The Greatest Show – Part 1
Family Circus
July 29, 2018
Pastor Ed Young
Anyone who is part of a family knows that life can be demanding. As we juggle and struggle to keep up with life’s demands, it can seem like we’re performing in a circus act, part of a three-ring show that needs a ring master. But too many try to control their own show, ultimately resulting in chaos and confusion. But as Ed Young teaches us in this message, when we have God as our Ring Master, he can turn the three-ring circus of our life into The Greatest Show on Earth!
Transcript
ILLUS: You know, the first time I ever went to a circus, I was six years old, my mother took my brother and I to Greenville Memorial Auditorium. It smelled of stale popcorn. We had great seats. And we watched Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, the greatest show on earth. How many of you have ever seen or ever attended Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus? It truly is, an amazing show.
Now from there, I experienced some other circuses in my life and Liz and I have been out to Las Vegas several times, we've seen Cirque du Soleil, you ever seen Cirque du Soleil? Amazing circus. Yeah, circuses are cool. That's why we're doing this Adventure Week called the Greatest Show. Wow, look at this! Don't you love these stickers, the greatest show.
Did you see the movie the Greatest Showman, anyone see that? That was great, that was great, I really liked that, I really liked that too. But there's just nothing like the circus.
I remember the tightrope artists, I remember the contortionists, I remember the clowns, I remember the elephants, I remember the tigers, I remember all sorts of things when I first experienced the circus.
You know, since we're just having a conversation, I thought I'd ask you a question. Would you describe your life as a circus? I mean, it's just you and me talking. I mean, it's just like a one on one conversation. But would you say “My life, Ed, is a circus? It's so crazy, people would pay tickets to see it. Yeah, my life is a circus. My family is a circus.”
I understand that. There's a ringmaster and everyone and the three rings. And I remember again, watching Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus, the greatest show on earth. The ringmaster, he would have everything synchronized and he would pace everything perfectly, “In ring one, in ring two, in ring three,” whoa, you know?
Maybe you're involved in a family circus. After all, all of us are members of a family. Ring one, you've got the marriage. How's that working? I don't know, I'm just asking. Ring two, you've got the family, the kids and all that. And ring three, your career, what you do for a living. I would argue, I mean, I'm not an attorney but to throw in like, one of the favorite words attorneys use, I would argue the family is a circus.
Some of you are laughing, you're like going, “Wow, I am a tightrope artist right now. I'm trying to balance life's demands, I'm a single parent, Ed, and you have no idea.” I don't, but I'm just suggesting that maybe you're in a circus.
Others are like, “No, I'm a clown, I am a clown. If you saw my life, you would just laugh, it's that funny.”
“I'm a contortionist.”
“I'm a trapeze artist going from one thing to the next thing. Ed, if you saw my schedule for the next couple of weeks, we start school, these extracurricular activities, it's unbelievable, my life's a circus. Yes, I'm a grandparent and I'm keeping the grandkids and I'm trying to do this and starting a business over there. My life is a circus.”
That's true, isn't it? Let's just be honest, life is a circus. And when you talk about the family, it's a circus. Jesus... I would argue is the ultimate ringmaster, he's our righteous ringmaster. I know he wants to be, and he has an amazing agenda for the family, I'm talking about the son of God, I'm talking about the Lord, I'm talking about the whole tenor and tone of scripture. God desires for the family circus, your family circus and mine, to hit on all cylinders, to be synchronized supernaturally, to be paced perfectly. Jesus is wired, he is the one who needs to hold the microphone, to wear the top hat and the red blazer and to run the show. So he has the best in store for every single family here.
