Have You Met My Father?

Posted by on December 12, 1999 under Sermons

Watching what happens when a congregation assembles on Sunday morning for worship is fascinating. I am talking about the things that happen during the actual time dedicated to worship. I am not talking about what happens before or after worship.

The worship period has begun. Everyone who came to the building knows that the worship period is in progress. The majority of the people in the building came to worship. They want to worship and are personally motivated to worship.

Their motives for worshipping are good. Some, with a distinct awareness of their blessings, come to thank and praise God. Some feel weak from their struggles, and they want the comfort and strength of worship. Some want to improve their focus and sense of direction in their lives. They know God is the origin of focus and direction in life. Some seek to confirm their forgiveness as they struggle with guilt. Some are filled with a sense of joy and gratitude in their forgiveness.

While the majority came to worship, others have neither the intention nor the desire to worship. Some came to visit, and they visit while the majority worship. They use the time to laugh and talk and catch up on the news. Some came because they felt they had to come. They have no interest in worshipping, but they feel that it is necessary to be in the building. Some would not dream of being anywhere but the church building, but they regard the worship period to be a loss of time in our stressed schedules. They feel the need to use the time “productively”–maybe make out the grocery list or organize next week. Some feel that their physical presence is essential, but they want to make the time to pass as quickly as possible. They would rather be somewhere else doing something else, but they find it necessary to be in the building.

  1. What causes one person to see great value in actually worshipping God and another person to see no value in actually worshipping God?
    1. What key factor produces that very visible difference?
      1. Some suggest that the key factor is family background.
        1. I do not think that is the key factor.
        2. For years I have witnessed Christians who come from generations of family worshippers who personally have no interest in worship.
      2. Some suggest that the key factor is education.
        1. I do not think that is the key factor.
        2. Some individuals who had the benefits of years of Christian education have no personal interest in worship.
      3. Some think that the key factor is peer influence: if your friends truly worship, you worship.
        1. I do not think that is the key factor.
        2. Some Individuals whose close friends genuinely worship have no personal interest in worship.
    2. Are all three of these factors important?
      1. Absolutely! Family, education, and peers have enormous spiritual influence in our lives.
      2. As important as they are, I do not conclude that they are the key factor.
  2. “David, what do you regard to be the key factor?”
    1. I conclude that the key factor is the person’s primary view of God.
      1. The most critical factor in our individual spirituality is our personal view of God.
      2. This is fact: if you want to genuinely change a person, you must change his or her view of God.
        1. If you do not change his or her view of God, any change will be superficial.
        2. To change a person’s heart and conscience, you must change his or her view of God.
        3. That is the true beginning point; that is ground zero.
    2. What is your basic view of God?
      1. “My basic view of God is that God is filled with rage and wrath.”
        1. “He is angry with all of us.”
        2. “He is impossible to please.”
      2. “My basic view of God is that He is a God of vengeance.”
        1. “We messed up His world.”
        2. “We killed His Son.”
        3. “We keep on making a mess of things.”
        4. “He is just waiting to get even.”
      3. “My basic view of God is that He is a God of mercy.”
        1. “He loves us so much that it really does not matter what we do.”
        2. “His love is unconditional; that means nothing we do can destroy His love; and that means I can live anyway that I want and He still will love me.”
        3. “Whatever I do, God will just say, ‘Everything is all right!'”
      4. “My basic view of God is that He is a God who wants me to be happy.”
        1. “I decide what will make me happy.”
        2. “God always says, ‘If that makes you happy, go for it!'”
        3. “As long as I am trying to be happy, it is okay with God.”
      5. “My basic view of God is that God is a great big hoax.”
        1. “You cannot depend on Him.”
        2. “He cannot protect you.”
        3. “At best this is a rotten world, and He just sits around and lets it get worse.”
  3. If any of those are your primary view of God, you have not met my Father.
    1. Again, I call your attention to the prodigal son in Luke 15.
    2. The prodigal son left home, took his inheritance, and left all his father’s influence to create his own life.
      1. But it did not work out–his world and his life fell apart.
      2. He was reduced to a starvation existence in a place where no one cared if he lived or died.
      3. He came to himself, realized what he had done, and accepted responsibility.
      4. Then he found true courage, the courage to go home.
      5. He started on a painful course of action.
    3. He could not stop thinking about the last time that he saw Dad.
      1. He could not forget what a bad scene that was.
      2. His attitude was horrible–arrogant, prideful, disrespectful, stubborn, rude.
        1. He took all he could get and acted as if his Dad owed it to him.
        2. He did not even say “thank you” for the inheritance.
      3. He just wanted to get out of that house and forget that his family existed.
      4. So in a huff he walked out and walked off–his Dad’s tears just made him mad.
      5. The last time he saw Dad he unquestionably, obviously rejected Dad.
    4. But the man returning home was not the same man who left.
      1. How could he make his father see that he was not the same man?
      2. It had to happen quickly.
      3. He had to show his father the truth; he was a changed person.
      4. But what if Dad was so angry, so disappointed that he would not listen?
      5. What could he do to show him the truth, and show him quickly?
      6. He would do the only thing that he could do: he would confess that he had sinned in God’s sight and his father’s sight; he would admit he was not worthy to be a son; he would ask to be a slave.
  4. Let me tell you about my Father.
    1. Never a day passed but that the father walked to the road and looked in the distance.
      1. Day after day, month after month, he looked down that road and day after day, month after month he did not see his son.
      2. He did not know if his son was dead or alive.
      3. If his son were dead, he would never see his son again.
      4. If his son were alive, he might never come home.
    2. One day he looked yet again, and in the distance he saw his son.
      1. The figure he saw was ragged and dirty and thin, but he knew it was his son.
      2. And when he saw him, there was no anger, no wrath, no desire for vengeance; there was only the joy that is born of compassion.
      3. He knew his son had suffered; he knew his son had learned; he knew how hard it was for his son to come home.
      4. He knew the humiliation his son felt, and he had no desire to make the moment more painful.
    3. He did not want his son’s fears to turn him back, and he did not want his son’s failure to cause him to walk on by.
      1. So he ran to met him.
      2. He grabbed him in his arms, and could not stop kissing him on the neck, and held him close.
      3. As his father grabbed him, the son said, “Father I have sinned…I have sinned against God and against you…I am not worthy to be your son.”
    4. As the servants saw their master running to this dirty, ragged man, they ran after him.
      1. He said, “Get these rags off my boy and put the best robe him.”
      2. “He is my son–put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.”
      3. “Prepare a banquet; it is time to celebrate!”
      4. “My son was dead; now he is alive.”
      5. “He was lost; but now he is found.”
    5. That’s my father.
  5. If you think that the point of this parable is that you can live your life as wastefully and evil as you wish and God does not care, you are very, very mistaken.
    1. The father did not compassionately run to the son and welcome him home because he approved of what the young man had done.
      1. He did not embrace him because what he had done did not matter.
      2. The attitude of the father was not, “Every young man has to run away and do his thing. It is okay as long as he comes back home.”
    2. The changes in the son kindled the joy and compassion of the father.
      1. “He had not even talked to his son yet; there was no way that he could have known that the son changed.”
      2. Wrong, wrong, wrong!
      3. All you fathers of grown sons should know just how wrong that thought is.
      4. He knew what it took to come home, and he knew only a changed son could do that.
      5. He had a son who rejected love, care, home, and relationship.
        1. Nothing mattered.
        2. Nothing had value.
      6. Now he had a son who desperately wanted and needed what he rejected.
    3. “Well, what is the point of the parable?”
      1. If you will come to yourself, if you will find the courage to redirect your life, if you will accept responsibility for your mistakes, if you will bring your heart to the Father, he will be all over you with his love and strength.
      2. Some think they must impress God with deeds before he will accept them. What can you do to impress the God who created heaven and earth?
      3. Some think they must do the extraordinary to impress God before He will accept them. How can you impress the God who is the origin of life?
      4. There is only one thing you can do to impress the Father.
        1. Come to yourself.
        2. Redirect your life.
        3. Bring God your heart; that is the only thing you have to give God.
        4. Then you will meet the father of the prodigal son.

[Prayer: God, we are so unjust to you. We not only have wronged you. We have also misrepresented you. Open our eyes to see you as you are. Give us the courage to accept Your love. Give us the understanding that will not abuse your grace.]

The prodigal son wants to ask you a question. “Have you met my father?” Is he still looking down the road for you? Or can he see you coming?

The Basis of Good Decisions

Posted by on under Bulletin Articles

What makes a good decision “good”? Or, what makes a bad decision “bad”? Is it just a matter of blessings and consequences? Is a decision “good” because it produces opportunity or benefits? Is a decision “bad” because it produces undesirable consequences?

You look back and declare, “The decision I made five years ago was a good decision!” Did you see it as a “good” decision when you examined your options? Was it obviously “my best option” when you selected it? Did it feel like a “good” decision when you made it? Immediately after you made it, did you “know” it was a “good” decision? Was it a “good” decision only because, in time, it produced beneficial results? If no benefits occurred, did it become a “bad” decision? Is it only results that make your decisions “good” or “bad”?

God decided to send His son to this world, and people rejected and killed him. “Good” or “bad” decision? Jesus decided to yield to God’s will and died a horrible death. “Good” or “bad” decision? Several early Christians placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ knowing their decision would produce physical suffering or death. “Good” or “bad” decision?

All decisions cannot be grouped together in a single classification. “Good” and “bad” business decisions are distinctly different from “good” and “bad” family decisions. Many areas of decision distinguish “good” from “bad” decisions on different bases: medical decisions, parenting decisions, moral decisions, retirement decisions, decisions in purchasing a home, etc. In each of these areas, the primary focus differs. The primary focus of a “good” medical decision is not on finances. The primary focus of a “good” business decision is on finances.

Some types of decision are based primarily on facts. Some are based primarily on money. Some are based primarily on needs. Some are based primarily on concepts.

This is my opinion. The area of decision that most frequently produces “bad” decisions is the area of spiritual decisions. Often people who make “good” factual decisions, or “good” money decisions, or “good” decisions concerning physical needs may make “bad” spiritual decisions. Why? They understand their facts, or their figures, or physical needs, but they do not understand essential spiritual concepts. Many “bad” spiritual decisions are the product of flawed concepts.

Spiritually, we want to advance and mature your concepts in the year 2000. If you advance and mature spiritual concepts, you must grow in knowledge and understanding. The adult classes beginning in January are designed to advance and mature your spiritual concepts.

I challenge you to make good spiritual decisions that can produce a beneficial spiritual life. Decide to be a part of Sunday morning’s year 2000 adult classes. Decide to advance and mature your concepts. That is a “good” decision!

Christian Living: The Bottom Line

Posted by on December 5, 1999 under Sermons

The term, “the bottom line,” is a popular way to refer to an accounting concept in business. The “bottom line” reveals if a business is succeeding or failing.

Take the value of all the business’ assets. Add all the outstanding accounts payable (determine how much money is owed to the business). Add the actual income that the business generated. Then, from that total, subtract all the business’ losses. Subtract all the business’ expenses. Subtract all the debts the business cannot collect.

When all expenses and losses are subtracted from all assets and income, you have the “bottom line.” It answers the key question: “Did the business show a profit?” If it did, the business succeeded.

The “bottom line” figure is an extremely important number. Let’s illustrate it in this way. Two small business owners have been in business for three years. They are discussing their businesses. One says, “This was my third year in business, and I did $1,500,000 of business.” The other replies, “That is amazing! I did the same thing! This was my third year in business, and I also did $1,500,000 of business this year!”

Was each business successful? I don’t know. I need more information to answer that question. I need to ask each man, “What was your total expenses?” One says, “My total expenses were $1,250,000.” So he had a profit of $250,000. The “bottom line” says the business was successful. The other says, “My expenses were $1,750,000.” He did $1,500,000 of business, but in the process he lost $250,000. The “bottom line” says the business did not succeed that year.

The “bottom line” declares the strength and success of the business. In business the final analysis is fairly simple: success is determined by profit.

We use the concept of the “bottom line” to figure the success of things other than business.

  1. The “bottom line” in Christian living is not measured by material profit.
    1. If we use the “bottom line” concept to evaluate success in Christian living, what is the “bottom line?”
      1. Some declare the “bottom line” in Christian living is “rightness.”
        1. “Rightness” is knowing, accepting, and occupying the “right positions.”
        2. Religiously, if I can prove that I am right, my Christian life is successful.
        3. “Rightness” is proven by giving the right answers to the question, “Where do you stand on…”
      2. Some declare the bottom line in Christian living is correct conformity.
        1. I know the correct religious standards.
        2. I know the correct religious traditions.
        3. I know the correct religious procedures.
        4. I correctly conform to those standards, traditions, and procedures.
        5. I do the church things that I am supposed to do.
        6. I refuse to do incorrect church things.
        7. Because I correctly conform, my Christian life is successful.
        8. Correct conformity is proven by completing the correct check list.
      3. Some declare the “bottom line” in Christian living is proper religious habits.
        1. I have the attendance habit; I come to the church building when I am supposed to be there.
        2. I have the giving habit; I always contribute.
        3. I have the Lord’s Supper habit; I take the Lord’s Supper even if I stay for nothing else.
        4. I have the a cappella singing habit; I worship only where there is a cappella music, even if I never sing.
        5. I have the correct church building habit; I worship only in a building that uses the correct name.
        6. Because I have all the proper religious habits, my Christian life is successful.
        7. Proper religious habits are verified by attending where worship is conducted in the proper manner.
  2. It is extremely important to understand and to ask the right question in locating the “bottom line” in Christian living.
    1. In regard to “rightness:”
      1. Is “rightness” a proper spiritual concern? Yes!
      2. Is “rightness” the “bottom line” of success in Christian living? No.
    2. In regard to correct conformity:
      1. Is correct conformity a proper spiritual concern? Yes!
      2. Is correct conformity the “bottom line” of success in Christian living? No.
    3. In regard to proper religious habits:
      1. Is developing the proper spiritual habits a proper spiritual concern? Yes!
      2. Is developing the proper spiritual habits the “bottom line” of success in Christian living? No.
  3. Then what is the “bottom line” when we determine success in Christian living?
    1. The answer to that question is much too important.
      1. It must not be determined by human speculation offered by well-meaning Christians.
      2. That answer must come from the Lord.
      3. That answer must be confirmed by the writers of the New Testament.
    2. Let’s permit them to speak for themselves.
      1. First, let’s allow Jesus to speak:
        1. Matthew 7:12 In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
        2. Matthew 22:37-40 ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
        3. John 13:34,35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
      2. Second, let’s allow the writers in the New Testament to speak:
        1. Paul: 1 Corinthians 13, an entire chapter declares that love is greater than faith and love is greater than hope.
        2. Paul: Romans 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
        3. Peter: 1 Peter 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
        4. John: 1 John 3:11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
    3. “Aw, David, this love business is way overblown; love is too easy; there are many, many things that are much harder to do than love.”
      1. Really?
        1. That is the reason there is so much neglect, pain, depression, and anger in marriages–there is just too much love, and love is much too easy.
        2. That is the reason that abuse in our homes has reached the level of an epidemic–there is just too much love, and love is much too easy.
        3. That is the reason that so many of our children have so many struggles and problems–they are surrounded by too much love, and love is much too easy.
        4. That is the reason so many marriages end in alienation or divorce–they suffer from too much love, and love was much too easy.
        5. That is the reason there is so much sexual unfaithfulness–there is just too much love, and love is too easy.
        6. That is the reason that so many people had rather live together in fragile relationships than commit to each other in marriage–love is just too easy, and there is too much of it.
        7. That is the reason that people are exploited and suffer from injustices every day–there is too much love and it is much too easy.
        8. That is why is has been so easy for the church to argue, fuss, fight, and treat brothers and sisters in the most ungodly ways you can imagine–there is just too much love, and love is much to easy.
  4. Consider with me the popular concept of judgment day.
    1. It is your turn to have your personal conversation with God.
      1. God: “Why do you consider yourself to be a godly Christian?”
      2. You: “Oh, yes, I am without doubt a godly Christian.”
        1. “I never worshipped in a church building without the right name on it.”
        2. “I always came for communion, even if I could not stay.”
        3. “Worship attendance was always important to me.”
        4. “I strongly objected to the use of instrumental music in worship.”
        5. “I always insisted that the congregation follow correct procedures.”
        6. “I always took a strong stand for doing things the traditional way.”
        7. “Bottom line, I always stood for the things that were important to You.”
    2. God asks you some questions:
      1. “Was your marriage nurtured and sustained by love?”
        1. “Well, my marriage wasn’t very good. But I knew how You felt about divorce. We did not work to build love in our marriage, but we didn’t divorce.”
        2. “But remember that I did all the ‘bottom line’ things.”
      2. “Did you show your children love and teach them how to love?”
        1. “Well, I am not sure that I understand what You mean. We tried to give them the things they wanted. We did not want them to be embarrassed among their peers. We gave them all the advantages. I don’t understand why, but they became angry, rebellious, and turned against the church.”
        2. “But remember that I did all the ‘bottom line’ things.
      3. “Did you promote and develop love in the congregation?”
        1. “Well, to tell You the truth, I was never in a loving congregation. I was so busy defending the ‘bottom line’ things that matter to you that I did not have much time to devote to love.”
        2. “But remember, I was strong and unbending for the ‘bottom line’ things.”
      4. “Where did you read in my word that those things were My ‘bottom line’ concerns?”
        1. There is a long silence.
        2. “God, do You mean that love really was the ‘bottom line?'”

I close with a statement made by Jesus. I think that you will understand.

Matthew 23:23,24 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)

This congregation has the opportunity to grow and work as never before in its history. The opportunities before us are incredible. But we can grab those opportunities only if we learn how to love as never before. That love that is God’s “bottom line.” That love is the “bottom line” of successful Christian living.

The Courage To Go Home

Posted by on under Sermons

I want your minds and your hearts for a few minutes. Begin by focusing and concentrating. Question one: what is the hardest thing you ever did? Teens, what is the hardest thing you ever did? Singles, what is the hardest thing that you ever did? Young marrieds, what is the hardest thing that you ever did? Parents, what is the hardest thing that you ever did? Empty nesters, what is the hardest thing you ever did?

Question two: what is the bravest thing that you ever did? Teens, singles, young marrieds, what is the bravest thing that you ever did? Parents, empty nesters, what is the bravest thing you ever did?

Question three: is there any connection between the hardest thing you ever did and the bravest thing that you ever did?

Again, I call your attention to the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

  1. There he was starving to death, feeding pigs.
    1. Consider his situation and conditions.
      1. He was homeless and belonged nowhere.
        1. He had no family where he lived–by his own choices and decisions he was in a foreign country.
        2. He deliberately separated himself from his family and his home.
        3. His family had no idea where he was–they could not find him if they tried.
        4. He did not even have enough money to buy food.
      2. He looked like a man who fed pigs; he was dressed like a man who fed pigs; and he smelled like a man who fed pigs.
        1. He was a starving man.
        2. He was so thin you probably could count his ribs.
        3. A person who saw him as he left home would not would not recognize him as the same man.
    2. Then came that horrible moment when “he came to himself.”
      1. He saw himself for what he was.
      2. He saw what he did for what it was.
  2. At the moment that he came to himself, he stood at a fork in life’s highway.
    1. One fork was the road to death.
      1. He could stay where he was, and die.
      2. He could continue to do what he was doing, and die.
      3. He could fill himself with the shame, the guilt, and the embarrassment of self-pity, and die.
      4. He could get angry at the world for all his misfortune, and die.
      5. He could punish himself for all his wrong doing, and die.
      6. He could just do nothing, and die.
    2. The other fork was the road of courage.
      1. When he left home he thought that he was being very courageous.
      2. But as he fed the pigs, he learned some hard lessons about courage.
        1. It takes no courage to be:
          1. Selfish.
          2. Greedy.
          3. Controlled by pleasure.
          4. Rebellious.
          5. Angry.
          6. Defiant.
          7. An “impossible person.”
          8. Those require no courage because they do not require that you deal honestly with yourself.
        2. Feeding pigs in a foreign country during an economic depression led to the discovery of true courage.
          1. It takes courage to look your personal failures “in the face” and admit them–not to have a person force you to confess them, but to admit them to yourself when there is no one to talk to but you.
          2. It takes courage to accept responsibility for the mess you made.
          3. It takes courage to take the necessary action to deal with the mess you made.
          4. It takes courage to make a positive, constructive decision and follow through.
    3. If he took the courage road, he had to do some specific things.
      1. First, he had to leave the pigs and get out of the foreign country.
      2. Second, he had to get on the road that went home and return.
      3. Third, he had to admit his failure to his father.
  3. The hardest thing this man ever did was also the most courageous thing he ever did: he found the courage to go home.
    1. Think about all the difficulty involved in walking home.
      1. He wanted to admit his mistakes and failure, but he did not know how his confession would be received.
      2. Can you imagine his thoughts as he made that trip?
        1. In my opinion, the closer he got to home, the more afraid he became.
        2. “I know what Dad is going to say. I can hear him now.”
        3. “I know how upset Dad will be when he learns that I wasted all that money.”
        4. “I know how upset Dad will be because of what I did to his reputation.”
        5. “And then there is older brother; oh, how I dread to face and listen to older brother.”
          1. You know the parable.
          2. He had reason to dread older brother.
    2. As he made the trip home, wonder if there were moments when he thought there was no need to complete the trip.
      1. “Dad will reject me.”
      2. “Older brother will run me off.”
      3. “Former friends will shun me.”
      4. “Nobody will be glad to see me back.”
      5. “I will be a constant, living embarrassment to everyone.”
      6. I wonder if there were not moments when he thought, “I had rather die than face my older brother.”
    3. Pay special attention to the fact that without the courage to go home, nothing changed.
      1. For the man to come to himself was good, but if he did nothing, nothing changed.
      2. For the man to realize his failure was good, but if he did nothing, nothing changed.
      3. For the man to accept responsibility for his mistakes was good, but if he did nothing, nothing changed.
      4. For the man to confess to himself that it happened because of his choices and his decisions was good, but if he did nothing, nothing changed.
      5. For the man to be sorry for his decisions, sorry for the pain he caused, sorry for his foolishness and wastefulness was good, but if he did nothing, nothing changed.
  4. The hardest thing any of us will ever do is to deal honestly with ourselves, and the most courageous thing any of us will ever do is redirect our lives.
    1. “David, you talk a lot. What is the hardest thing you ever did?”
      1. The hardest thing I ever did involved all these things:
        1. It involved seeing, looking at, and examining the negative forces that controlled me as a person.
        2. It involved admitting my weakness.
        3. It involved rejecting the slavery of my fears.
        4. It involved trusting God to love me and accept me in my imperfection.
        5. It involved redirecting my life and learning to function on the right motives in new ways.
      2. “Did all that involve any courage?”
        1. Oh, yes! Courage I did not even know or understand until I dealt with my own life.
        2. It always takes courage to understand why you are the person you are.
        3. It always takes courage to be honest with yourself about your weakness.
        4. It always takes courage to face your fears.
        5. It always takes courage to trust God’s promises.
        6. It always takes courage to redirect your life.
    2. When the prodigal son “came to himself,” he knew that he was dying.
      1. When he faced the fact that what he had done and was doing was killing him, he had to make a choice.
      2. When he made the choice to redirect his life, he had to act on his choice.
    3. Are you dying?
      1. No, I am not talking about the front, the facade that you wear for everyone to see.
      2. I am not asking if you have your family and friends fooled.
      3. I am not asking if you have the congregation fooled.
      4. I am asking, when you look deep in your heart, when you are truthful and honest with yourself, when it is just you talking to you, are you dying?
      5. Do you have a choice to make?
        1. Are you going to make it?
        2. Are you going to let yourself die?
      6. Will you make your choice and act on it?
        1. What choice? The choice to redirect your life.
        2. What action? Exercise the courage to go home.

[Prayer: Father, help us have the courage to come to ourselves. Help us have the courage to make the godly choice to redirect our lives. Help us have the courage to redirect our lives.]

God wants you in His family. There has never been a time when God did not want you in His family. But it is not enough for God to want you as His son or daughter. You must want to be God’s son or daughter.

Let me be honest with you. There will always be an older brother. Satan will see that the older brother is always there.

But God never stops waiting for you to find the courage to come home, wanting you to find the courage to come home, and watching for you to come home because you found the courage.

Older brother might cause you some stress, but God will heal your soul and give you life.

“I’m Sorry! I Didn’t Know!”

Posted by on under Bulletin Articles

Years ago in another country my family and I were invited to a meal with several other families. The dining area in the hostess’ home was small. She and her husband were quite gracious to invite so many people. We all knew each other and did not mind crowding around the table. It was a time of joy and good will. It was also a rare, special moment.

The meal was spaghetti. I love spaghetti. I thought spaghetti was eaten “American style” everywhere. The hostess served me first. She presented me with a small bowl of sauce. I assumed a large pot of sauce was simmering on the stove. So I used the sauce generously. After generously serving myself, I learned that was all the sauce.

Was I ever sorry and embarrassed! Even now I still feel the feelings of that moment. Oh, how I wish I had known that was all the sauce! I assumed. I did not know. As I ate my spaghetti with lots of sauce while others ate their spaghetti with hardly any sauce, I was ashamed and embarrassed. I also embarrassed the hostess.

People always have valued the blessings of knowledge. This fact is and always has been true: knowledge powerfully influences behavior. Knowledge does not create the judgment, wisdom, or integrity of a mature, useful, fulfilling life. Knowledge provides the foundation for the judgment, wisdom, and integrity of a mature, useful, fulfilling life.

Knowledge is the foundation of morality, but Christian morality requires more than knowledge. It is the foundation of godly ethics, but becoming a godly person requires more than knowledge. It is the foundation of godly relationships, but building godly relationships requires more than knowledge. However, step one toward godly morality, ethics, and relationships is acquiring reliable knowledge. The person converted to Christ is committed to acquiring knowledge and increasing understanding.

The material in the adult Sunday morning classes for the year 2000 is devoted to changing you as a person. It will provide the type of knowledge that can be the foundation for transforming your life into the image of Jesus. There are two simple goals. Goal one: encourage more adults to attend the classes as serious Bible students. Goal two: help mature converted adults as godly men and women.

The theme: Year 2000: Spiritual Success or Distress? First quarter focus: God’s Son Was a Servant. Adult quarter one begins the first Sunday in January.

In judgment God will look at you as a person and a life. May you not need to say, “I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” Increase the meaning and fulfillment of your life by making the year 2000 a year of spiritual growth!

What Am I Doing Here?

Posted by on November 28, 1999 under Sermons

I want you to think about something that is impossible as though it were possible. First, suppose that you had one chance to go back in your life. You literally could travel back in time in your own life. But, you could do this only in your own life. Second, suppose that when you went back, you knew everything that you know now. When you went back in your own life, you had all the understanding and wisdom that you have developed from study and experience. Third, when you went back in your life, you could change three things. You could change any decision that you made. You could change any failure to take action. You could change any action that you took.

BUT, you could do these three things only in your own life. You could not go back and change anything in anyone else’s life–not Mom’s, or Dad’s, or your husband’s, or your wife’s, or your children’s life, just in your life. You could change nothing they did, only what you did.

What would you change? I wish I could change some things. There are some things that I would not do. There are things that I would not say. There are people that I would not hurt. There are motives that I would change.

“Why would you make those changes?” I would make most of them because of the understanding I have now that I did not have then.

How about you? Would you change a decision, an act, or a failure to act?

“Who would not! But we cannot do that.” No, we cannot do that, but there is something that we can do. Again, this morning, I call your attention to the Jesus’ parable that we call the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

  1. You remember the parable.
    1. A younger brother, the youngest of two sons, wanted to leave home.
      1. The parable does not say why, but perhaps he had all he could stand of home, of Dad, and especially of older brother.
        1. In their society, older brother was in control when Dad died.
        2. In their society. older brother received two thirds of the inheritance.
        3. In their society, older brother would make the family decisions.
      2. Perhaps he left because he was sick of religion.
        1. The Jewish religion controlled every aspect of life.
        2. It controlled what you ate.
        3. It dictated what you could and could not do on Saturday.
        4. It controlled everything from your work to your food preparation.
        5. You went to the synagogue every Saturday to listen to scripture read and discussed, to hear rules and laws declared, and to pray.
        6. You went to the temple to offer sacrifices.
        7. You were expected to pray personal prayers three times a day.
        8. There was a rule for everything, and you were to know and keep all the rules.
      3. Perhaps he just wanted to experience life without religion, experience what the New Testament refers to as the “pleasures of sin.”
        1. Maybe he wanted to get drunk.
        2. Maybe he wanted to “run with the bar crowd.”
        3. Maybe he wanted to be sexually irresponsible.
        4. Maybe he wanted to gamble.
        5. Maybe he wanted the high of being the center of attention by blowing money.
    2. The parable does not say why he wanted to leave home; it simply tells us he did.
      1. So he demanded his one third of the inheritance, which meant he likely received it in cash, precious metals, and jewels.
      2. Soon after he got his hands on his inheritance he left home.
        1. Can you picture him leaving home?
        2. He did not need anybody! He certainly did not need his family!
        3. I bet he wore some fine clothes! I bet he was looking good!
      3. He went far away from home and all the influences of home.
        1. He planned to live like he wanted to live with no restraints, no restrictions.
        2. He did not want his family to bother him.
        3. He did not want religion to bother him.
        4. He did not want to be near anyone who knew his family.
        5. He was committed to doing his own thing–“get out of the way, here I come!”
    3. Living the life that he chose was expensive.
      1. As long as he could pay for the party, he had all kinds of friends and he got all kind of attention.
      2. And I have no doubt that he experienced pleasures that he never knew existed. He probably experienced some fantastic highs.
        1. Doing what is wicked and irresponsible can create incredible pleasures.
        2. The pleasures just have terrible consequences.
        3. And the worst consequences, the most painful consequences, the consequences that demand prices that you never dreamed existed are the consequences that occur inside you.
      3. He had neither the time nor the desire to work; he was too busy escaping, too busy having fun.
  2. One day he was broke, and at the same time this country he was in entered a severe economic depression.
    1. Immediately, perhaps overnight, his situation totally changed.
      1. Before he had lived in the finest places and was welcome everywhere; now he had no place to stay and was welcome nowhere.
      2. Before he had lots of friends who loved to party with him; now that he had no money and could not afford to party, he had no friends.
      3. Before he never wanted for food and alcohol; now he had nothing to eat and no alcohol to drink.
      4. Before he did not want work and did not need work; now he was desperate; he had to find a job at a time when there was no jobs.
      5. Everyone was struggling; nobody needed another party animal to feed.
    2. He left home to get away from every restraint and influence of home, and he did.
      1. He probably wanted to get away from Dad’s watchfulness, and he did.
      2. He probably wanted to get away from older brother, and he did.
      3. He probably wanted to get away from religion, and he did.
      4. But getting away did not create the result he expected.
        1. The only job he could find was feeding pigs.
        2. He would never feed pigs at home because pigs were forbidden the Jewish people.
        3. He was truly away from God’s influence because Jews could not eat pork.
        4. Necessity forced him to do the unthinkable–feed pigs.
          1. Have you ever been really lonely and really hungry?
          2. He was literally starving, and no one cared; in fact if he died, his death would solve their problem.
          3. Nobody cared enough about this starving man to give him anything.
            1. He wanted to eat what the pigs ate, but it would not keep him alive.
    3. Then, in one of the most insightful statements that Jesus ever made, the man took the first step toward a total change.
      1. Jesus was the master of stating the most profound, insightful understandings in very simple statements.
      2. Jesus said that one day as this starving man was feeding the pigs, that he came to himself (Luke 15:17).
        1. Many translations say, “He came to his senses.”
        2. What a horrible moment of realization!
        3. In that moment he actually understood what he had done.
        4. In that moment he actually understood where he was and why he was there.
        5. In that moment he realized it was not Dad’s fault, it was not older brother’s fault, it was not religion’s fault, but that it was his fault.
        6. He was where he was, he was doing what he was doing, he was starving to death because of his choices, because of his decisions.
      3. At that moment, he realized a lot of things.
        1. He realized he could not turn the clock back–what had happened was real.
        2. He realized that he did not have to be there.
          1. If he stayed there, it was because he decided to stay there instead of accepting responsibility for his decisions and his actions.
          2. If he starved, it was because he decided to starve instead of accepting responsibility for his decisions and actions.
          3. If he died far away from home feeding pigs, it was because he decided to die instead of accepting responsibility for his decisions and actions.
      4. In his heart of hearts he knew that he could never go back and be a son.
        1. He did not even want to go back and be a son.
        2. He was ashamed of himself.
        3. He was ashamed of what he had done.
        4. He was ashamed of the grief and pain that he caused.
        5. He was ashamed of the way that he wasted life.
        6. He just did not want to starve to death, and the only person who might care enough to let him work as a servant and have food was Dad.
  3. It is extremely important that you see this clearly: nothing good happened in this man’ s life until he came to himself.
    1. Horrible things are happening in our society because people do one of two things:
      1. Either they never come to themselves in their despair, loneliness, and pain.
      2. Or when they come to themselves they refuse to accept responsibility for their decisions and their actions.
    2. Horrible things are happening in the church because struggling, dying Christians are doing one of two things:
      1. Either they never come to themselves in their despair, loneliness, and pain.
      2. Or when they come to themselves they refuse to accept responsibility for their decisions and actions.
    3. Why don’t suffering people who endure the consequences of the life they live come to themselves?
      1. They prefer to deny the reality of their situation.
      2. Or, they prefer to blame someone else for what they allowed to happen.
      3. Or, they prefer to hold someone else responsible for their choices.
        1. “It is my parents fault.”
        2. “It is my husband or wife’s fault.”
        3. “It is my children’s fault.”
        4. “It is my boss’ fault.”
        5. “It is the fault of the person who deceived me or hurt me.”
      4. Did all these people contribute to your problem, to your situation? They surely did!
        1. We rarely experience a crippling problem or a devastating situation that is solely our fault.
        2. Other people always contribute to our problems.
        3. But when you come to yourself, you see what you contributed to your problems, and you accept responsibility.
      5. That is the heart and soul of repentance.
        1. The person who refuses to come to himself or herself cannot repent.
        2. The person who repents has choices.
  4. What happened to the prodigal son is very simple: one day he woke up, saw what was happening, saw where he was, and asked, “What am I doing here?”
    1. Has that ever happened in your life? If it has never happened, your life is in a mess.
    2. If it has never happened, that is very likely a major reason for your life being in a mess.
    3. Hasn’t the time come to wake up, to realize what is happening, to see where we really are, and to ask ourselves, “What am I doing here?”
      1. Before I will allow God to forgive me, I must accept responsibility for my life.
      2. Before I will allow God to forgive me, I must repent.

[Prayer: Father, bring us to our senses. Whatever needs to happen for us to come to ourselves, may it happen. Give us the courage to see how much we need You and Your forgiveness.]

If you could change any decision you made or any action you took, what would you change? You cannot go back and undo it. But you can repent and redirect your life.

It Depends. Who Did You Meet?

Posted by on November 21, 1999 under Sermons

I do not understand love. I never have. I am extremely grateful for love. My life is powerfully blessed by love. Love is the single most rewarding blessing in my life. I literally cannot image life without it. But I still do not understand it.

Do you understand love? If you are confident that you understand love, explain some things to me. How can a wonderful, gentle, kind, caring, unselfish woman fall in love with a godless, rough, rude, selfish, abusive man? How can a sensitive, generous, caring man full of kindness fall in love with a woman who does not respect him and treats him like dirt? How can a mother continue to love a daughter who fails her and hurts her in every possible way? How can a father continue to love a son who resents him and rebels against him in any way that he can? How can children deeply love parents who give them nothing but neglect and rejection? How can anyone genuinely, sincerely love when his or her love is neither appreciated nor returned?

This is the greatest love mystery of all. How can a holy, sinless, caring, unselfish God love any human being? Our love for each other is mystifying. God’s love for us is beyond comprehension.

  1. When I want to deepen my understanding of God’s love, I consider two things.
    1. First, I reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus.
      1. Jesus loved all of us collectively and individually enough to endure that horrible execution.
      2. God loved all of us collectively and individually enough to let Jesus be killed.
      3. The more I understand the crucifixion, the more I realize that I do not and cannot understand God’s love.
      4. Yet, the more I understand the crucifixion, the more clearly I see God’s love.
    2. Second, I reflect on a parable Jesus taught, the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
      1. This son was a failure, a disappointment, and a heartache to his father.
        1. He demanded his part of the inheritance, left home, and went far away to live what a godless society considers “the good life.”
        2. After he wasted all his money on pleasure and extravagance, the country fell into severe economic depression.
        3. When he found himself starving in impossible circumstances, he finally realized how stupid he had been.
        4. In a spirit and attitude of total unworthiness, he returned home to confess his unworthiness and to ask his father to let him be a servant.
        5. His father welcomed him with incredible love, and reinstated him as a son.
  2. I want you to consider a different scenario: what if the older brother had been the first one to meet this prodigal son when he returned home?
    1. You do remember the older brother, don’t you?
      1. This was the father’s older son, the son who stayed home and worked as the dependable, responsible one.
      2. This was the son who was infuriated by the good reception that the father gave his wayward brother.
      3. This was the son who refused to greet his brother or come to the welcome party.
      4. This was the son who vented his anger on his father by declaring, “I have always been faithful to you, and you never did anything like this for me!”
    2. What if this was the first person that the wayward son met when he returned?
      1. “You sorry good-for-nothing!”
        1. “How dare you show your face around here!”
        2. “I cannot believe that you had the gall to come back here!”
        3. “Do you think that just because you show up in your rags and your pathetic body that you will find some sympathy? Think again!”
        4. “Do you have any idea of how many tears Mom cried for you? I was always here, but she cried for you!”
        5. “Do you realize that you broke Dad’s heart? You did not care about Dad when you selfishly left home to do your own thing! You never thought about anybody but you!”
        6. “Dad grieves every day for you. Every day he looks down the road to see if you are coming back. No matter what I do or how hard I work, Dad grieves for you!”
      2. “You grew up in a godly home.”
        1. “You had an incredible Mom.”
        2. “You could not ask for a better Dad.”
        3. “You had all the opportunities a person could hope for.”
        4. “And just look at what you did to the family name!”
        5. “Do you have an idea of what you did to the respect people had for Dad?”
        6. “I listened to people talk–they think if Dad had been a decent father you would not be such a wicked son.”
      3. “You traveled to a heathen country to hide among people who do not even know God.”
        1. “I’ll bet you never looked for a synagogue. But I’ll bet you knew all the prostitutes and bar tenders!”
        2. “By choice you lived like a heathen–a genuine, godless party animal!”
      4. “Well, godless party animal, don’t think that just because you are hungry and skinny as a snake that you can just slip back like nothing happened!”
        1. “Don’t you realize how wasteful that you have been?”
        2. “Don’t you understand just how good-for-nothing you are?”
      5. “And don’t tell me that you are sorry for what you did and repent! What a laugh!”
        1. “Sure, you repent as soon as you were broke!”
        2. “Sure, you repent when your party friends deserted you!”
        3. “Sure, you repent when you found yourself slopping hogs in the pig pen!”
        4. “Sure, you repent when you were starving to death!”
        5. “How convenient! Now with nothing left, you come back to dear old Dad so that he can bail you out!”
        6. “I see through you like a clean window pane!”
        7. “Repent! How does that change all the money you wasted?”
          1. “How does that change all the prostitutes you slept with?”
          2. “How does that change what you did in the bars?”
          3. “How does that change all the pain and grief you caused?”
      6. “So now you want to be a servant!”
        1. “I will never let you be a servant around here, and don’t for one minute forget that all of this belongs to me! You had your inheritance and blew it!”
        2. “I almost wish I could make you a servant. I would teach you how to work!”
        3. “Get out of here and don’t come back!”
        4. “I won’t let you hurt Dad any more! He has suffered enough because of you!”
      7. “Because of your life I am miserable.”
        1. “I am sick of hearing Dad worry about you.”
        2. “I have to keep this place together and take care of Dad’s business.”
        3. “And I never get the respect and thanks I deserve because Dad never stops thinking about you.”
    3. If the prodigal son had talked to his older brother before he had a opportunity to see his father, what do you think would have happened?
  3. Our society already passed a crucial crossroads.
    1. Most of us in the church do not understand that crossroads is behind us.
      1. Many of us still think that this is a Christian nation.
      2. Many of us still think that the majority honor Christian values.
      3. Many of us still think that Christian morality is the basic morality of American.
    2. Do you understand that the crossroads is behind us?
      1. When was the last time that you watched TV and said, “This really is a Christian nation!”
      2. When was the last time that you read a newspaper, listened to a news broadcast, or watched a documentary on some aspect of American society and said, “This nation really lives by Christian values!”
      3. When was the last time that you looked at our community and our state and said, “Christian morality really motivates Americans to be kind and honest!”
    3. You do not have to look a thousand miles to see what has already happened.
      1. American homes and American families are crumbling.
        1. Did you notice in the recent report on the divorce rate in America that the states known in the past as the Bible belt are among those with the highest divorce rates?
        2. There is no time to be a husband and wife.
          1. Too many do not understand how to build a successful marriage.
          2. Because we are hurting and scared, we have become a sexually active, irresponsible, uncommitted people.
        3. There is no time to be parents, and many don’t know how to be parents.
        4. We don’t know how to nurture relationships.
        5. People are hurting; people are lonely; people are scared; and people have nowhere to turn.
    4. Such realities bring the church to a critical crossroads.
      1. Some congregations already have passed that crossroads; they chose their direction, some chose a wonderful direction, and some a sad direction.
      2. Some congregations are waking up to the fact that they are at the crossroads and must make a choice.
      3. Will the congregation be a spiritual hospital that brings people to the healing of a loving God who will receive them with grace and forgiveness?
      4. Will the congregation be a fortress that excludes some and punishes others for their mistakes?
      5. Will we bring people to meet the father of the prodigal son?
      6. Or will we be the older brother?
  4. I genuinely enjoyed both Will Ed Warren and Larry Henderson’s lessons last Sunday morning.
    1. Will Ed discussed a common mission tool used in several third world countries–drilling a well in a village to give them a pure water supply.
      1. Many places have existed for generations with inadequate and impure water.
      2. For generations people drank polluted water not knowing that their water was a source of disease that threatened life.
      3. Caring for this life and death physical need creates the opportunity to teach them about Jesus.
    2. Our society is killing itself by drinking dirty, polluted water.
      1. Jesus is the pure water of life.
      2. God dug the well when Jesus died for our sins.
      3. Our job is to help those in despair and pain find that well and drink its pure, healing water.
    3. It is much easier to show people in Ghana God and His love by drilling a water well than it is to show people in America God and His love by ministering to those who are in despair.
      1. I have a very close friend who was baptized when he was 15.
        1. The preaching and teaching he heard made it so hard to be saved, so hard to belong to God that by 16 he decided that he was going to hell.
        2. Since he was going to hell, he decided that he would “split hell wide open.”
        3. You would have to work hard to live a more ungodly life than he lived as a young adult.
        4. With his life shot, his home shot, and his future shot, he finally learned enough about God’s grace to believe that even he could be forgiven.
        5. But he learned about God’s grace too late to save his home.
        6. Still, he turned his life around, learned to trust God, and became a changed person.
        7. A few years later his wife agreed to remarry him.
        8. For several years he has been an active, serving deacon.
        9. He drinks from the water of life.
      2. “Why don’t people come to us and drink from the water of life?”
        1. Could it be that when they see and hear us, they commonly see and hear the older brother, and rarely see and hear the Father?
        2. Could it be that they never see us drinking from the water of life?

[Prayer: God, help us realize that we are the wayward who need to come to you. Help us bring those in despair to you. Give us the wisdom not to be the older brother.]

I grieve when I realize that we “don’t get it.” We often despair over the choices our children make. Yet, we never realize that many of our children do not want what we have. They don’t want our lives. They don’t want our God. They don’t want our church. They don’t want a life that is too busy for relationship, too hectic for love, too fragmented for loyalty, and too judgmental for forgiveness.

Often they are not rebelling against God. They are rebelling against our shallowness. The water of life does not flow from a shallow well. It does not produce shallow lives.

[Song: There’s a Fountain Free]

Difficult and Dangerous vs. Convenient

Posted by on under Bulletin Articles

Sunday was a wonderful day! The singing was superb. Will Ed Warren’s class and Larry Henderson’s lesson were excellent. Jim Wilson and Roy Dunavin’s report was encouraging and insightful. Over $100,000 was given or pledged to help fund our missions outreach in 2000.

The “whip cream and cherry” topping was our first fellowship meal in the Family Life Center. Though not completed, we were permitted to use the floor area. The visiting was wonderful! Many talked about the obvious needs our new facilities would meet.

One of our special guests was Stephan Phoumasone. Stephan speaks eight languages. His wife, Anne, a citizen of France, was arrested with Jerry and Meg Canfield in Laos. Together, Stephan and Anne decided that he would enroll in the Sunset School of Preaching. He would prepare to teach and preach in Southeast Asia. We support Stephan as he studies at Sunset.

A class requirement for Stephan is preparation of a relevant lesson for West-Ark. Given opportunity, he will share that lesson with us next year. He asked me, “What can I share that will be relevant to West Ark?” We discussed a basic difference between a lesson that provides information and a lesson the increases understanding of information.

I suggested that he share with us the reasons for his decision. It had to be a difficult decision that required him to (a) live in a foreign culture; (b) do in-depth study in a foreign language; (c) live away from his wife; and (d) commit himself (and his wife) to a dangerous, difficult work. Why would established, successful adults do that?

His eyes and his mouth smiled as ideas flooded into his awareness. Then he shared with me a difference he saw in Southeast Asia. “There it is difficult and dangerous. Here it is so convenient. But Christians here do not understand what they have.” He was in no way critical or judgmental. He is much too appreciative. That difference bewildered him. How could Christians here have such great opportunity and not realize what they had?

We do not realize what we have. We do not understand how desperately we need it. As (a) society promotes self-centered existence, (b) culture embraces values that attack moral responsibility, and (c) marriage and family relationships crumble, we are mystified. We thought it was enough to have correct information, to declare correct information, and to defend correct information. It is not. If you doubt the inadequacy of correct information, look at what is happening in our families and the families of our Christian friends.

In this society, Christ will change lives when Christians demonstrate the relevance of God. If God is not making an obvious difference in our lives and families, why should others think God will make a difference in their lives and families?

Brother, Thank the People Who Sent You!

Posted by on November 14, 1999 under Bulletin Articles

Joyce and I spent four years on a mission field in West Africa. Love for God, Jesus, and people took us there.

When it began, the work did not comply with an unwritten government ordinance. This requirement was essential. Upon learning of the ordinance, we earnestly tried to comply. Because of our ignorance and some influential opponents, our work was completely stopped. For six months we could not visit the Christians, and congregations were not to meet. Those were painful times.

When God resolved this matter, we immediately began a preacher/teacher training school. Administration, writing materials, teaching, and problems consumed my time.

Late in our stay, our house was robbed. Mission funds were stolen. The authorities commandeered me and my car. I drove authorities to the homes of friends and watched from the car as they interrogated them. That experience devastated me!

I left that mission field exhausted and overwhelmed by my mistakes. I wondered if God could use anything I did for a lasting blessing. I felt a deep sense of failure.

In the early years after returning, we heard that major changes occurred within the church. Four years after leaving, a friend (a fellow missionary) and I returned for a three-week visit. We searched for and visited with congregations that we had known.

After spending most of a day visiting with congregations, we arrived in a village just before dark. A few days prior we sent word that we would come for a visit. We arrived to find a bar standing where the church building had been. Disappointment grew!

A man we did not know approached our car, identified himself as a Christian, and asked us to follow him to the building. We walked among small farms along a path lined with palm fronds and white washed stones. The path ended at a small building filled with Christians. They had waited for more than an hour for us to arrive.

At the end of a joyful assembly, a converted “witch doctor” told about the things he renounced to be a Christian. He lost his prestige, his friends, his influence, his money, and his wife. He asked, “Please take this message to the people who sent you. If you had not come, the people you taught could not have taught me. I would not be a Christian. Please, please thank them for sending you.”

Sharing God: The Cycle

Posted by on November 7, 1999 under Sermons

Most of you have spent several years of your life in the work force. The majority of us have spent at least half of our lives working in numerous jobs. I want to ask you two questions.

  • Question one: what is the most exciting, fulfilling work that you have been part of?
  • Question two: what is the most difficult, demanding work that you have been a part of?

The most exciting, fulfilling work that I have been part of is missions work. The most difficult, demanding work that I have been a part of is that same missions work.

In good circumstances, sharing the good news about the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection to people outside the United States is exciting, fulfilling work. At the same time, sharing the good news about the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection to people outside the United States is difficult, demanding work.

How can that be? How can working in the same country among the same people both be exciting, fulfilling work and difficult, demanding work?

  1. Let me share with you what I refer to as the cycle in mission work.
    1. In this cycle, I am speaking about good circumstances in a good situation.
      1. These people have had little exposure to Jesus Christ and may have never owned a Bible.
      2. They are eager to learn.
      3. They do not hate Americans.
    2. Stage one of the cycle involves the difficulty of getting started.
      1. The list that illustrates the challenges of getting started is too long to give.
      2. It involves so many things that you would never think about unless you committed yourself to mission work.
        1. It includes everything involved in selecting a country and determining where in that country you will live.
        2. It includes all that is involved in finding support and oversight for your work.
        3. Then when you actually go, it involves many practical matters that are solved slowly.
          1. Finding a place to live.
          2. Having pure water.
          3. Having a source of good food.
          4. Learning more about the culture and language of the people.
          5. Making certain that you know, respect, and abide by existing regulations and laws.
          6. Establishing your credibility.
          7. Learning how to distinguish between the opportunist and those sincerely interested.
          8. Simply learning how to function every day in a different culture.
    3. Stage two of the cycle begins when you begin to contact people who sincerely hunger and thirst for righteousness.
      1. This is the time when mission work is incredibly enjoyable.
      2. No experience compares to teaching a person who knew little or nothing about Jesus Christ and watching that person place his or her faith in Christ.
      3. Your credibility soars and your message is popular.
      4. Jesus is appreciated.
      5. Constantly you encounter sincere people who genuinely want to learn and genuinely want to understand.
      6. They sincerely appreciate your willingness to be there, your willingness to teach them, and the fact that you expect nothing from them.
      7. In this stage you are welcome and respected almost anywhere you go.
        1. Those who will oppose you do not yet understand what is happening.
        2. They have not determined how they will respond to what is happening.
      8. It is common for this to be a time of multiple conversions.
        1. Almost all your energy and your time is consumed in evangelism.
        2. You are overwhelmed with the opportunity.
        3. Everyone enjoys being a part of missions in this phase of the cycle.
    4. Stage three of the cycle begins when many new congregations come into existence.
      1. Now you live among many new congregations filled with infant Christians.
      2. Often those congregations are isolated from each other.
      3. Every congregation wants the missionary to come teach them every week.
      4. When a congregation begins, you may find yourself with baptized believers who have never worshipped God.
      5. They know almost nothing about prayer, the Lord’s Supper, or Christian songs.
        1. Either they have never been in a worship assembly, or they have been taught they have no right to lead a worship assembly.
        2. They literally need to learn how to worship.
      6. In the beginning, that can also be exciting.
    5. Stage four of the cycle focuses on the spiritual growth and maturing of new the converts and their congregations.
      1. This is a difficult, demanding stage–the difficulty is hard to exaggerate.
        1. It is a complex, complicated stage.
        2. It is a time consuming stage, but if it is not addressed, Christians will leave faith in Jesus as fast as people convert to Jesus.
      2. No missionary can handle all the problems that occur in this stage.
        1. Main problem number one: you have almost no written materials available.
          1. Most people do not have a Bible.
          2. They know little or nothing about Bible history.
          3. The Bible has to be in their language for them to study it.
          4. There are no written materials for classes.
          5. The missionary basically has three options:
            1. He can try to teach all the classes, but that becomes impossible as the number of congregations grow.
            2. He can try to write the needed study material and have it translated and printed, but that is time consuming and expensive.
            3. He can train people to teach, which involves many challenges.
        2. Main problem two: when a believer is baptized into Christ, he or she does not culturally change.
          1. Therefore, problems that are common place in the culture become common in the church.
          2. For example, a moral problem that is acceptable in the culture will be acceptable in the church.
        3. Let me give you a specific example.
          1. The missionaries I worked with took a multiple approach.
            1. We coordinated visits to the churches so we could visit as many as possible, but six missionaries cannot visit over a hundred congregations very often.
            2. We began a preacher training school which created opportunities and new problems.
            3. I wrote and had printed lessons that dealt with common moral problems they faced.
            4. I also wrote a series of about fifty lessons designed for new congregations.
          2. Commonly on Sundays I would visit a congregation, teach, and pass out some written material to leave with them.
            1. One Sunday morning at the close of worship I distributed two or three lessons about moral problems and asked questions.
            2. A Christian man raised his hand and said, “Brother, this paper says that if you sleep with another man’s wife that it is wrong. I do that often. Is it really wrong?”
          3. That culture did not define marriage as we do, did not look upon adultery as we do, and considered polygamy as desirable.
          4. Those problems were not simple to address.
      3. The challenge of maturing the churches quickly taught you:
        1. The most influential men were not the most spiritual men, but they commonly controlled the local church.
        2. Commonly young men were the only men free to attend classes, and their respect and credibility problem was enormous.
        3. Christians who cannot read or who have nothing to read learn slowly.
        4. Changes occur slowly because growth and maturing occur slowly.
        5. Helping them understand how to live as Christians was far more difficult than helping them understand how to become Christians.
  2. The enjoyable stage is the rapid conversion stage: every missionary likes to be a part of that stage.
    1. However, the period of great receptivity is not an indefinite period.
      1. Satan is not stupid.
      2. The opponents of Christianity learn quickly.
    2. That certainly is not new.
      1. One of the most exciting times to be a part of the church in Jerusalem was the period between Acts 2 and Acts 4.
        1. Jewish people were converting to Christ by the thousands.
        2. Christians were filled with joy, spent a lot of time together, and took care of each other.
      2. Acts 6 was not such an exciting time.
        1. The congregation faced a major problem, and that problem was created by their diversity.
        2. The problem was created by neglect, money, food, and a lack of respect.
        3. The wisdom of the apostles resulted in a good resolution of the problem.
      3. Acts 11 was even less exciting.
        1. Peter was the most prominent leader in the Jerusalem church.
        2. By God’s instruction and direction, Peter went to a non-Jewish home, taught non-Jewish people, and baptized them. (That was exciting!)
        3. The leadership in the Jerusalem church were upset with Peter for entering a non-Jewish home and baptizing them, and confronted Peter when he returned.
      4. Acts 15 was even less exciting.
        1. A zealous group of Jewish Christians from the Jerusalem congregation went to a large non-Jewish congregation in another country and informed them that they were not saved because they had not submitted to Jewish circumcision.
        2. The argument was so intense that it was taken to the Jerusalem leadership for resolution.
        3. The leadership made a decision, but it did not end the problem.
      5. Acts 21 was even less exciting.
        1. Christians in the church of Jerusalem deeply resented Paul converting non-Jewish people.
        2. Jerusalem Christians were so upset at Paul that the elders were concerned for Paul. The end result was that Paul was almost killed.

The Christians in Jerusalem had a hard time understanding the same thing we have a hard time understanding. They could not understand that God loved all other people as much as God loved them. Be honest. Don’t we struggle as we try to understand that God loves every other people as much as He loves us?

[Prayer: God, help us understand how much you love all people. Help us understand that you and Jesus are not Americans.]

Everyone should have the opportunity to know how much God loves them. Everyone should have the opportunity to understand what Jesus did for them.

In every country, in every society, there are people who are starved to learn about the living God and His son Jesus. Let’s suppose that you never had access to a Bible, never met a Christian, and lived in a culture that had no Christian influence. What kind of person would you be? What kind of life would you live?

With your Christian understanding, if you were in that situation, would you want an opportunity to hear about God’s love and Jesus’ death? Please help share the news of God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice.

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