. Then you go over the same thing. Gas is like eight dollars a gallon now at the boat dock and so you’re thinking, "Come on." But you know what I’ve found? Every single time that he fell, he was gaining a little bit more confidence and he was learning something. He was applying some principles, just a little bit more. He didn’t really believe me that you were supposed to lean forward. He didn’t really believe me. It took him falling and not succeeding before he said, "Ah hah, I might try it your way." So, every single time he got a little bit better.
I tell you what. That’s the way it is relationally. When I lean in towards someone, when I apply a biblical principal of forgiveness or of honor, or anything of these things that we’ve talked about. When I take God at his Word and lean in to that person, I might crash. It might be hard. It might be difficult. You know what? After the smoke clears, after I come back that evening, you know what I might say, "God, I’ve learned a little bit more about you. I’m trusting your Word a little bit more. I’ve learned a little bit more about that person and I’m not going to give up. I’m going to continue to go forward."
Aren’t you glad that’s the way God’s been with us? I don’t know about your relationship but, boy, God has spoken to me through his Word and through people in my life time and time again and I’ve done it the wrong way over and over again. Do you know what God in his grace has kept doing to me? He’s kept swinging the boat back around, letting me pick up the rope and try it again. Over and over and over again. God hasn’t grown weary of me. How about you? Has God been faithful and gracious in your life, to teach you these principles? Has he? Could somebody nod? I mean, I don’t know. I’m asking. He sure has in my life. That’s how I should be relationally, as I do that. It’s a very, very important thing.
Now, let’s think about this today as we close. God hasn’t quit. He hasn’t quit on you relationally. Listen, Hear me say this. It is just not good for a follower of Jesus Christ to quit on somebody else relationally. It’s just not honoring to the Lord at all.
Let’s wrap this up today. These are the high stakes of high wakers. There are high stakes when you’re dealing with high wakers. It’s risk reward. It could be very rewarding but it is exceedingly risky. Let’s talk about it a little bit. Here’s the first thing. Here’s one of the reasons, I think, that God allows high wakers in my life. Look at your notes. How I handle the high wakers in my life is a good indication of who has a handle on me. Now listen to me. I don’t have a lot of time. If you’re a person that when you come face to face with a difficult person, you just blow them off, you just have a lot of hatred, there’re just a lot of people that you can’t stand in your life, that you could care less. Even as I’m talking today you’re saying, "I could care less about bridging the gap with anybody who’s been hurtful or harmful to me in my life. No way I’m ever going to do that."
Well, I understand that. I hear that. Do you know what that’s showing you? That’s showing you who really has a handle on your heart. Let me tell you something. I believe if the Lord Jesus has a handle on your heart, if God’s Holy Spirit is alive in your heart, you’re going to have a desire to mend broken relationships, to love the unlovable. That’s not a desire that you have naturally in your flesh. It is a supernatural desire of a follower of Christ. Do you hear that? Those of you who are in Christ, would you agree with that? It is the Lord alive in my life that creates desire to love the unlovable. So, if I don’t have a desire to love the unlovable, it may be that God hasn’t placed that desire there because he hasn’t come to live inside of my life as a follower.
Choosing, as we look on in our notes, choosing to turn in, or to engage, a high waker is a move from relational ruin to relational redemption. If you had to ask me, what is one thing that God’s teaching you in your life today? I believe it’s this concept of redemption. I believe that every relationship that you have with anybody is moving toward one of two directions, because we as human beings are fallen, we’re difficult. Our natural tendency is to be selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed, and that creates relational ruin. Do you understand? We said it last week, if you choose to live your life for yourself, sooner or later you will be all what? By yourself. So, relationships are either tracking toward ruin or they are tracking toward redemption.
One of the things that’s fascinating about pastoring a church in the same city where you went to high school, it’s hard but it’s awesome. God is giving me a chance that some of you, maybe, don’t have. I get a chance to have a do over with some relationships. There’s some folks in my life right now that don’t come to church here. I wasn’t the best example in front of them at times gone by. I’ve had a chance to step in their life and say, "You know what? I want our relationship to be redeemed. I want to do it right from this point on and this point forward." All relationships are tracking toward ruin or redemption. You have to think about that. Which track do I want to be on? Very, very important.
Avoidance is not the answer to redemption. You have to lean in. You have to choose to do that. Now, here it is. This is so crucial. If you miss this, and I know it’s time to go. If you drift here and miss this you’ll get hurt. If you’re here today and say, "I’m going to try this. I’m going to lean in to a high waker this week." If you don’t get this point, you are going to get hurt. Do I have your attention? High wakers are dangerous and they will drown you.
Let’s look at our notes here. High wakers are dangerous and you better make sure that you set appropriate boundaries. If you’re going to engage, if you’re going to turn in to a high waker, you better set appropriate boundaries. Have you ever seen the movie The Great Outdoors with John Candy and Dan Akyroyd? Have you seen that? Hilarious movie. I love it. John Candy is trying to teach his son how to ski. Do you remember that, big John Candy? He’s up on the dock there. He’s got the skis and the life jacket on. He’s giving his son all the rules about skiing. He’s leaning. He’s showing his son what to do. He says, "Now, the most important rule. When you fall," what does he say? "Let go of the rope. Let go of the rope. If you don’t let go of the rope you are going to get hurt." So, something happens. It’s a strange twist of events. Dan Akyroyd thinks John Candy wants to ski so he just rips him off of the dock and there John Candy goes. He’s skiing and he doesn’t want to be skiing. He’s just everywhere. He’s all over the lake and he forgets the most important principle, to let go of the rope and he almost dies in the process. It’s just a funny scene as all that goes down.
Somewhere along the line we don’t have any rules or any boundaries relationally. We have boundaries and rules for so many other areas of our life. If you play sports, there’s rules and boundaries in sports. If you get out and get into your car today, there are rules and boundaries on the streets to keep us from going into chaos. The lake is a dangerous place isn’t it? There are buoys out there on the lake that show you where the water is shallow and you have to stay inside the channel or you’re going to get hurt because the lake can be a dangerous thing. Relationships are dangerous. If you are going to lean in and engage a high waker, you better have some boundaries.
Let me define boundaries and then I’m going to tell you a few boundaries that I have in my life. Boundaries are this, and it’s not in your notes but you may want to write this down. Or, you may want to look like you’re writing this down, because that really helps me. If you look like you’re interested it encourages me.
Boundaries are a set of relational rules. That’s what a boundary is. They are a set of relational rules that both sides realize they cannot cross and see success relationally. One of the high wakers that I deal with in my life, one of the boundaries that I have to set is a historical boundary. Now, what do I mean by that? Historical means we cannot go back to the past. If you bring up the past, when I am involved in conversations with this person, if they bring up the past, or if I bring up the past, then the other one has a right to throw a flag. "That’s a penalty. You’ve crossed a boundary." You will not have success relationally if you violate a boundary. Listen. You have to have boundaries for these high wakers in your life. I can’t set them for you. You know what they are, at least some starters to get started in that relationship. That’s the only way the relationship can track in a healthy way. Does that make some sense to you? Do you understand just a little bit about how that could work in a relationship?
Let me close with this. The highest waker in the Old Testament I could think about was Saul. We started the series with King Saul. Remember King Saul threw a spear and tried to pin David to the wall? That’s a high waker isn’t it? You better have some boundaries if you’re dealing with a dude like that or somebody’s going to get hurt. The high waker I thought about in the New Testament was a little guy named Zacchaeus. Do you remember the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19? Some of you do? I know our band’s coming. They’re about to play some music, so you can breathe. That means you’re about to get out. Yeah, there you go. Good news isn’t it?
Zacchaeus was a high waker. The Bible says that Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector. What that means is, he trained other tax collectors. In the First Century world in Jerusalem, which is where this goes down, the tax collectors worked for Rome but they made their living by extorting money from the Jews for Rome. Depending on how good they were, in other words, how good of a cheater they were, it determined how much money they had. The Bible tells us about Zacchaeus. He was good at it because he was wealthy. Consequently, he was a high waker and nobody liked him. So, Jesus is walking through Zacchaeus’ town, the town of Jericho one day. Nobody ever turned in to Zacchaeus. Nobody had a relationship with Zacchaeus. In fact, Zacchaeus couldn’t even get to the street to see Jesus. He was a short guy. He had to climb a tree. Remember that? Used to sing about it in Sunday school didn’t you? Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. That was fun wasn’t it? He climbed up in a Sycamore tree. Yeah. I really wan to go with that. If you could have picked up right there and started playing that would have been a good moment to do. Never mind. What are you guys up here for if you can’t catch a clue on that?
In that day, Jesus turned in to this high waker named Zacchaeus. He leaned in to him and he said, "Hey Zach, I’m going to go to your house today." Everybody in the crowd just said, "No way." Zacchaeus said, "No way. He knows my name. He wants to hang out with me." So Zacchaeus climbs down this tree which represents his pride falling. He’d been a prideful, prideful man. All of the sudden, somebody head leaned in to him and it changed everything for this guy. The Bible says something really crazy about what Zacchaeus does. Now catch this. Jesus didn’t ask him to do this. But, Zacchaeus just went to Jesus and he said, "Hey, I’ve been really, really selfish. In fact, I’m going to give half of everything I have to poor people." Jesus says, "Cool." Zacchaeus says, "I’ve been really, really crooked. I’ve cheated these people. Everybody that I’ve cheated in my life, I’m going to give back four times what I’ve cheated." Jesus said, "Cool." Jesus didn’t ask him to do any of that. It wasn’t a condition. It was just a consequence. When he received love and grace he was radically changed, and all of the sudden this high, high waker who was destroying people’s lives was now involved in building people’s lives back up.
That’s what’s hanging in the balance here. One of the things you can look at and think about when you think about high wakers is, they have potential for evil and they’ve been doing it for years. With God in their boat, there is a potential for amazing good and transformation. Who’s going to have the courage to lean in to them? Is it going to be you?
Hey today, as we close, maybe just maybe you’re the high waker. Maybe just maybe you’re the guy or the gal up in the tree. Your past is littered with the pain of hurts, people that you’ve climbed over to get to where you are. Today, Jesus is calling your name. He’s leaning in to you. He says, "I love you." Just what he said to Zacchaeus. He said, "I’m going to come to your house." Jesus is saying, "I want to come in your heart. I want to enter in to your life and change you from the inside out. Would you climb down the tree of pride?"
That’s what some of you need to do to day. You need to climb down out of the tree of pride. You’ve tried to do it all yourself for years. Would you climb down out of the tree of regret thinking God could never love you because of your past? Yes he can. Could you climb down out of the tree of selfishness and give your life to the Lord? It makes all the difference in the world.
Would you bow your head with me this morning? Hey, God’s always calling us to the impossible. Only he can do the improbable and the results are always phenomenal. What’s he calling you to do today? Some of you need to come to faith in Christ. Some of you need to climb down out of that tree of pride, selfishness, trying to do it all yourself, and give your heart and life to Jesus. Some of you, as Christians today, you need to lean in to that high waker. The altar’s open for you. Right now, in this moment, would you come to the altar? Would you come and do business today about what it is that he’s calling you to? You don’t need me to talk about it. He’s talking to you clearly.
Father, in this moment, would your people respond to you in faith as Zacchaeus did as he climbed down out of the tree and his life changed. Lord, for some of these folks today locked in the bondage of fear and pride and self-destructive behavior. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, today, you’re leaning in to them and wanting a relationship with them. Lord, in words they can’t explain, they don’t understand what’s happening but you’re speaking into their life right now truth. Would they say yes as Zacchaeus did? Lord, could we as believers have the courage to lean in, just like you did to Zacchaeus? Could we lean in, once again, to that high waker in our life and let you love them through us? In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
