Class Lesson May 13, 2012

Seven Days in Utopia

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Hey Gang,

Last week I asked you to spend the next four weeks in Utopia with me and you would not only find your game, but a lasting legacy of hope, faith and love that you can pass on to someone else, like your children and grandchildren. You see, Solomon once wrote that: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren” (Proverbs 13:22). What is this inheritance? Well, it's not wealth, property or possessions, I can assure you of that. Last Sunday we began to ask some serious questions, like what will my life really stand for when I'm gone? What kind of legacy will I leave behind?

Johnny asked us another serious question last week: “How can a game have such an effect on a man’s soul?” In our culture, a high premium is placed on success, achievement and performance. You could say that success, achievement and performance are where many people look for their hope in life. Is that what controls your life today? Is it controlled by a golf score, by a bank account or by what's written on your business card?  Is this the kind of hope you want to pass on to your children?

You want to know something...

“The saddest day in a man’s life is the day he succeeds and it lets him down.”

Luke Chisolm came to Utopia in need of three things...

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“I had come here desperate for hope, and it had been given. I had been desperate for answers to golf’s most baffling challenges, and I found them. I had been in need of a mentor, and he showed up.” - Luke Chisolm

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When Luke came to Utopia his hope was in a game. His idea of success was based on lies he had been taught, but he didn’t know any difference – freedom is a powerful force! 

 

Choose genuine hope in God, even in the shadow of hopelessness.

Have you ever been in a situation that all you could do is pray?

This week we look at the story of Samuel and how his miraculous birth followed a moment of desperation and hopelessness to become an example for us in our legacy of hope.

Hannah’s prayer this week is a Mother's Day Prayer because it shows us that all we have and receive is on loan from God. Hannah might have had many excuses for being a possessive mother. But when God answered her prayer, she followed through on her promise to dedicate Samuel to God’s service. She discovered that the greatest joy in having a child is to give that child fully and freely back to God. She entered motherhood prepared to do what all mothers must eventually do – let go of their children.



I. HOPE IN TIMES OF HOPELESSNESS – 1 SAMUEL 1:10-20


10 Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears. 11 Making a vow, she pleaded, “LORD of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.” 12 While she continued praying in the LORD’s presence, Eli watched her lips. 13 Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and scolded her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15 “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the LORD. 16 Don’t think of me as a wicked woman; I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.” 17 Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the petition you’ve requested from Him.” 18 “May your servant find favor with you,” she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.

Samuel’s Birth and Dedication

19 The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the LORD. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah. Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20 After some time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, because she said, “I requested him from the LORD.” 

Samuel and Luke’s story both begin in a setting of desperation and hopelessness.

• His mother, Hannah, had long wanted a baby but remained childless. Taunted and provoked by her husband’s other wife, Hannah was deeply hurt and in a moment of desperation she prays to the Lord.
• Luke’s story begins in a setting of desperation and hopelessness too. He had just experienced a humiliating meltdown on golf’s center stage with his dad on the bag.

How did Johnny end up in Utopia? Who is a Johnny in our lives today? Are we a Johnny to someone?

• Johnny had a story too – Utopia was his salvation and he chose to stay and pass on what he had learned. He understood the significance of a relationship with Christ.

What did the river have to do with golf? How about with life? 

• Rhythm, balance and patience that what you need to stay in your game. Same with fly-fishing. It takes a calm mindset, a focus on the feel, rather than the outcome, it takes emotional control.

What did he mean by this? Why would this be important in life? What again is my game?

• My game is my Conviction, my foundation in life: Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
• It takes emotional control.

What was the fish’s downfall? What made him fall into that trap?

• He was mad – took that fish out of his game today.
• To stay in balance in your golf swing you have to control your emotions. (bad hole can affect the next hole too)
• The Bible says that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Emotional balance is as important as physical balance.

What made Hannah’s situation in life seem hopeless?

• Her inability to conceive a child. In Old Testament times, a childless woman was considered a failure. Her barrenness was an embarrassment to her husband.

What was the worst thing Hannah had to cope with?

(a) Barrenness  (b) An irritating rival  (c) Depression  (d) Being misunderstood


Hannah knew her husband loved her, but she couldn’t keep from listening to Peninnah’s jeers and letting Peninnah’s words erode her self-confidence. Although we can’t keep others from unjustly criticizing us, we can choose how we will react to their hurtful words.



How do you cope with situations that cause you to feel hopeless and desperate? Do you deny such feelings? Do you take them out on others? What does Hannah teach us to do during the desperate times in life?

• Instead of giving up hope - take your burdens to the Lord and pray.
• Be honest in confessing your heartbreak and desperation.
• God hears and answers prayer. Our children are gifts from God.
• Jesus Calling (May 7th) If you learn to trust Me – really trust Me – with your whole being, then nothing can separate you from My peace. Everything you endure can be put to good use by allowing it to train you in trusting Me. This is how you foil the works of evil, growing in grace through the very adversity that was meant to harm you. Joseph was a prime example of this divine reversal, declaring to his brothers: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Do not fear what this day, or any day, may bring your way. Concentrate on trusting Me and on doing what needs to be done. Relax in My sovereignty, remembering that I go before you, as well as with you, into each day. Fear no evil, for I can bring good out of every situation you will encounter. Genesis 50:20
• Johnny said – “All part of God’s plan, I suppose.”

How can we hope in God even when an earnest prayer request is not granted?

• Praying calls for faith to believe that God can answer your prayer and trust that He will answer according to His wisdom and love.
• Hannah’s childlessness was not related to any spiritual deficit on her part or her husband’s.
• Part of God’s plan for Hannah involved postponing her years of childbearing.
• Prayer is not for wish-granting; it’s for learning what to do and how to do it.

How does painting a picture of your golf shot help your execution of the shot? What does this have to do with life?

• Golf is an art – play the game out in front of the golf ball.
• All golf shots start with a blank canvass. We paint the shot with our eyes first so our bodies can reproduce the shot accurately. Don’t think – see!
• What does this have to do with life? See the outcome through God’s eyes and execute the action required by God.

 

When Luke came to Utopia his hope was solely in the game of golf and this is where the lie begins. 

At the end of the seven-day journey Johnny brings Luke to the Waresville Cemetery. It’s here where he teaches him the most important lesson of all. But first, he has to get rid of the baggage he was carrying. What was his baggage?

• His baggage was where his hope was – a list of lies that he believed were the significance to his life.

Luke’s hope rested in these beliefs:

1. My golf scores are a reflection of my self-worth.

2. Failure in golf is failure in life.

3. Success in golf will bring the fulfillment that I long for.

4. My calling in life is to play golf.

5. The opinions of others are paramount in the choices I make.

6. God is a crutch for the weak.

7. Tradition is sacred and never to be challenged



What might be our baggage?

• We think that our worth, our value, our identity, is based on how we perform, by how much money we make in life, by what position we hold.
• Think about it – what eternal significance does any of these things have?
• Every man who has ever won a prize, reached a goal, or achieved a milestone learns that the fulfillment of that moment quickly fades. No victory ever seems to be enough. Striving for more seems to be the only hope, but success never fulfills. While men were made to achieve, there is a deep calling to go BEYOND SUCCESS.
• Beyond success is measured by significance, not a golf score. Significance is defined by your character, relationships, values, virtues and your faith, not by a golf score. Johnny would tell you not to just think about this, SEE IT!

 


Johnny’s lessons take Luke on a faith journey designed to do more than lower his handicap. They lead directly to the biggest question of all: is winning the ultimate goal?

• Luke thought so – Girl asks Luke, There’s more to life than winning right? Luke says, “Like what?” Family, Friendship, Faith, Love…those things.
• Luke learns that becoming who you were meant to be has nothing to do with winning and everything to do with how you approach the game or the truth of life.
• Learned how to paint your shot and to be on time – professional golfer does both.
• Bobby Jones – “He knew how to play with integrity.”
• Tim Tebow on Hannity.

What made Johnny qualified to mentor Luke in these truths?

• His own lessons in life.
• His understanding of his game – his conviction and foundation.
• His care and concern to pass on what he had learned.
• His story and testimony God uses to transform someone else life.

What should be our legacy of hope to our children and grandchildren?

• Conviction towards life itself with a foundation of loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength. A life of obedience to God.
• Emotional control of the "casual comments" that take us out of our foundation. 
• Understanding that becoming who you were meant to be has nothing to do with winning and everything to do with how you approach the game or the truth of life.

 

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help me to be used to minister to those who need hope. Amen

Stay with me this week as Luke continues to peel back the untruths he has been taught all these years and begins to see hope from a different perspective. 

See you in Utopia on Sunday! 

In His Love, 

David & Susan