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PLOWING THE SEA OR EVERLASTING SPLENDORS?

Oct 062024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “PLOWING THE SEA OR EVERLASTING SPLENDORS?

The story of Esau, what an encouragement to all of us! When God asked him, what is your name? It must have been with great apprehension and disappointment he could only say, “Jacob”. But the Angel of the Lord told him no longer! “Thou shall be called Israel”. He who now moves forward, not in his own power, but by the power of God. The new name that God named Jacob, by the power of God He was able to make him. He promises the same thing to us. Philippians says, “He who began a good work in you will continue to perform it unto the Day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved, not of yourselves, not of works, lest any man should boast”. Then verse 10 says it all, “for we are His workmanship, created unto good works”. The Greek word for “workmanship” is the word “poema” from which we get our word “poem”. The idea is we are God’s work and masterpiece. Just wait until you see His completed product.
Sometimes as Christians we get discouraged with our progress. One writer said, after reviewing his life, “that his efforts had been sown in an environment where they could not grow and not even the furrow would remain. He felt as if he was one ‘plowing the sea’ “. (Van Wyck Brooks). The great Irish poet W.B. Yeats, in his book Reveries, wrote “All life, weighed in the scale of my own life, seems a preparation for something that never happens!” Os Guinness said, in his book The Call, says most Christian’s lives are “an incomplete story, if not a story of incompletion”. G.K. Chesterton, in his Magnus Opus, Orthodoxy, wrote “To the question ‘what are you’ I can only answer ‘God knows’. Most Christians do not answer so humbly and perceptively today. We often answer that question with arrogance specifying our calling and accomplishments in a single sentence, and pronouncing our life’s accomplishments with such confidence as if they were things we could pile on a little red wagon and trundle them to God to solicit His approval and to the pride of our achievements! Such arrogance overlooks the fact that God alone must do the work in us and that is a mystery at the heart of our calling and identity. Os Guinness puts it succinctly, “God calls us and just as we hear Him, but do not see Him on this earth, so we grow to become what He calls us, even though we don’t see until heaven what He is calling us to become.”
No one has captured that better than George MacDonald in the sermon “The New Name” from Unspoken Sermons. He writes “Jesus promised us a white Stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it”. Then MacDonald pointed out, in good Biblical fashion that “the true name is one which expresses the character, the nature and the meaning of the person who bears it. It is the man’s own symbol, his soul’s picture, in a word a sign which belongs to him and no one else. Who can give a man this? So describe his nature? God alone! For no one but God sees what that man is.” Then he goes even further, “It is only when the man has become his name-that God then gives him the stone with the name upon it, for then for the first time can he understand what his name signifies. It is the blossom, the perfection, the completeness, that determines the name, and God foresees from the beginning because He made it so; but the tree of the soul, before its blossom comes, cannot understand what blossom it is to bear and could not know what the word meant, which in representing its own unarrived completeness, named itself. Such a name cannot be given until the man has become all the name means that God has given him. He will then be what God had in mind when He first created him-in His thoughts. To tell the name is to seal the success-to say in thee I am well-pleased”.
So don’t be discouraged or frustrated because you have not “grown into the name” that will be you in that day! We can live frustrated by the gap-the veritable Grand Canyon between our vision and our accomplishments. We are too easily depressed by the pages of our lives that are blotted with compromises, failures, betrayals, and sins. Yes you have had your say. Others have had their say. But make no judgments and draw no conclusions until the scaffolding of history is stripped away and you finally see what it means for God to have had His say! Wait to see how He makes you what He called you to be!
C.S. Lewis, has probably said it better than anyone. “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses (he means people being conformed to the image of God through Christ), to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature, which if you saw them now, you would be strongly tempted to worship them, or such a horror and corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. In light of these possibilities…there are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal…only immortal horrors or everlasting splendors!” (Weight of Glory).

SERMON: THE TESTIMONY WALKING THE ENOCH WALK
1 THESSALONIANS 3: 1-12

I. WALK IN HOLINESS (3: 1-8)
II. WALKING IN HARMONY (3: 9-10)
III. WALK IN HONESTY (3: 11-12)

Lost Passion-Lost Persuasion

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Sep 292024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Lost Passion-Lost Persuasion”.

One of the great agnostics of all time was Bertrand Russell. He was a very outspoken enemy of Christ and the Church. He wrote many books refuting the arguments for Christianity. Yet, in one of his books he spoke very pointedly to the key to our ministry and mission. His wife, Patricia Spence Russell was dying of a terminal illness. In his book, Why I Am Not A Christian, he wrote about his experience. Concerning watching his wife die, he wrote: “She seemed cut off from everything with walls of agony, and the sense of solitude of each human soul overwhelmed me! Every since my marriage my emotional life had been calm and superficial. I had forgotten all the deeper issues and had been content with flippant cleverness. Suddenly the ground seemed to give in beneath me, and I found myself in quite another region. Within five minutes I went through some reflections as the following: the loneliness of the human soul is undurable-nothing can penetrate it except the highest intensity of that sort of love religious teachers have preached! Whatever does not spring from this motive is harmless or at best useless; It is love that penetrates this loneliness in each person-we must speak to that!”

We live in a world that has no answers. They are looking for answers anywhere and everywhere and I finding none! The Church has the answer in Christ. But just trying to convince them of answers intellectually, without love and passion, the kind that Jesus shared with all He encountered, we will never get close enough to hear what we have to say. T.S. Eliot, in his Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, spoke about all men’s fear of eternity, and desire for answers. He wrote: “I have seen my moment of greatness flicker! And I have seen the eternal footman hold my coat and snicker! And I was afraid!” Mankind facing mortality and facing an uncertain future, behind the facade and false courage, is desperately open to loving passionate answers! This is a great opportunity for the Church to speak up and not stutter. What is the state of the Church? A.W. Tozer tried to warn the Church to stay ready. He wrote, in his book Rot, Rut, or Revival, in the chapter entitled “Causes of a Dozing Church?”- ‘What is the present condition of the Church? The bulk of Christians are asleep! Not unconverted! But asleep. God’s alarm is going off…yet we are sleeping through the alarm!” Another prophet to the Church, Southern Baptist Preacher, Vance Havner said, “If ever God’s people needed to be aroused and shocked, alarmed and awakened to their privilege and solemn duty-it is today! The Holy Spirit was given not to be a sedative, but a stimulant! We live in a time where people get excited about the trivial and shrug their shoulders at things affecting eternity!” C.H. Spurgeon says, “I am sure I do not have to unroll a page of history and ask you to glance down it except for a second; you will see the Church has fallen asleep, and has become…destitute of zeal having no ardent Passion! Every Christian is either a witness or an imposter. If you have never had sleepless hours; If you have never had weeping eyes. If you have never swelled as if your heart would burst-You need not anticipate that you will ever be called zealous. You do not know that the beginning of true zeal, for the foundation of zeal lies in the heart. The heart must be heavy with grief, and ever beat with holy heavy ardor! The heart must be vehement with desire-panting continually for God’s glory in saving the lost!” Tozer again speaks to our contentment with no passion. He writes “Too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right, but without being willing to endure the inconvenience of being right!” This contentment with our current status, without a passionate burden for winning the lost, we can convince ourselves that we are pleasing to our Lord. But George MacDonald reminds us-“In whatever we do without God we must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably!”

We have lost our burden for the lost. We no longer pray for their salvation. No longer look for opportunity to share Christ with them. We no longer spend restless nights without sleep burdened over the fact that they are facing eternity without salvation and Christ! They are not outwardly bothered about it-and the tragic thing is neither are we! Look at the people that changed history for Christ! Men like John Knox who prayed “give me souls or give me death!” “Scotland or I die!” By Charles Wesley who said, “The world is my parish”-and walked and rode horseback well into his eighties sharing the gospel the length and breadth of England, over 250,000 miles! Millions of converts! A visitor was taken into the Church pastored by Robert Murray McCheyene. He was shown the Pastor’s study-his Bible on the desk; the pages stained with tears for those he would preach to. C.H. Spurgeon who said, “If the lost go to hell do not let them go without being warned and prayed for. Let them climb over our bodies with our arms around their knees begging them to turn to Christ!”

Mary Booth, wrote a poem that expressed her heart.

“Oh for a heart that is burdened!
Infused with a passion to pray;
Oh for a stirring within me
Oh for this power every day

Or for a heart like my Savior;
Who being in agony prayed
Such caring for others, Lord give me,
On my heart let burdens be laid!

My Father I long for this passion
To pour myself out for the lost;
To lay down my life to save others,
To pray whatever the cost.

Lord teach me your secret
I’m hungry this lesson to learn!
Thy passionate passion for others,
For this blessed Jesus I yearn!”

Herbert Lockyer tells us that passion which brings tears of burden for the lost will touch lives, like Bertrand Russell told us! He wrote: “Tears win victories. A cold unfeeling dry-eyed Church has no influence on the souls of men!” William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army was asked after his retirement, why they were not winning the lost any longer! He wrote back two words! “Try tears!” Leon Kilbreath, Mr. Sunday School for Southern Baptists used to chastise us for not being involved and passionate about winning the lost. He used to say, “If we shared our Lord’s passion, why are our eyes so dry, our feet so frozen, our lips so silent!” In 1904 William Booth was invited to Buckingham Palace to be honored by King Edward VII. The King said, “You have done a great work General Booth. England recognizes you!” He was asked to sign the Kings book. William Booth wrote, “Your Majesty some men’s ambition is art; some men’s ambition is fame; some men’s ambition is gold; some men’s ambition is power. My ambition is the souls of men!” That used to be the passion and ambition of the Church. Passion for the Lost? Or Lost Passion? You know the tragic answer. That might explain our impotency!

Sermon: MR MOM
1Thessalonians 2: 1-11
I. Paul’s Role
II. Paul’s Risk
III. Paul’s Reward

What Is Wrong With The Church?

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Sep 222024

Pastor’s Perspective: “What Is Wrong With The Church?”

IT IS VERY FASHIONABLE nowadays to ask, “What is wrong with the Church?” It is no new subject. There has always been something or other wrong with the professing church, and there have always been speakers aplenty to discuss it. Unfortunately, their speaking usually relieves only the speaker and not the situation. One is reminded of the soap-box orator in London some years ago. He was lambasting the government with a vengeance. Somebody asked a policeman: “Why don’t you do something with him?” “Oh, leave ‘im alone,” the bobby replied, “It relieves ‘im and it don’t ‘urt us.” It is very easy today to focus on “What is wrong with the Church?” without attempting to encourage the Church. In the Book of Revelation Jesus gives us a picture of seven Churches and then gives them His encouragement on how to be overcoming Churches in the Last days. May we look at these words to be encouraged to focus on what can be right with the Church-so we can make an impact for him.
The composer Igor Stravinsky once wrote a new piece that contained a difficult violin passage. After several weeks of rehearsal the solo violinist came to Stravinsky and said that he could not play it! He had given it his best effort but found the passage too difficult, even unplayable. Stravinksky replied, “I understand that! What I am after is the sound of someone trying to play it!” Our Lord knows our shortcomings as His Church. He knows that what He asks of us is impossible. But he wants us to give our all in trying and He will add his power to our effort and we can make a great impact for Him.
I remember hearing an illustration of this truth given by Earl Palmer, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California. He was defending the Church against its critics who dismissed it for its hypocrisy, its failures, and its inability to measure up to the New Testament’s high standards. He compared the Church to a High School orchestra attempting to play Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. This is what he said, “When the Milpitas High School orchestra attempts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the result is appalling. I wouldn’t be surprised if the performance made old Ludwig roll over in his grave despite his deafness. You might ask, ‘why bother?’ Why inflict on those poor kids the terrible burden of trying to render what the immortal Beethoven had in mind? Not even the Chicago Symphony Orchestra can attain that perfection! My answer is this: The Milpitas High School Orchestra will give some people in that audience their only encounter with Beethoven’s great Ninth Symphony. Far from perfection, it is nevertheless the only way they will hear Beethoven’s message.” Every time I find myself discouraged by listening to the world talk about how far we as the Church fall short of what Jesus had in mind for His Church- I remind myself that although we may never achieve what the composer had in mind, there is no other way for His sounds to be heard on earth!

SERMON: THE PERFECT CHURCH
Thessalonians 1: 1-10

I. AN ENTHUSIASTIC CHURCH
II. AN EVANGELISTIC CHURCH
III. AN EXPECTANT CHURCH

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE

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Sep 152024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE:

In the Greek Islands, one can seek out the home of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. In the area, one can also find an olive tree, supposedly dating from his time. If this is so, this tree would then be some 2400 years old. The trunk of this tree is very large but completely hollow. The tree is little more than thick bark. There are a few long, straggling branches, but they are supported by sturdy wooden poles every few feet. It has an occasional leaf here and there and might produce a few olives each year. In the fields around, however, are olive groves in many directions. The strong, healthy, young trees with narrow trunks are covered with a thick canopy of leaves, under which masses of olives can be found each year. The tree of Hippocrates can still be called an olive tree by nature, in that it still shows the essential unique characteristics, but it has long since ceased to fulfill an olive tree’s function. Tourists file up to inspect this ancient relic, having some link to a dim history, but the job of the olive tree passed long ago to many successions of replanted trees.

Do you know any churches (or even people) like the tree of Hippocrates? The form is there, but the function is not. They have stopped reproducing and are satisfied just being who they have been, or having a noble history. It reminds me of the dilemma we find the Church in, during these “last days”. Jesus warned us that in the last days “the love of many would wax cold” (Matt. 10:42). The word “wax” is the word psucho-meaning “to blow”. The image is that there will be external winds blowing that will not “fan the flame”, but “extinguish” the zeal, the love, the passion, the fervor, and sincerity of Christians, and the Church. The idea is that the overwhelming trend of the day would be that Christians would become “hollow, empty, and powerless”. Jesus spoke, in warning to the Church of Ephesus, that “losing their first love”, uncorrected, would result in losing their impactful witness to the world. (Rev. 2:4-5). Paul spoke of the last day trend being a time when many would “depart from the faith” (I Tim. 4:1). Years ago, I heard Dr. Adrian Rogers warn that in the last days Christians would “desert the Church like rats swimming away from a sinking ship!” That is what Churches all over the United States are seeing. There are some growing mega-churches, who have capitulated to the world’s desires, becoming all that the world wants in a Church, and thus are attracting them. But in order to do that the Church has paid a very high price! Woodrow Krull, on Back to the Bible Broadcast has spoken to this issue. “When the Church becomes an entertainment center, Bible literacy is usually an early casualty. People go away from the event with a smile on their face… but a void in their life!” (Back to the Bible: Turning Your Life Around with God’s Word p.134).
We “old timers” remember Francis Schaeffer warning us years ago, “Here is the great Evangelical Disaster-the failure of the evangelical world to stand for the truth as truth. There is only one word for this-namely, accommodation: the evangelical church has accommodated to the world spirit of the age”
(The Great Evangelical Disaster, 1984, p.37).
If Rip Van Winkle were a Christian, and if he had fallen asleep during the last 25years, then awakened last week, he would have been stunned. He would have never dreamed the Church would have changed so much. The Church has become a hollow shell of what she used to be. What caused it? Steven Lawson explains:
“As the Church advances into the twenty-first century, the stress to produce booming ministries has never been greater. Influenced by corporate mergers, towering skyscrapers, and expanding economics, bigger is perceived as better. The church has taken on a “Wall Street” mentality. A new way of “doing” church is emerging. Bible exposition is being replaced by entertainment, preaching with performances, doctrine with drama, theology with theatrics. The pulpit is being replaced with trendy worship styles, glitzy presentations, and vaudeville-like pageantries. We are re-inventing the Church, and re-packaging the gospel as a product pleasing to the consumer. In a strange twist, the preaching of the cross is now foolishness, not only to the world, but also to the contemporary Church” (Steven Lawson, “The Priority of Biblical Preaching: Bibliotheca Sacra 2001. p.198-199).

Eugene Petersen, author of the Message, had also lamented this condition. He writes:

“American pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Congregations are still paying their salaries. Their names still appear on Church stationary. They continue to make appearances in the pulpit on Sundays…but they are abandoning their calling. They have metamorphosed into a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are the churches. They are preoccupied with shopkeepers concerns-how to keep the customers satisfied and happy. How to lure customers away from competitors down the street, how to package the goods so that the customer will lay out more money. It is shopkeeping. Religious shopkeeping…but shopkeeping none-the-less” (Eugene Petersen, Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Ministry Today p.1-2).

Another writer has put it succinctly: “In our day there is a focus on the “seeker-sensitive” service that will present the gospel in a way that will be attractive to…people. The task of the Church is not to assemble seekers, but to make disciples…the seriousness of the message must never be obscured by the desire to make the medium more attractive. The preacher’s task is not to entertain or inform but to plead passionately with men and women to flee the wrath to come on account of sin” (Ian M. Duguid The NIV Application Commentary: Ezekiel p.389).
This kind of weak, enemic, powerless Church is not the kind of “power-house” Jesus intended to be “turning the world upside down” in these last days. What are we to do? What are we to say? We sit back, hiding behind the locked doors, and the four walls of our fortified bastion, trembling, as we listen to the likes of atheistic bullies like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris, and others threaten to stomp us out of existence! Not for a minute. God help us to rise up, stand up, speak up, refuse to back up, with the power of the Church, infused with the Holy Spirit, as in the Book of Acts, until we are taken up.

As a Pastor I try to show my love for you all by praying for you. Visiting you as time allows. Visiting you when you are in the hospital. Being there to share your joy as you, or your children, or grandchildren marry. Be there when you go through the tragedy of loss and bereavement. That is all areas where God has given me a Pastor’s heart and has called me to show His presence by my presence. But the primary call on my life is to do what God has called me do do-what His Spirit has anointed me to do-to be a Pastor-Teacher (Eph. 411). Jesus asked Peter “do you love me?” and indicated that the way he should show it was by “feeding my sheep” “tending my lambs” and “feeding my sheep”. Since I have been your Pastor I have given more energy that I have at any other time in my life to study and prepare and preach and teach the Word of God to you. We have covered many books of the Bible, Old and New Testaments. We have studied major doctrines and preached many series of messages. We have taught January Bible Study every year. You keep praying for me that I will continue to challenge you to “hear the Word and heed the Word”. God has called me to call you to join me in being faithful followers of Jesus. That is one calling I do not plan to abandon. Only a strong and healthy Church can stand the test of these last days!

I love the story that Gregory P. Elder tells:

Growing up on the Atlantic Coast, I spent long hours working on intricate sand castles; whole cities would appear beneath my hands. One year, for several days in a row, I was accosted by bullies who smashed my creations. Finally I tried an experiment: I placed cinder blocks, rocks, and chunks of concrete in the base of my castles. Then I built the sand kingdoms on top of the rocks. When the local toughs appeared (and I disappeared), their bare feet suddenly met their match. Many people see the church in grave peril from a variety of dangers: secularism, politics, heresies, or plain old sin. They forget that the church is built upon a Rock (Mt. 16:16), over which the gates of hell itself shall not prevail.

Josh is bringing a message today on following Jesus onto the battlefield. His message is how to put on the whole armor of God and stand in the evil day. I know that he has been preparing to share his heart. Please pray and listen as he shares this morning.

SERMON: HOW TO PLANT A CHURCH
Acts 17: 1-15

I. THE PLANTER
II. THE PROCEDURE
III. THE POWER

Losing Ground or Any Direction as long as it is forward

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Sep 082024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Losing Ground or Any Direction as long as it is forward”

In 1988 I had the privilege of attending the Conference on Biblical Inerrancy/Biblical Interpretation held at the Second Baptist Church of Houston, Texas. I had the privilege of taking seminar classes at the feet of some of the most gifted Evangelical Scholars of all time. I attended classes taught by Charles Swindoll; Charles Ryrie; Howard Hendricks; Charles Stanley; Ed Young Sr; John Bisagno, and others. My favorite class was the one taught by perhaps one of the greatest theological minds of our generation-Carl F.H. Henry. I still remember a quote by Dr. Henry as if it was only yesterday. He said, “Gentlemen, we sing with enthusiasm ‘Like a Mighty Army Moves the Church of God’-but an army that only captures a few scraggly prisoners each year is hardly worth name ‘a Mighty Army’ “. He was emphasizing the fact that for all our innovations, programs, and advancements that the Church is losing ground in its impact on people’s lives. What was true then is ever more true now. We spend great time and energy trying to communicate to our generation and communities and they “stay away in droves!”. Don Francisco described our generation as one “rushing helter, skelter to destruction with their fingers in their ears!”. It reminds me of something I read years ago in a book by Bill Bright and James Davis. They wrote, in their book Beyond All Limits, about an experience of the famed English Explorer Sir William Perry. Perry was known for his efforts in mapping most of the Southern Polar Cap. They write, “On one particular expedition, (Perry) and his crew were preparing to kike to another unfamiliar location. On eve of their departure, they studied the stars and determined their exact coordinates. As the sun rose, they began a hard lengthy journey to this unmapped region. They marched through the ice and the snow, and the howling wind, all day long with the freezing air burning their lungs. At sunset they lengthy made camp, totally exhausted from their day’s trip. After their evening meal, before retiring to rest, Perry studied the stars again to determine their exact coordinates, and to log their progress northward. What he discovered totally stunned him! Though he and his crew had journeyed north, a full day’s journey, traveling as fast and furious as they could, They were now further South that when they started at the day’s dawn. How could that be? But the coordinates do not lie! After struggling to solve this perplexing paradox, they finally discovered the truth. They had indeed traveled a full day northward, but…they were on a giant sheet of ice that had broken away from the rest of the land, and they were floating South at a greater pace than they were driving North. So, in spite of all their efforts…in spite of going in the right direction…they were losing ground and did not even know it”. When I read that I thought what a description of the Church in this new millennium. We do everything in our power, as a fast and furious pace, hoping to make progress in our ministry to the world, only to find out each day, each month, each year we are losing ground. How can that be? It is due to the bigger picture. John, in his First Epistle, told us the problem is the whole world has broken loose, and is lying in the lap of the evil one. Satan is busier than ever “blinding the minds” of those who believe not. He and his evil fowls are stealing the seed of the Word of God ever so quickly as it lands on the hardened soil of the hearts of the listeners. What are we to do? The Church is getting discouraged and going on the defensive.
It is to our generation of believers that the words of Winston Churchill find new application. Someone has said that during WWII that Sir Winston Churchill “mobilized the English language and sent it into Battle!” The sagacity and satire, the zesty wit, and daring defiance of this great man fired the inspiration of his generation to fight for victory. In his orders to Lord Louis Mountbatten Churchill said this-“You are to plan for the offensive. In your headquarters YOU WILL NEVER THINK DEFENSIVELY!” Not bad words for us to hear today. Stay on the OFFENSIVE! NEVER GIVE UP! Dr. Alan Redpath, Pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, years ago said, “The thing we need to be afraid of today is that the spirit that produces world trends should invade Christ’s Mighty Army and argue us off the offensive into a compromised co-existence with the world’s attitudes-so that we end up like the world-taking lessons in French and practicing Detente!” Maybe that is what Dr. Carl F.H. Henry was saying! In these last days we must stay on the OFFENSIVE!
How are we to do that? Let me briefly mention some ways to do that. Number one we must STAND UP. I Corinthians 16:13 Paul told the Church of Corinth that they need to “stand firm in the faith; act like men; be strong!” (I Cor. 16:13 NASB). One way to stay on the offensive is to take opportunity on every occasion to prove our faithfulness to our LORD by taking a stand for Him. We have too many Christians wimping out. It is getting harder and harder to tell the Christians from the worldlings! Vance Havener said, “the world is getting more Churchy and the Church more worldly, it is getting harder to tell them apart”. Someone asked a dear elderly lady who was nearly blind, deaf, and so crippled she could barely get around, why she bothered to come to Church. She couldn’t read the words on the screen, couldn’t hear the testimonies, and certainly heard very little of the sermon. But she never missed a Sunday service. Her reply, “I want the devil to know whose side I’m on!”. Does the World and the Devil know whose side you’re on? STAND UP FOR JESUS! But then we must SPEAK UP. The Bible says “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!” (Ps. 107:2). Someone has said, “sometimes Silence is not Golden-It is downright YELLOW!” The Christian on the offensive speaks up for his LORD in the power of the Spirit. One of the key words in the book of Acts is the word Parresia-boldness. The Church was so effective because the fullness of the Spirit that made them witnesses included a powerful boldness. That is missing today. We must tap back into HIs Power. Then we need to LOOK UP. Luke 21:28 says, “When you begin to see these things come to pass, LOOK UP your redemption is drawing nigh”. We need to be a GOING CHURCH FOR A COMING LORD! C.S. Lewis said those who “thought most of the other world, have done the most for this one!” Amen! People with eternity in mind will make the greatest impact on time…because they know the time is short…and eternity is so long! Then stay on the OFFENSIVE until we are TAKEN UP! (I Thes. 4:17) “We who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the LORD in the air and so shall we ever be with the LORD”. Even so come LORD JESUS.
David Livingston was asked which direction he would go next in his missionary work in
Africa. He replied, “Any direction. As long as it is FORWARD!” Her at THE VALLEY we would do well to imitate his sincere example! AS the hymn asks…” Are Ye Able said the Master?” How you and I answer that will determine the entire future of OUR CHURCH!

SERMON: HOW TO PLANT A CHURCH
Acts 17: 1-15

I. THE PLANTER
II. THE PROCEDURE
III. THE POWER

GO FOR SOULS…GO FOR THE WORST!

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Sep 012024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “GO FOR SOULS…GO FOR THE WORST!”

Most of us are very familiar with the ministry of the Salvation Army. We have all given donations to the Red Kettle, and probably many of us have even taken a turn or two at “ringing the bell”. Every major town or city has its Salvation Army Church and ministry center right in the heart of where it is needed most! That was the aim of their founder from the beginning. William Booth started this ministry in 1865, on the East Side of London England with that very intent. He said, “Go for souls…and go for the worst”. He did that very thing. He encountered and won the prostitutes, gamblers, alcoholics, and homeless beggars to Christ. His ministry revolved around the three “s”‘s-Soup-Soap-Salvation! He was converted under the ministry of John Wesley, carried on by Wesley’s followers after his death in 1791. Booth found Christ at a Methodist revival in 1844, at the age of 15. He said, “I worshipped everything that bore the name Methodist. To me there was one God, and John Wesley was his prophet. I had devoured the story of his life. No human compositions seemed to me to be comparable with his writings…the best hope for the salvation of the world was the faithful carrying into the practice the letter of the spirit of his instructions”. He spent his life doing just that! He said. “The greatness of a man is the measure of his surrender!” In that regard William Booth is a great man and a great example of those who would follow Jesus.

Let me share a few of his impactful quotes. He said, “to get a man soundly saved it is not enough to put on him a pair of new breeches, to give him regular work, or even to give him a university education. These things are all outside a man, and if the inside remains unchanged you have wasted your labor…you must graft on the man’s nature a new nature, which has in it the element of the Divine!” Listen to this: “It is against stupidity in every shape and form that we have to wage eternal battle. But how can we wonder at the want of the sense on the part of those who have had no advantages, when we see such plentiful absence of that commodity on the part of those who have had all the advantages!”. Called to ministry? His view: “Not called! Did you say? Not heard the call. I think you should put your ear to the Bible and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened agonized hear of humanity and listen to their pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters not to come to this place of torment. Then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world!” “God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with passion for the impossible!” “We must wake ourselves up or somebody else will take our place, and bear our cross, and steal our crown”.

He said the danger for the future is: “A religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and heaven without hell!” He was a very perceptive prophet. Listen to his determination. “While women weep, as they do now. I’ll fight. While children go hungry, as they do now-I’ll fight. While men go in and out of prison, as they do now-I’ll fight! While there remains one dark soul without the light of God-I’ll fight. I will fight until the very end!” “We are not to minister to a congregation and be content to keep things going. We are sent to make war and to stop short of nothing but the subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus”. When he was asked to speak to a graduation class of clergymen he said, “If I would have had my way you men would not have been graduated with just these studies. I would have had you spend twenty-four hours in hell to experience the torments of those who are damned and then turned you loose on a dying world!”. Toward the end of his life, he was unable to attend the annual meetings of his denomination. They asked him to telegraph a message for the congregants. He responded with one word-“Others!” When he was told that the work was failing and they did not know what to do next-he responded with a two-world telegraph-“Try tears!” It would not hurt us to take a refresher course in the theology of General William Booth. He sounds very much like our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen?

SERMON: WE DON’T HAVE TO COME BACK BUT WE MUST GO
Acts 16:1-10

I. He Has the Commitment
ll. He Hears the Cry
III. He Heralds with Clarity

Finding out where joy resides…and giving it a voice

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Aug 262024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Finding out where joy resides…and giving it a voice”. – (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Robert Louis Stevenson said, the real work of the Poet is “finding out where joy resides and give it a voice beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss it all!” Every man, woman, boy, and girl on this planet is on a pilgrimage in search of joy. Most, even Christians, seem to be “missing the joy”, and therefore, concluding that we are in danger of “missing it all!” Many even dismiss our lack of joy as actually following in the steps of Jesus, who Himself is designated in Scripture, not the man of joy, but the “man of sorrows”. There is an Epistle, called the Epistle of Publius Lentulus To The Roman Senate. It records a description of Jesus. Listen to what it says about Jesus: “He is a tall man, well-shaped and of an amiable and reverend aspect; his hair is of a color that can hardly be matched, falling into graceful curls…parted on the crown of his head, running as a stream to the front, after the fashion of the Nazarites; his forehead is high, large, and imposing; his cheeks without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with a lovely red; his nose and mouth formed with exquisite symmetry; his beard, of a color suitable to his hair, reaching below his chin and parted in the middle like a fork; his eyes bright blue, clear, and serene…” Then comes the statement that has really had a greater influence on the Church, and on us, more than we care to admit…it says, “No man has seen him laugh”. The inference is that Jesus never did laugh; that humor had no part in his life, and since we are his followers, it should have no part in ours! But I reject that. Two reasons. First of all, The Epistle of Lentulus has been shown to be a fraudulent document. It was published in 1514 in Venice, Italy and widely circulated throughout all of Europe. You can even find a copy of it in the rare book room of the Library of Congress. But it is a fraudulent epistle! What it says about Jesus, especially about Jesus not being a “man of joy”-misses the true picture of our Lord and Savior. After all, when Jesus was born, the angels said, “I bring you Good News of Great Joy!”(Luke 2:10). Even John the Baptist, still in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, upon hearing about Jesus, “leaped for joy in her womb!” (Luke 1:44). The second reason for rejecting it is the truth of Scripture that infers Jesus was a “man of Joy”.
Professor John Knox says, Jesus was “a Man of incomparable moral insight, understanding and imagination, of singular moral purpose and integrity, of extraordinary moral courage and ardor, of intense devotion to duty, and of joyous trust in God…although He took life very seriously, there is no reason to think He took it ssolemnly; PerhapsHe took it too seriously to take it solemnly! He presented the whole gamut of human life with absolute fidelity and freshness and great good humor…He believed what is beautiful and good in the world and in human life is to be enjoyed without apology” (The Man Christ Jesus. c. 1942). Elton Trueblood, another author and writer from that era, agreed whole-heartedly and even wrote a book on The Humor of Christ. Jesus sent out His disciples on their first preaching ministry, and when they came back, they were rejoicing that “even the demons were subject to them”. (Luke 10:17 “they returned with great joy”). He told them, “Rejoice because their names were written, and would remain written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Then Luke includes a footnote here. He writes, “At that time Jesus, FULL OF JOY THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID, ‘I PRAISE YOU FATHER, BECAUSE YOU HAVE HIDDEN THESE THINGS FROM THE WISE…AND REVEALED THEM UNTO THE CHILDREN”. (Luke 10:21). There it is…”Jesus, full of JOY through the HOLY SPIRIT”. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:20 “The fruit of the Spirit is…JOY”. Jesus was filled with the Spirit all during the days of His flesh. He is an enigma. He was a “man of sorrows” but also “a man of Joy”. At the close of his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton declares that “joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian”. He adds that Jesus, when He came to earth, kept that secret to Himself as well. “He concealed something…He restrained something…There was something that He hid from all men…some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth”-i.e. “His Joy”. In Hebrews 12:2 we are told to fix our eyes on Jesus, who for “the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God”…His work finished. That gave Him great joy. His death was the only way to secure our names on Heaven’s saved list! How do we know that He felt that joy? On Easter morning, when Jesus encountered the women for the first time, in His resurrection body, His redemptive mission complete, for the joy that had been set before Him, we hear Him greet the women. Matthew 28:9 says, Jesus said, “All Hail”. What a lame translation. It has been translated many ways-“Good morning”-“Greetings”-even “Peace”. But the Greek word is-“Chairete”- It should be translated emphatically-“Oh Joy!”. Why? The agony was finished; the arrest, the trial, the conviction, the sentencing, the mocking, the beating, the torture, the crucifixion, the blackness of sin, the torture of hell, was all past, the price paid, the mission complete, the offering accepted, the atonement made. The only thing left to do was to Celebrate with Great Joy. Walter J. Chantry had this in mind when he wrote, “The only lasting and fully satisfying joys for any man lie on the other side of the Cross”. That is why when C.S. Lewis came to Christ he referred to his conversion as being “surprised by joy”. He said, “joy is the serious business of Heaven”. S.D Gordon said, “joy is distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing. It is the reverse of happiness. Happiness is the result of what happens of an agreeable sort. Joy has its springs deep down inside. And that spring never runs dry, no matter what happens. Only Jesus gives that joy. He had joy, singing its music within, even under the shadow of the cross”. And we could add “even, especially because of the shadow of the cross!”.
William Barclay, a British writer not always known for being conservative in his theology, expressed Jesus’ joy being manifest in the lives of His disciples in a magnificent way. He said, “The blessedness which belongs to the Christian is not a blessedness which is postponed to some future world of glory; it is a blessedness that exists here and now. It is not something into which a Christian will enter; it is something into which he has already entered. It is a present reality to be enjoyed. The Beatitudes say, ‘Oh the bliss of being a Christian! Oh, the joy of following Christ! Oh, the sheer happiness of knowing Jesus Christ as Master, Savior, Lord!’ They are a statement of the joyous thrill and radiant gladness of the Christian life. Joy that shines through tears. The world can win its joys and the world can lose its joys. But the Christian has the joy that comes from walking forever in the company and the presence of Jesus Christ!”
Blaise Paschal, the French mathematician and genius who died in 1662, after running from God until he was 31 years old, on November 23, 1654 at 10:30 P.M. met God, through His Son Jesus Christ. He was profoundly and unshakably converted to Jesus Christ. he wrote his experience down on a piece of paper and sewed it into his coat. Though he testified and wrote of his Christian faith, this experience was not discovered until after his death, by his family. He had written “Year of grace 1654, Monday 23 November…from half past ten until twelve thirty, FIRE! God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude. Heartfelt JOY. Peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. My God and your God. JOY, JOY, JOY, TEARS of JOY…Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. May I never be separated from Him!” Robert Louis Stevenson, in that search for “finding out where joy resides” did not always fare well in his search. He wrote, “If I have faltered more or less in my great task of happiness…Lord, thy most pointed pleasure take and stab my spirit broad awake (with it)”. For he knew to miss the Joy of the Lord is to miss it all! He found it. Blaise Paschal found it. Have you and I found it? It resides in Jesus…giving voice to Him is giving voice and reality to joy! No wonder there is joy in the presence of the angels this morning!

SERMON: THE FORGOTTEN GREAT WORDS OF JESUS
Acts 20:35

I. THE FATHER GAVE HIS SON
I. THE SON GAVE HIMSELF
III. THE SAVED GIVE THEIR HEARTS AND LIFE

Happy Unscrupulous Fishing: You Have a Divine License!

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Aug 182024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Happy Unscrupulous Fishing: You Have a Divine License!”

Recently, my son Justin, reminded me that now that I am a Senior Citizen that I do not have to buy a fishing license any longer. What an exasperating feeling! One definite reason to get back into a habit that I have always enjoyed, but have not had much time to do it lately. I have always loved to fish. I have been an avid fisherman since Junior High days. I wish I could say that my Dad taught me how to fish. But actually, I only remember him taking our family fishing on one occasion, and I was quite small. There may have been more times than that, but not that I can recall. My older brother loved to fish. He was especially fond of going to pay lakes where you could catch some of the “big fish”, but he usually did not want a kid brother tagging along! My venture as a fisherman came when a new kid moved into our neighborhood. His name was Mike Phillips. Mike did not really like baseball, football, basketball, or tetherball. But he loved to fish. He talked me into joining him on a fishing trip to the neighboring Fairview Park in Decatur, Illinois, and we tried our luck at Dreamland Pond there. After that first day I was hooked! Dreamland was stocked with enough fish that they kept you busy with bites. Then we graduated to Steven’s Creek, a small tributary of the Sangamon River, that ran through Macon County. The real adventure then was to walk to Lake Decatur, and fish down by the Dam. We mostly fished with Zebco rods and reels, and fished on the bottom. I learned to catch all kinds of fish-bluegill; crappie; yellow belly catfish, an occasional channel cat; carp, and sucker fish. I learned how to concentrate on the end of that pole, be patient for the strikes, until you were sure this was the one where the fish took the bait. Moderate success kept me coming back for several years as a teenager. It was only after leaving for college, and entering into the pastorate, and working that it became more and more difficult to enjoy the hobby that I learned early on. But fishing can be a wonderful joyful past time.

Henry David Thoreau reminded us that “men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after!” Robert Altman says, “You put a line in the water and you don’t know what is on the other end. Your imagination is under there!” John Buchan says, “The charm of fishing is that pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope”. Garrison Keillor quite pointedly reminded us ” Thank you dear God, for this good life. Forgive us if we do not love it enough. Thank you for the rain. Thank you for the chance to get up after only three hours of sleep to go fishing. I thank you now, because I won’t feel quite so thankful about it then, in the morning!” Steven Wright says, “There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot!” I have done both! Haven’t you? But in spite of all of that-fishing has been something that has given me great satisfaction over the years, and I hope will again, not that I am a Senior Citizen! Lol.

That is why I find it intriguing that Jesus used fishing as a metaphor to describe winning the lost. It is a graphic metaphor for a very important subject. It is no small thing that four of his earliest disciples were chosen from the ranks of hearty fisherman that labored daily all over the Sea of Galilee. That metaphor conveys quite vividly important parallels to those who know even a little bit about the sport. When I was a teenager, feeling the call of God on my life to enter the ministry, the Pastor who had led me to Christ took me under his wings. I owe a lot to him for giving me opportunities to preach on youth Sundays, for recommending me to other Pastors to preach Youth Revivals, and for recommending me to the Church in Clinton, that I had the privilege of Pastoring at the ripe old age of 17. This year I am celebrating 50 years in ministry. Russell Pittman was the one God used mightily to lead me into such an honorable calling. I remember that Bro. Pittman belonged to a special group of Pastors. They called themselves the “Fishers of Men Fellowship”. It was a network of Pastors in Central Illinois who were dedicated to Soul-Winning, and in order to encourage each other, and the membership of their Churches, they had annual conferences on Soul-Winning on a rotating basis at each other’s Churches. These meetings were called “The Fishers of Men Fellowship Conferences”. I heard some of the best soul-winning preaching from Russell Pittman; Virgil Graham; Jerry McDaniel; Laverne Arndt; Gerald Thompson; and Mickey Hutchingson. They choose that term from Matthew 4:19. Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He saw Peter and Andrew, James and John fishing, and later cleaning their nets from a hard day’s work. Passing by, He challenged them to come and follow Him, and “He would make them to become Fishers of Men!” In Luke 5:10-11 Jesus challenged them again to “join Him in Catching Men”. The Greek word is “zogreo”- which should be translated-“catch men alive”. An invitation to join the Master and learn His technique. They took Him up on the challenge.

As we meditate on those passages, I want you to think with me about three things concerning that metaphor. The first thought is pretty much understood. The last two not so much! I hope it stretches your thinking, and broadens your perspective a bit. First of all, He likely choose that metaphor because of the apparent similarities that fishing for fish and fishing for men have between them. Fishermen must go to the location of the fish. Fish do not search for the Fishermen…just hoping to be caught! Fishermen need to know what fish they are seeking. Such knowledge lets you know their habits and habitats. Some like the deep. Others the shoreline. You need to know the bait that lures them. Some like Wheaties in a ball on a treble hook; others blood bait on a treble hook; many prefer a worm or a nightcrawler; Salt water fish prefer shrimp or cut-up pieces of squid. Bass seem to like the lures, especially a spinner with a plastic worm. It takes real skill to go fly fishing for Trout. Such knowledge is invaluable to the successful fishermen…and imperative for the Fisher of Men. A fisherman must have a desire to go at inconvenient times, and sometimes inconvenient locations to find the “best spots”. That is true of those who fish for men. There is never a convenient time, and usually never a convenient place. But we must go. Fishermen must be patient. You usually do not throw your line in and have a continuous experience of catching one fish after another. It also takes practice. You must develop strategy and skill…both in luring and landing the fish. I remember the first time Bonna and I took Justin and Josh fishing. Josh was a little young and found waiting for that first bite a little boring. Justin had a little more patience being a little older. Justin got the first bite. He pulled back to set the hook. Soon it appeared the fish had led him into a snag. He handed me his pole to get the snag loose. As I attempted to do that, the snag began to pull back! He and I together fought the fish, and landed a 12-pound catfish! Huge fish for his first catch! We have pictures of that trophy. Lol. These things find parallels to fishing for men. Jesus knew we would understand that much.

But…there are Bible teachers that believe that Jesus did not only mean that fishing was the only professional metaphor He saw as illustrative of soul-winning. Some believe that He was inferring that whatever your profession and talent is-if you will follow Him, and dedicate your giftedness to the Lord, that He will transform and sanctify your profession too, as He did these fishermen. Whatever our giftedness in life is-given to Him-it can be used to further the Kingdom of God. After all, Levi-Matthew was a tax collector. He was a gifted businessman. He knew a lot of people. He knew a lot of other tax collectors, and had the gift of instructing them, and entertaining them at his home. After his conversion, his first act was to invite them all over for a party, and introduce them to the one who loved spending time with tax collectors and publicans. That might just be where Zachaeus first heard of Jesus. I remember hearing Stuart Briscoe preach a message entitled Ordinary People Make Wonderful Disciples. In the message he spoke of a woman that he met at a conference. He asked her what she did for a living. He wasn’t prepared for her answer. She told him-“I am a disciple of Jesus Christ…cleverly disguised as a school teacher”. He said, “for the first time I understood that Christ wanted us to be primarily disciples who extended the Kingdom of God…through whatever gifted profession He had placed us in. We were to grow where we were planted!” Many believe that is the message of the fishers of men metaphor. Think of your calling. Take inventory on your talent pool. Dedicate that to the Lord. He will sanctify it and use it to win others to Himself through you. That may be the message of Solomon when he said “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your heart”. (Eccles. 9:10). Or what the Apostle Paul meant when He told the Colossians “Whatever you do-do it heartily unto the Lord…serving Christ!” (Col. 3:23-24).

But then there is another thought to incorporate into this devotion. Many feel that Jesus had a particular Old Testament passage in mind when He invited these four anglers to come and join Him in His work. Many feel that He was referencing Jeremiah 16:16 which says “I am sending forth many fishers declares the LORD, and they will catch them” The context speaks of those who have spent their time pursuing idolatry will be caught in the nets of judgment. The “fishers of men” reference may be a double-edged sword. There will be those who will be caught in the nets, and belong to the LORD in His Kingdom. But those who dodge the net He throws out, will escape to their own destruction. In the Parable of the Dragnet, in Matthew 13:47-49, Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven was like casting a net into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind. When it was full it was time for the sorting of the fish…the good into containers, the bad were discarded. Some are caught in Gospel nets and swept into Eternal Life. Others caught up in their own destruction. The same Sun that melts the snow, hardens the clay. Paul said that our witness is a sweet-smelling savior, an aroma of life to those believing. But he also said our witness is an aroma of death, to those who reject the Gospel, and are in the process of perishing. The Gospels record Jesus, the Master Fisherman, drawing in Nichodemus, the Woman of Samaria, (The Bad Samaritan!), The Demoniac of Gadara, and many others in His gospel nets. It shows the “ones who got away too”. –The Rich Young Ruler; The Pharisee Praying in the Temple with the Publican; Herod; Pilate; Caiaphas; His nets flung from the cross even netted the Thief on the Cross; and the Centurions at the foot of the Cross. Never forget God, in His Sovereign work, casts His nets into the lives of those who are willing to be captured for Himself and Life. C.S. Lewis made this point so clear in his book Surprised By Joy. He answered a young atheist who had asked for his advice with these words-“A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful about his reading. There are traps everywhere-Bibles laid open, millions of surprises, as Herbert says, ‘God uses nets and stratagems in His dealings with us’ (a reference to George Herbert-poet and author of the 1600’s) and I might add is very unscrupulous in His use of them on us”. Lewis had been caught in God’s fishing nets, and called himself “he most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England”. Of course, his intellect and profession became a great vehicle for God to apologetically defend the Gospel through him, like few others. One lesson I learned from those Fisher of Men Conferences I attended as a young man is that winning the lost only occurs when God’s Spirit empowers us to cast the Gospel nets into lives He longs to capture. Without His presence and power, we would fare no better than the disciples who toiled all night and “caught nothing!”. Twice, in Luke 5 and John 21, Jesus illustrated with His touch and technique the haul will be so successful it nearly breaks the Gospel nets! Go ahead launch out into the deep. Cast out on the right side. Happy Unscrupulous fishing. You have a Divine license.

SERMON: THE PROMISE OF THE COMING

Matthew 4:19

THE PROMISE
THE PROCESS
THE PRODUCT

IDENTITY-YOU CAN’T GO BACK HOME TO FIND IT!

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Aug 112024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “IDENTITY-YOU CAN’T GO BACK HOME TO FIND IT!”

In 1975, two years before his death, Charlie Chaplin was visiting France. He visited nearby Monaco, and while there he entered “Charlie-Chaplin Look-Alike Contest”. He thought he was a shoe-in to win the prize money, and everyone would have a good laugh. Charlie came in third! Most thought it was due to the fact that most of his movies were in black and white, and in real life his genuine baby blues may have made him look less like Chaplin than at least two others in the contest. Coming in third in your own contest might just cause you to suffer an “identity crisis”! Identity crisis-i.e. “knowing who we really are”, can be devastating. Arthur Miller, in his book Death of A Salesman, brings that out in relation to his main character Willy Loman. In one excerpt Miller describes the precarious position of his character by saying, “He’s a man out there in the blue, riding a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back-that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished!” The identity crisis was too much for Willy to handle, and he ended up “taking his own life”. At the funeral, with just a hand-full of people there, Bif, his oldest son remarks, “Willy had all the wrong dreams…he never knew who he was!”

Miller was quite adept at describing not only Willy Loman’s predicament, but the one that the entire human race faces every day. Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going? Is there any meaning to all of this? What is my mission for being here? Do I even have one? G.K. Chesterton, in his book Orthodoxy, points out that this is the condition of all human-kind apart from their relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. He writes, “We have all read in scientific books, and indeed in all romances, the story of the man who has forgotten his name. This man walks about the streets and can see and appreciate everything: only he cannot remember who he is. Well, every man is that man in the story. Every man has forgotten who he is…We are all under the same mental calamity; we have forgotten our names. We have all forgotten who we really are…we all feel the riddle of the earth without anyone to point it out. The mystery of life is the plainest part of it…Every stone or flower is a hieroglyphic of which we have lost the key; with every step of our lives we enter into the middle of some story we are certain to misunderstand”. Frederick Buechner points out that we lose our true identity, our “true shimmering self” that God intended for us to be by letting this world force us to become who they think we should be. In his book Telling Secrets he illustrates this: “Starting with the rather too pretty young woman and the charming but rather unstable young man, who together know no more about being parents than they do the far side of the moon, the world sets in to making us what the world would like us to be, and because we have to survive after all we try to make ourselves into something that we hope the world will like better than it apparently did the selves that we originally were. That is the story of all our lives, needless to say, and in the process of living out that story, the original shimmering self, (that God intended us to be through Him), gets buried so deep that most of us hardly end up living out of it at all. Instead, we live out all the other selves which we are constantly putting on and taking off like coats and hats against the world’s weather!’ Buechner, in a later book Now and Then, went on to explain that we can recover the buried shimmering self though listening to God’s Word, listening to fellow Christian’s that God puts in our lives through His Church, but also by seeking His face in the experiences of life. He writes, “God speaks to us…through official channels as the Bible and the Church,…but I think He speaks to us largely through what happens to us…if we keep our hearts and minds open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize, beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that however little we may understand of it, at the time, His Word to each of us…is precious beyond telling”.

Most people live their life with that Willey Loman identity crisis. David Letterman, in an interview not long before he retired, basically said that his sense of himself was only grounded in the twenty-four-hour period between shows. If the last show was good, he felt good about himself. If the audience didn’t respond, he felt horrible instead. Women often share the same identity crisis when society tells them their only value is in their external beauty. Marilyn Monroe, after becoming famously the most beautiful woman in the world, went to nightclubs disguised in a black wig to see if she could still attract a man as Norma Jean. When she got so much less response the emptiness of her Hollywood identity turned into a crisis that left her with the same fate as Willy Loman! That is why God comes to us, desires us to know Him, and find our true identity in who He intended us to be. Simon Tugwell writes, “So long as we imagine that it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about; He is looking for us. And so we can afford to recognize that very often we are not looking for God; far from it, we are in full flight from him, in high rebellion against Him. And He knows that and has taken it into account. He has followed us into our own darkness; there where we thought we finally escaped Him, we run straight into His arms. So we do not have to erect false piety for ourselves, to give us hope for salvation. Our hope is in His determination to save us, (see the Cross), and He will not give up!” Finding our identity in Christ, through the salvation that God provides through His grace, is the only way to be completely at peace with who we are and what God is making us to be. Gerald May, a dynamic Christian counselor who deals with battles that Christians struggle with all the time says: “There is a desire within each of us, in the deep center of ourselves which we call heart. We are born with it, it is never completely satisfied and it never dies. We are often unaware of it, but it is always awake…Our true identity, our reason for being, is found in this desire”.

Peter had found this identity in Christ. Jesus had called him to follow Him, and to become a fisher of men. After Calvary, and even after the resurrection, Peter was still languishing with an “identity crisis”. He decided that he would go back home, take up the fishing for fish business, and walk away from what he had been called to do. He found out what Thomas Wolfe found out, and expressed in his great novel-You Can’t Go Home Again. After Jesus…Peter’s identity was never to be on the old shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was going to take him on a mission…with His Master still by his side. He would become even more than he ever dreamed on that first day he forsook the boats and the nets to follow Jesus! But before he can set off to discover his true destiny he must ask and answer the question Jesus asked him about MISSION-OR MISSING? Which would it be? So must we! It’s our identity!

SERMON: EVERY CHRISTIAN’S FIRST TASK

Matthew 6:33

I. RECOGNIZING PRIORITIES

II. RE-ORDERING PRIORITIES

III. REWARDING OF PRIORITIES

BELONGING IS VERY NECESSARY

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Aug 042024

PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: BELONGING IS VERY NECESSARY

There are many voices today decrying the Church of Jesus Christ. They tell us that she is outdated. Irrelevant. Impotent. Unneccesary. The focus basically is-you can be a Christian. You can love the Lord. You can live for Him in the world today-but you don’t need, nor will you likely get any help from the Church-i.e., the organized historical Church as we have known it. You can even go on line and find a Church to meet your needs at virtualchurch.com. This is not a new trend. I came across an article written by Robert W. Patterson, associate to the Executive Director of the National Association of Evangelicals, written for Christianity Today back in March of 1991. He wrote:

“When President Eisenhower became a Christian, he made a public profession of his faith in Christ, he was baptized, and was extended the right hand of fellowship at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., the second Sunday after his inauguration in 1953. Had the former President expressed interest in becoming a Christian a generation later under more consciously evangelical auspices, he might have never been challenged to identify with the Body of Christ through baptism and church membership. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ, he would have been told, is all that really matters”. (Robert Patterson, “In Search of the Visible Church” Christianity Today, March 11, 1991, Vol. 34, No. 3, p.36).

Of course, I wholeheartedly agree that without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ that all is lost. Joining a Church is not the same as accepting Christ as Savior. But we must never mistakenly reason that one’s relationship with Christ minimizes the importance of the Church. Yet that is the spirit of our age. Someone has said that this is the age of the “McChristian”. We choose what level of product he wants from the Church, like one does at McDonalds, or a buffet. Pollster George Barna says, “The average adult thinks belonging to a particular Church is fine for other people, but is an unnecessary bondage and baggage for himself” (George Barna, The Frog in the Kettle Regal Books. 1991 p.133). So, a decade into the new millennium’s 21st century we have a phenomenon unthinkable in any other generation-“Churchless Christians”. Why has this trend developed? Some feel that it has happened because of too much emphasis on the “invisible Church”. While it is true that Christ is building a Church, and the totality of that Church is overall invisible to our eye, i.e., we cannot see the entire Church in its entirety at any one time, and any one place, (the first meeting will be in the air at the rapture), Christ’s invisible Church manifests itself in visible congregations, at visible locations, all over the world, as the New Testament teaches us. Both teachings are true, but too much emphasis on one over the other leads to error. Another likely reason this trend has happened in America is our historic American individualism. Nancy Pearcey has written a 478-page book on how we have developed a Church in America that our culture has molded to make it quite different from the New Testament Church. It is called Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity. (Crossway books. 2004). She has an entire chapter titled, “When Christianity met America Guess Who Won!” She quotes Thomas Paine saying, “We have a chance to start history all over again”. She proposes that we did that with Christianity too! When Christians from other countries come to America, they don’t even recognize our “version of the Church”. R. Kent Hughes, in his book Disciplines of a Godly Man, says “another reason for the de-churching of many Christians is the historical individualism of evangelical Christianity and the grass-roots American impulse against authority. The natural inclination is to think that one needs only an individual relationship with Jesus Christ and needs no other authority. Such thinking produces Lone Ranger Christians who demonstrate their authority by riding not to Church, but out to the badlands, reference Bible in hand, to do battle single-handedly with the outlaw world”. (p.152). If we “say” we don’t need the Church that settles the matter-we are the final authority on everything. Because “we say so!” That’s the American way!

We need to make a commitment to join and to belong to a local visible Church for many reasons. It is a place we come to worship with other believers in a committed relationship, not to be forsaken (Heb. 10:25). It is a place to be fed preaching and teaching (something the Bible commends a Pastor who does it well of being worthy of double-honor-(I Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the Word and doctrine”). It is a place to be held accountable. Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you”. How do you do that if you do not belong where a Pastor can watch over your growth and service? It is a place for giving and service. You are committed to share in needs of the Church, and to work alongside your co-laborers. It is a place to pool your resources and support a mission cause bigger than what you are locally. Southern Baptist Mission endeavors are second-to-none worldwide in reaching the world for Jesus Christ. It gives you a Church family that you can rejoice with or weep with. (Romans 15:12). John Bunyan, (of Pilgrim’s Progress fame), expressed this need well on one occasion. While imprisoned he had been quite depressed, falling into despondency which lasted for several days. God intervened and let him experience His presence in a special way. Bunyan wrote, “But that was a good night to me; I have had but few better; I longed for the company of some of God’s people, that I might have imparted unto them what God had showed me. Christ was a precious Christ to my soul that night; I could scarce lie in my bed for joy, and peace, and triumph though Christ”. You and I take for granted the very thing that had been taken from him-the community spirit of the Church.

The Church, though seen as defeated and irrelevant in today’s world, will outlast the world! Jesus said, “I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Harry Blamires emphasizes this truth when he wrote, “The world is like a great express train hurtling towards disaster-total destruction. And in this truly desperate situation certain passengers are running up and down the corridors announcing to each other that the Church is in great danger! The irony of it would be laughable if it were not so searing. Why most of the Church’s members have already gotten out at stations en route. And we ourselves shall be getting out soon anyway. (The rapture). And if the crash comes and the world is burnt to ashes, then the only thing that will survive the disaster will of course be the Church” (Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind, c. 1963 p. 153). In this world we need the Church! The visible local Church!

Timothy Dwight, President of Yale University, when it was a bastion for God’s truth in Puritan fashion, wrote one of the most beautiful poems about the Church. He wrote:

I love Thy Church O God

Her walls before thee stand

Dear as the apple of Thine eye

And graven on Thy hand

For her my tears shall fall

For her my prayers ascend

To her my cares and toils be given

Til toils and cares shall end!

Jesus Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her and to her. We can do no less!

SERMON: THE DRAWING POWER OF THE CROSS.

John 12:20-33

I. THE PERSON ON THE CROSS

II. THE POWER OF THE CROSS

III. THE PRODUCT OF THE CROSS

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